Timing Belt Replacement

[OutbackGuy]

I have a 2007 PT with 109,000 miles. My Grand Daughter was driving about 70 mph when it died. She was able to get it to the roadside, and we had it towed to the house. What is the likely hood of damage to the valves and pistons in this type of TB break? Would you replace the belt, or salvage the car?

[CREWZIN]

We've had very few owners say that when the belt broke, the valves were affected. It does happen, but rarely. The PT engine is a non-interference engine which means the valve can't hit the piston heads when the timing belt breaks but with the engine spinning freely, the opposing valve can hit each other but again, very rarely. A mechanic can test for any valve damage.

[rckstein]

Welcome to the forum

[ptcruisersteve]

Originally Posted by OutbackGuy

I have a 2007 PT with 109,000 miles. My Grand Daughter was driving about 70 mph when it died. She was able to get it to the roadside, and we had it towed to the house. What is the likely hood of damage to the valves and pistons in this type of TB break? Would you replace the belt, or salvage the car?

Welcome to the forum.

Before we can answer your question the history on the PT Cruiser is needed and pictures of the PT Cruiser would help.

[chuzz]

I'd suggest doing a compression test on it first. I seriously doubt that anything happened to the valves. These are damned tough engines. Do the compression test and if it's all good, put a new timing belt, tensioner and water pump in there. It's also a great time to replace that center motor mount that's attached with a large torx bolt. Oh, cam seals and possibly a new crank seal while you've got the pulley off.

[Imakenocents]

Originally Posted by OutbackGuy

I have a 2007 PT with 109,000 miles. My Grand Daughter was driving about 70 mph when it died. She was able to get it to the roadside, and we had it towed to the house. What is the likely hood of damage to the valves and pistons in this type of TB break? Would you replace the belt, or salvage the car?

Like others that have responded, If the car body, frame, and transmission are in good shape I personally would not salvage the car but with that being said I'm sure many of us on here do the necessary repairs ourselves. The factor to consider for you is, if you are mechanically able to do the job or would you have to have the work done by a shop mechanic. The parts cost to repair your car will maybe fall in the range of 200-300 dollars or possibly less depending on aftermarket or oem parts, assuming the cylinder head is fine, which it most likely would be in the situation you describe. At a minimum the timing belt set(tensioner, belt, idler pulley, and water pump) in addition, cam seals, probably crank seal, and if it has never been changed I would replace the thermostat and radiator cap while you are in there. Those last two are low cost items but important. When it is completed verify the operation of your cooling fan as well, since you will be in there doing major engine work. The labor charge by a professional mechanic is where you could lose your hind end but after doing a few of these myself it is a labor intensive job for me or them and they do it for a living, I do it for fun and contrary to many I think they are relatively easy to do just tedious.

[NitroPT]

Originally Posted by Imakenocents

tedious.

^^^^^