had a ford contour the timming belt broke the machanic said good thing its a freewheel engine what does that mean
Mar 20, 2011 at 6:16 PM
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CARADIODOC
CAR REPAIR CONTRIBUTOR
34,309 POSTS
Some engines are an "interference" design which means the open valves and the moving pistons occupy the same space, but not at the same time, unless the timing belt jumps a few teeth or breaks. Think of two cars in the same place in an intersection, but hopefully not at the same time. Interference engines are very expensive to repair after the timing belt breaks or "jumps time". I'll never own one.
Mar 20, 2011 at 8:28 PM
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