2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser bent valve?

Tiny
KAYLA95
  • MEMBER
  • 2003 CHRYSLER PT CRUISER
  • 2.4L
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 167,000 MILES
So I am getting conflicting opinions. 1 week ago my water pump was leaking got that fixed and sealed and then yesterday my timing belt either slipped or broke (not sure which yet) car will not turn over and when it went out my cars check engine light came on as it coasted to a stop. Now car won't turn over and it needs a new timing belt however question is I have heard that I have a non interference engine and therefore shouldn't have bent valves but I also see online forums that someone had a PT and had bent valves so question is could I have bent a valve and how would I know? I'm willing to pay for the timing belt repair but I'm not willing to pay for valve replacement.
Tuesday, February 24th, 2015 AT 5:23 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 110,176 POSTS
I will try to explain this as best I can. Is your engine an interference engine? No. Not in the sense that the pistons can hit the valves if the timing belt breaks. However, it is an interference engine if one cam turns and the other doesn't or they are out of time. Rather than the valves hitting a piston, in the traditional concept of an interference engine, the valves can hit each other if one turns and the other doesn't.

Does that answer your question?

Joe
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Tuesday, February 24th, 2015 AT 5:40 PM
Tiny
KAYLA95
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Yes can you tell me what would cause the camshaft to operate independently of each other and do valve damage? Car has to either be towed back to the mechanic or the dealer so I'm trying to figure out how much damage is there.
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Wednesday, February 25th, 2015 AT 8:12 AM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 110,176 POSTS
It's possible that the timing belt jumped allowing the cams to turn at the incorrect times. The result could be valve damage.
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Wednesday, February 25th, 2015 AT 3:39 PM

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