Have to love it when your Wife's car does this...

[coloradogps]

Eric,

Sorry to see those photos.

Being in Colorado, an SUV is probably a better choice in the winter.

Some things happen for a good reason.

Thanks....

 

[SFG2Lman]

those DOHC motors are generally interference engines, one slip of the belt and you have what you are looking at there. My recommendation is to go to a junkyard, call around, check ebay, etc etc, and find a used motor for 300-600 and drop it in, or even just a new head and just bolt it back on. Used parts are everywhere, when i lived in alabama, I remember hearing a buy one get one free commercial for Kia vehicles on the radio. (It really happened back in '04). Budget vehicle repairs can be frustrating, but even if you don't plan on keeping it, you'll prolly get your money back when you sell it.

 

[Diesel_Bomber]

There are holes in the pistons, there's no bolting a new head on and continuing on. I second the junk-yard motor suggestion.

 

[mdocod]

From what I am finding, used engines for these are hard to come by. They get snatched up pretty fast since a lot of folks seem to have similar engine damage caused by possible timing problems. I found one about 120 miles from here with ~30K on it from a wrecked one, they want $1100 for the engine. If I could find an engine for $300-600 more locally I would definitely go pick it up and drop it in straight away, (and probably replace the belt before dropping it in, lol).

Eric

 

[SFG2Lman]

ouch 1100? You can get a relatively reliable "winter-beater" car for that

 

[Monocrom]

ouch 1100? You can get a relatively reliable "winter-beater" car for that.

Heck, for $1100, he might be able to find a used KIA Rio for that.

 

[mrartillery]

Ouch! Well you're not alone I've seen it happen several times over the years, looks to me like a case of jumping time, valves on pistons can do a number on an engine. :shakehead I don't really understand why though that Kia recommends a 60k replacement of the timing belt, most manufacturers are around 100k, same goes for some of the older chains due to guide and tensior failure around this time. I have changed belts for people who have went over the 150k mark before with minimal stretching and wearing of the belt, which is due mainly in part of how the vehicle is driven, someone with a harder driving style will wear out a belt a lot quicker than someone who takes it easy.

 

[MarNav1]

ouch 1100? You can get a relatively reliable "winter-beater" car for that

If you think that's pricey try a head gasket repair on a NorthStar................About $4200 at the stealer (whoops) I meant dealer.

 

[leeholaaho]

Wife was on her way home last Thursday on the highway doing about 65-75MPH and suddenly the vehicle lurched and lost all power. She pulled over. I came and towed it home behind the SUV and started investigating the problem. Didn't take too long to realize that the engine was not going to turn over and that there must be some catastrophic engine damage.

Spent this morning pulling the head to see how bad it was....

I'm thrilled...

Timing belt is in-tact, tensioner appears to be working.... Either it jumped time or dropped a valve which started this chain reaction of destruction.

Kia recommended a timing belt change at 60K, and this has about double that mileage on it. Not sure if a replaced timing belt would have prevented this though. In all of the timing belts I have seen pulled from vehicles, usually far passed the recomended due date, I have yet to see one come out that didn't look pristine.

I have a bad taste in my mouth for Kia right now. Modern engines are usually the last thing to fail on a car even with **** poor maintenance.

I also can't figure out why so many engines are still being designed as interference engines.

Resale value with a working engine is half the price of a replacement engine (assuming I put it in). Not worth it... Might check to see how much it would be to have the head re-done. I'm going to inspect the cylinder walls for damage, if the valve pieces stayed lodged the way it appears they did, then the cylinder walls may not be too bad off. A quick honing and dropping some new pistons in might do the trick. Not sure yet if it's worth the time/effort/money.

Probably time to find a new used car. Would like to find her something AWD... Maybe a Subaru, they tend to be priced really well unless you start looking at the ones that come with those really nice features, like seats and steering wheels.... lol.

--


Eric

Do not buy a Subaru, I must have probably owned 30 cars, trucks and vans, I have a 99 Subaru (purchased new) that is the worst vehicle I have ever owned, a disaster. Anything else, I am not joking.

 

[jabe1]

Wow, looks somewhat familiar. I had a Mitsubishi 2.6 do this, it turned out to be buildup of "sludge" in a few oil journals for the cam bearings... it had about 160k on it at the time. The Exh cam stopped long enough to jump the belt and then all hell broke loose. Did you look at the cam-gear matchmarks before you disassembled it? Just curious.
My guess is it's not worth fixing. Take it to the local recycler's scale.
If you're looking for an AWD relpacement, look at the VW Passat 4-motion, great cars and typically less expensive than the Subarus :thinking:, although it makes no sense to me.
Good luck in your new car search!

 

[mdocod]

Hi Jabe1,

Yea, the timing marks were way out of wack, but it's hard to know for sure how much of that jumped time before the incident, and how much happened as a result of the incident.

Funny you mention the VW as an option. Before this happened, I was actually thinking about a "new-used" car for myself and have been eyeing audi/vw/bmw/volvo type platforms. The VW TDIs spark my interest, as well as many of the AWD turbo gasers. Seems like most of the European turbo cars are setup with minimal lag and smaller turbos. For where I live, it makes sense to have a small conservative turbo on an engine (6500-7500ft elevation where I drive most). The "rally" style cars like the WRX like my father-in-law just bought, is a total blast to drive, but isn't quite as practical for everyday driving, too much lag, peak power is way up high. The little 1.8Ts seem to hit torque peaks around 2K RPM, which impresses me.

Eric

 

[jabe1]

Hi Jabe1,

Yea, the timing marks were way out of wack, but it's hard to know for sure how much of that jumped time before the incident, and how much happened as a result of the incident.

Funny you mention the VW as an option. Before this happened, I was actually thinking about a "new-used" car for myself and have been eyeing audi/vw/bmw/volvo type platforms. The VW TDIs spark my interest, as well as many of the AWD turbo gasers. Seems like most of the European turbo cars are setup with minimal lag and smaller turbos. For where I live, it makes sense to have a small conservative turbo on an engine (6500-7500ft elevation where I drive most). The "rally" style cars like the WRX like my father-in-law just bought, is a total blast to drive, but isn't quite as practical for everyday driving, too much lag, peak power is way up high. The little 1.8Ts seem to hit torque peaks around 2K RPM, which impresses me.

Eric

Yeah, We looked at some Jetta TDIs, but my wife fell in love with an '05 Passat 4-motion with the 1.8T. I am truly impressed by all aspects of this car, just wish it was a standard, it has an odd lag between the 2-3 shift as if the engine and trans aren't matched well, but it only happens there. Other than that, it's great, and we got a fantastic price on a low mileage car!

 

[was.lost.but.now.found]

Hi Jabe1,

Yea, the timing marks were way out of wack, but it's hard to know for sure how much of that jumped time before the incident, and how much happened as a result of the incident.

I think you hit it there in the second part. If the timing belt is in good shape without cracks or stretching, it's not just going to jump time without the issue being forced by some other failure.

Maybe you already mentioned this and I just didn't see it, but did you check the water pump? Aluminum doesn't just melt without a $h!t ton of heat applied.

 

[Diesel_Bomber]

Just to defend the Scoobies, I'm on my third one, an '06 STi.

I have zero complaints and would happily buy another.

 

[mdocod]

Yea I honestly don't see a problem with a Subaru. Around here they are probably one of the most popular brands on the road and pretty much every owner I've spoken with loves em and swears by them. In the same way that I have just had a pretty bad experience with a Kia, I'm sure there are a few out there who have had a lemon Subaru that has irked them the wrong way.

 

[Monocrom]

Yea I honestly don't see a problem with a Subaru.

Good luck trying to fit comfortably into any of them if you're over 6' 1'' and over 250 pounds.

I tried liking them. But it's really tough to like something you can barely fit into.

 

[mdocod]

hehe... if we fit inside of a Rio....?

 

[rodfran]

In the old days, if we had to do a valve job or take a V-8 apart say 80 or 90K we would put in a
metal camshaft gear and a new timing chain. Most of the factory V-8's had an aluminum cam gear with nylon teeth which would become brittle after 80 to 100K. In the race cars I would use a double row chain and gears or an aftermarket gear drive.

 

[Monocrom]

hehe... if we fit inside of a Rio....?

You'd be surprised. There's more interior space inside a KIA than a Subaru.

It's fun trying on cars for size at the yearly New York International Auto Show.

 

[stangster]

Thanks for the thread. Made me realize it's time to do some servicing!

Well, looking for the silver lining in all of this, now you have a chance to buy a car made in North America and not contribute to the merchandise trade deficit.

There's plenty of options made in America!

Honda Accord, Civic, CR-V, Element, Odyssey, Pilot.
Hyundai Sante Fe, Sonata
Mazda 6, Tribute, B-Series pickup
Mercedes Benz GL, ML, R
Mitsubishi Galant, Eclipse, Endeavor, Raider
Nissan Altima, Maxima, Quest, Titan, Xterra, Armada, Pathfinder
Suburu Legacy, Outback, Tribeca
Toyota Camry, Avalon, Corolla, Tacoma, Tundra, Venza, Sequoia, Sienna

Born in America so...American!