Well I figured on my last day before starting work, I'd tear into the car and hopefully replace the timing belt and get it back up and running.

First problem: I somehow stripped the end of the bolt for the puller, so I don't know when I'll be able to get another to get the crank pulley off. So now I figured I'd take the motor mount bracket off while trying to figure out the puller problem.

Problem two: I get the MM bracket off and with it off happened to notice the crank sprocket looked a bit odd...



To the left of the red circle you can see the crank sprocket is mangled ;( And in the red circle (Hard to see, but I dont have software on this computer to lighten up the pic) There's a FUCKING BOLT laying on the sprocket :bash :wallbash :owned

IDK where the hell it came from, but it's definetly the culprit. Time to replace a few more parts than expected.

Ouch, man. Carnage.

take better pics :)

I feel your pain man. That really sucks...and definitely not one of the funnest repairs to deal with. Good luck sir.

Originally posted by DarkOne
Ouch, man. Carnage. take better pics :)

Yeah the pics looked better on the camera but once I uploaded them I couldn't see the bolt any more. I might take a few more pics once I get the crank pulley off.

Originally posted by xcasbonx
I feel your pain man. That really sucks...and definitely not one of the funnest repairs to deal with. Good luck sir.

Not what I was looking forward to hearing. I think I'm on the beginning of being one of those guys whose car doesn't run for a really long time :(

Guess I gotta find me a crank sprocket now ;(

edit: Sweet $13 from the dealer :D Now I just have to find install/removal tips (I know corbin's write-up addresses install)

Ouch! Ok, my guess is it's a small 10mm bolt (I can't see it from the pic so I want to guess).

But the bigger question is how are the valves? She stalled so I'm guessing she jumped timing. But if the valves come out OK, then it's really not that bad. Basically gear and belt 9with of course, the labor to do it. But you now have practice at that).

Funny thing about the crank gear. It's so cheap at the dealership, that some of the Neon guys just crack it off and get a new one, lol.

Good luck man

Originally posted by bullettdsm
Ouch! Ok, my guess is it's a small 10mm bolt (I can't see it from the pic so I want to guess). But the bigger question is how are the valves? She stalled so I'm guessing she jumped timing. But if the valves come out OK, then it's really not that bad. Basically gear and belt 9with of course, the labor to do it. But you now have practice at that). Funny thing about the crank gear. It's so cheap at the dealership, that some of the Neon guys just crack it off and get a new one, lol. Good luck man

Yeah I really couldn't believe how cheap it was at the dealer, I never would have expected that. As for if it jumped timing or not, I can't tell yet, the cam gears are still in line, but IDK if that means that the timing is fine or if it's possible that the belt jumped off of the crank sprocket and jumped a couple teeth down there. I'm assuming the latter is possible so I have to wait until I can get another puller to get the crank pulley off. Anyways, my fingers are crossed.

You could always rent a chrysler harmonic balancer removal tool from autozone and while your in there you could rent a steering wheel puller, thats what I used to get the pulley off. Hardets part was getting the woodruff key out because some else just beat it on when it wasn't lined up. Good luck, hope for the best with the valves!

Originally posted by Slo2g
You could always rent a chrysler harmonic balancer removal tool from autozone and while your in there you could rent a steering wheel puller, thats what I used to get the pulley off. Hardets part was getting the woodruff key out because some else just beat it on when it wasn't lined up. Good luck, hope for the best with the valves!

Thanks for that bit of advice, I haven't had time to search how to remove the cranksprocket yet so I appreciate it.

You going to the Shoot Out? I could bring mine for you to use. Gotta hit me up quick though, heading out 4am tomorrow.

Originally posted by bullettdsm
You going to the Shoot Out? I could bring mine for you to use. Gotta hit me up quick though, heading out 4am tomorrow.

nah I gotta go to florida on sunday for training for work :( Thanks for the offer though, I appreciate it.

Yeah just rent the harmonic puller from auto zone, and then you will have to go to home depot to get the bolts you need for the crank gear. They are the same size and pitch as the timing belt cover bolts so use those for getting the right size. Get grade 8 if possible and some big and small washers, small for the bolt head and large for the slats in the puller. then just pull that SOB off. Do not forget to get the 5 ton 3 jaw puller at the zone, and be prepared the rental tools deposits have gone up. The 5 ton puller now costs $40 to rent...

Also, I think the bolts you are look for are M6x1.0. I think you will need about a 50-70mm bolt. I have some in the door of my car so I can pull that pulley off my spare longblock. I just haven't done it yet.

Well got another puller today, got the crank pulley off, got the timing cover off and was greated by the crank sprocket being 3 teeth before TDC. I guess I will be pulling the head back off. Now I just have to decide if I want to put new valves in this one or grab the one I found at the junk yard today (they got a new avenger with a 420a the odometer says 257k DAMN!!! It also has a black dash in good condition :) )

Gonna do some research and see how easy/hard it is to replace the valves and if I will need to replace anything else, they want 200 bones for the head at the yard, oem valves from partsdinosaur are gonna be somewhere around $150.

Originally posted by Kirby
Do not forget to get the 5 ton 3 jaw puller at the zone, and be prepared the rental tools deposits have gone up. The 5 ton puller now costs $40 to rent...

Pfff, here it's $89

For what it's worth, when I popped my T-belt about 17 months ago it cost me $300ish to replace 10 out of 16 valves, new retainers, machine work and labor.

Well I was confused about where the bolt that destroyed my timing belt came from, but after cleaning up some of the carnage tonight, I finally figured it out. It was the bolt that holds the bracket that the tensioner pulley is bolted to.

So now I know where it came from, I know it wouldn't have mattered had I kept the full timing cover on and I replaced the bolt. At least the mystery is solved, now to get it back together.

Still waiting on parts though, shooting to have it up and running friday night but it is rather unlikely.

Well, at least you now know what caused the problem. To prevent this from happening I believe I put blue loctite on those bolts on my car. Red is a little bit much, but blue should work fine.