Most timing belts look perfectly fine right up until they destroy your engine.

What Does the Timing Belt or Timing Chain Do? On a conventional piston engine — which is found in virtually all modern passenger cars — the up-and-down motion of the pistons turn the crankshaft, and ...

An interference engine is one in which the valves and the pistons operate within the same space inside the cylinder. The timing belt or chain regulates the movement of these internal engine parts so ...

Timing belts themselves are relatively inexpensive but can easily cause thousands of dollars of damage if they break while the engine is running. Engines come in two configurations: Interference and ...

Justin Pritchard is a seasoned Sudbury, Ontario-based automotive journalist, producer, and technical writer. With a passion for cars and a talent for storytelling, he's established himself as a ...

Q: If the timing belt breaks in an interference engine, it will self-destruct. What advantage is gained by this design that outweighs the risk of engine damage if or when the belt fails? — R. Fischer ...

Zak is new to the CarBuzz team, working as a freelance content writer. When Zak isn't writing How To articles for CarBuzz he's working as a high school automotive technology instructor. Before ...

From what I can gather, the engine in your Barina is an interference design. That is, if the timing belt breaks, the pistons and valves (in the cylinder head) will, indeed, meet head on at speed, ...

I drive a 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon with 125,000 kilometres on the odometer. The timing belt replacement interval is 160,000 but I had it replaced after 10 years/100,000 km. The only immediate benefit was ...

JOHNSTON — Everyone knows — or ought to know — that a broken timing belt is a serious no-no. “Every time (we have) a broken timing belt, nine times out of 10 it results in engine damage,” said Anthony ...

DEAR CAR TALK: You recently wrote about a guy whose timing belt broke, and who tried to restart his car but whose valves survived only through sheer good luck. In 1957, I had a new Ford six-cylinder, ...