Well, I was approaching 60k miles on my 2nd timing belt and it decided it couldn't take it any more and broke on me while I was going over a speed bump in 2nd gear at probably 1200rpms or less.

Of course I didn't immediately think timing belt, I preferred to believe the fuel pump or battery had caused the car to die and like a boss/idiot tried to turn it over a few times until I just gave up and got it home. The next morning I took the top cover off the timing belt and discovered the belt was so loose that it came out quite easily. The belt itself wasn't in bad shape aside from being ripped in one place where it separated.

Long story short, some of the valves are bent and I need to take the head off and see if the pistons were damaged, but I thought I would seek some advice first. I've never done anything like this before, but I'm pretty handy with tools and have plenty of time to work on it once I get alternate transport figured out. I located a salvaged head off a 4g69 Galant nearby for $200 but I'm not sure of the condition it's in. Any advice would be great and before you ask YES I searched I just wanted my own thread because I'm a douche and NO I don't have the money for the RRM head or that would be my first option!

dunno if you saw cran's thread...

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/04...d-rebuild.html

OP, that sucks. Take some pics please!

Also, how many miles are on your RA? What are your driving habits like?

that does suck, so you know for sure that you only have bent valves? theres no piston damage, you can just replace the valves

how do you know if your valves are bent? when the head is off you'll be able to see if they were clearly bent, otherwise they might not be. As i said in my thread, it may be wise to attempt replaceing just the belt first, cause when you take the head off, you need to have it cleaned, machined, valves lapped etc. quite pricey on top of all the replacement parts.

I would put a new belt on, and do a compression test before you go pulling the head, that was the mistake i made.

I looked through Cran's thread and there were some excellent pictures there. I'm going to try to document each step in a similar fashion both for my own benefit and for the community's.

Lanzer, I don't know for sure at all. I need to get the current head off so I can look at the pistons and see what I'm dealing with. Sucks especially since I'm about $500 away from having the car paid off. Oh well, the missus gave me permission to buy a motorcycle for transportation while I'm getting the whip running again.

My RA currently has 124k miles on it and my driving style is pretty chill with some spirited driving on occasion, nothing too crazy. I bought the car with 65k on the clock and had the timing belt service done right afterward. It's still on the original clutch if that gives you an idea of my driving style. :-)

Cranswick, you are the mastermind here and your thread inspired me to try the belt first. Unfortunately, after performing the timing belt service (went all out and did balance shaft belt, water pump, whole 9 yards) a few of the valves are sticking. There wasn't any excessive play in the valves when I took the valve cover off which made me think I got super lucky and went ahead with the belt service. As it stands now I need to get the head off to see what I'm dealing with. I got an email back from the guy with the galant head and he says it came off a car with a broken block and 85k miles on the clock. Might be worth $200 if I take my head off and there's no piston/cylinder wall damage, we'll see.

I'll keep this thread updated with pics once I start getting the head off. What's a good resource for schematics/torque specs/etc.? I was thinking of getting an AllData DIY subscription, but free is always better of course! If there's anything out there that is...

can you measure the lash on all the valves, I highly recommend a compression test before you do anything, if you have proper compression across the board, there is NOTHING wrong with the valves or pistons.

I forgot to mention that an upper rebuild gasket kit is like $300 just for gaskets! plus remachining the head and lapping valves was $300, plus $700 in egine parts, i'm trying to save you money here, just be aware of that extra stuff, good luck with the build, if you have any very specific questions, PM me, also i can share with you some good documentation

My only question is what else would cause the valves to stick? I'll send you a PM for more specific info and believe me, any help is much appreciated! The less money I spend the better I just figured there was no way to see why the valves won't open up without taking the head off. I fear I may have done more harm than was done initially by trying to start it up numerous times. It didn't sound bad when it was trying to turn over, just sounded like it wasn't getting fuel or spark. I probably tried to start it 6 different times before I checked the timing belt. Never again!

when mine went i wasn't sure what happened, i took the upper timing cover off, and cranked her a few times via ignition before i realized the cam wasn't turning. It was still ok. Mine wasn't in MIVEC when it went but i was doing about 80km/h downshifting to 4th. And i had no internal damage. so just slap a new timing belt on, make sure all the marks line up, and do a compression test, it's an extra step, but could dsave you hundreds.

Awww man, sorry to hear that!

Cranswick is definately right, compression test and you're golden if alls well. I recently got my timing belt replaced the day before I left for a big road trip 'cause I also purchased mine used, 150k on the car at purchase, and was super scared since there wasn't concrete evidence of it being replaced in the past.

Good luck to you bro!

Okay, I got the guy with the replacement head to send me some pics. It looks pretty good from what I can see. Tell me what you guys think.

http://imgur.com/a/WUXu0

For how much?

$200 is the price they have on their site. It's 100 miles away so I'd have to see what they charge for shipping or just go pick it up.

Do you know how much damage was done to yours?