Hi. Guys

My car is a Accord SE Coupe 2.2 Liters Non VTEC 1997
Here goes my story (Sorry about the English, I still learning)

Everything started this Thursday 01/05/06 when I started my car and noticed a very loud ticking in my engine, I thought I was lacking of oil, because, I've been seeing an oil leak under the engine for a while (Maybe 2 months almost the same time I changed a failure horse that made my car over heated for third time. My radiator also broke and the car overheated once at cause of a broken radiator like 7 months ago) The leak was coming from the oil pan gasket next to the drive-plate in the trans-axle part of the engine. I changed the gasket (kind of easy) then I put new oil back in and I ran the car, but the ticking continued. That lead me to think that my ticking was more than a lack or poor of oil, and it might be something with the valves.

After a while running the engine trying to see what was really the problem, I heard the same loud ticking in the engine, and suddenly the motor sounded like it got stuck and stopped moving, I rapidly stopped the engine and checked what was wrong. The starter was working well, the belts were moving well, I have sparks in the spark plugs, gasoline, and everything was OK.

Then I decided to open the valve cover, to see what was wrong, as I opened it, I let the the engine move for like 15 seconds and I found out that the sprocket was moving along with the timing belt (good, I didn't have the timing belt broken) but the valves were not moving with it.

I continued to remove the timing belt upper cover, and I sadly found out that the union between the sprocket and the camshaft had been horrible broken and the sprocket was moving by it self-destroying the camshaft even more.
At this time I have the camshaft removed, and I'm looking for a place to buy a new one.
Also, the engine is not in the TDC position yet. I also know I need to put it in TDC at some point at assembling everything back.

My questions now are.

1) Am I doing wrong in some point?

2) As the timing belt, and the rest of the engine, got to move by it self without the camshaft, could the car be out of time, or synchronization?

3) If it so, is there a better way to put it at time, without having the pain to open the whole timing covers, to rearrange the belts position?

4) Do you guys know any place or website, to see how to assembly everything back?

5) Did the camshaft break at cause of the overheating? Or the mechanic who changed the timing belt at almost a year ago tied the belt too much? Or my rude driving? (22yo guy, 2nd car.)

6) Finally, was the ticking really the sprocket hitting something or the valves were out of alignment?
If it so, would I need to do a Valve job after all this? Or realign the valves in some point?

I would really appreciate that you guys helped over this question, it is 2am, and ill be trying to fix this problems today Monday.

Thanks again

Yury San Martin

yurysanm@hotmail.com MSN Messenger
zero123zero AIM

 

I would try to buy a Haynes manual for your vehicle for starters. They are somthing around $15.99 at Pep Boys. It will give you a good start in terms of troubleshooting and fixing minor and sometimes major things.

Sam

 

I have a Haynes Repair Manual, already thanks

any other help??

 

Haynes' manual should have a camshaft replacement procedure if I'm not mistaken.

 

haynes manual does have a camshaft replacment procedure and its all step by step.

 

and pray that when the cam sprocket let loose you didn't smack any valves with a piston... i personaly would remove the head to find out, because with overheating the car 3 times im sure your headgasket has been stressed. but that is just me.

 

Ya the headline on this thread says it broke for no reason, yet you state that you've overheated your engine before. That's very contradicting, because your engine overheating is in fact a very good reason for your problem. Been there, done that.

Bro if you can, I'd suggest just dropping a new engine in the thing. For real. Cause you can get the new camshaft in there and everything, but you don't know what else overheating your engine has caused. I'd hate to see you spend 700 dollars to fix a large portion of your valvetrain and then have the engine blow 2 months later because of overheating damage to the other internals. Maybe its more expensive to get a rebuilt engine, but in my book its far less risky than blowing all that money to fix part of an engine that may just be unsalvagable.

Plus when you sell the thing, a carfax report will show that you have a new engine in it rather than some busted ass engine that's overheated a couple times and has internal problems. Ya dig?