Ok, bought this 94 teg LS with 170,000 miles for only $300.00. Had to, it was a bargain. I knew there was going to be some repairs involved of course, but thats part of the fun with cars. The previous owner was very open with me and mentioned the timing belt snapped while he was driving it. I have already purchased an OEM timing belt and planned to do the replacement, but was wondering what sort of damage could have also been done due to the snapped TB? He also mentioned that he had the water pump and head gasket replaced the month prior. Someone please send me an Angel.

Lana (Muaa-Muaa)

 

Most likely the car has bent valves, which means you're going to need to replace the head. You should be able to find a head for cheap, try searching on classified forums on this website, or honda-tech.com. Living in SD is going to help bigtime, you shouldn't have trouble finding a head in socal. You'll also need to replace the timing belt obviously, and the headgasket during the headswap...and most likely the intake manifold gasket when you swap the manifold from the old head to the new head. Once you get the head off, look to see if any of the valves are broken...if so, try to get the broken pieces out of the cylinders, and look for scoring on the cylinder walls.

Good luck.

 

Ok, I said working on cars is part of the fun. I will try to convince myself that as i move fwd to conquer this teg. So heres the deal i called the previous owner to get assurance of what exactly happened and i must stand corrected. He said "the timing belt slipped because a spring on a tensioner broke, and that it never fell off the cam". My first question is this: could this still cause problems to the valves? Ok, my second question and i hate to sound so foolish, but when i take the head cover off in th emorning how can i tell if i bent the valve? This is where my question gets really silly (im such a sas gurl): what is the difference between a valve and piston? Pictures anyone?

Lana (XXX)

 

If you plan to fix up this car yourself, buy yourself a copy of a Helms factory service manual pronto. Good luck! And pistons are much bigger than valves and cylindrical in shape.

<---- Girl that has many old cars and the factory service manuals to go along with them. lol

 

valves:


pistons:


since you're asking this question, and i don't mean any offense by this, you might want to have someone knowlegeable around (or at least have access to) when you start tearing apart the car. and in agreement with EH339, you definitely want a factory service manual (helms).

 

where in the world did you get that. you dont have to replace the head when you bend some valves just get new valves. take the head off undo what two bolts then you replace the old valves with the new one.

 

yeah but with LS heads just laying around the easiest thing to do is just replace the head... esp for someone without knowledge of the subject

 

What do you think costs more...a head or valve replacement? What do you think is easier to do? I paid $60 for my complete LS head. Any idea how tedious a valve swap is? I take it you've never attempted one. Take the advice from someone who's been in the same situation....and that would be me.


To the question at hand, the timing belt doesn't have to snap or fall off the cam in order to cause damage. If it jumped enough teeth on the cam gears or crank, it could make the timing off enough to cause some valve damage. You won't know the extent of the damage until you pull the head. If the tensioner failed, it's probable that the belt slipped quite a bit.

 

Thanks everyone for much support (less, you know who). Here is where I stand. Pulled the head cover off, got some help, pulled Valves and damage is done. I will pick up new valves tomorrow. Should i also pick up new head gasket, and head bolts? i will rent a torque wrench from autozone and do the work. Does anyone have a a copy of this page from the Helms manual? I would be indebted forever. Once this is done im going to take it to a shop to have them put on the new TB(OEM). I have no clue about setting the timing, nor do i have a timing gun. Thanks in advance.

Lana

 

Yes on the head gasket. I'd change the head bolts. Go with oem on all of it... and while you're at the dealership, I really sure that if you ask nicely, they will photocopy the pages that you need from their Helms manual library.

BTW I just bought another copy of a Helms this morning... this time for a 96 Accord. It's so beautiful too. A SILVER cover, with a three hole punch and in mint condition. Only $23!! I bought it because my bf's going to build up a motor for a friend of his with an Accord this summer.