Hello, I had my 92 Honda Accord get it’s timing belt and water pump fixed. Now a month or two later, there is a problem with the engine head, the crankshaft and the pistons got locked up. My mechanic says they are not related to the timing belt. Is he responsible for those recent damages by improper fixtures of the timing belt?
I would take it to someone else to be evaluated if you have’t already if you have any doubts and can afford it. A quick check says that is indeed an interference valve train if the belt breaks. If your car has over 200 k miles though, it may be tough to prove. This is just a guess, but even though timing belts are very specific, if the one in place hasn’t been distorted too much, get a part number and check if it was an exact fit. It may not be worth the effort but say also if say the idler wheel malfunctioned too because of lack of maintenance during reassembly.
If the car is very high mileage, it just may be time to move on regardless and it may not be cost effective to find out who did or did not do what.
OH MY, Typically the pistons just kinda float around in there, but if the rods and crank and valves are involved–and bent , then it could be blamed on the timing belt–and I’m stressing “could” be–it is a typical mishap of this sort of thing happening when the timing belt breaks when driving the car and it suddenly makes a really nasty noise and stops–Jonny, you have my sympathy , but I’m afraid it is very likely a timing belt problem–no thanks to who ? whom ? ever replaced it-------again–"COULD "
If the head gasket developed a leak where coolant entered the cylinders it means the engine is hydro-locked. You can’t compress a liquid and this causes the engine to lock up. It may just require that the head be removed, remove the coolant from the cylinders, change the oil/filter, and reinstall the head with a new head gasket.
And no, replacing the water pump/timing belt didn’t contribute to the head gasket failing.
So how is the engine oil level? Just wondering if the engine is seized due to lack of oil.
If that’s the case it’s not related to the timing belt work.
There’s also the possibility of a failed belt tensioner but at this point there’s not been enough info given to be able to make a reliable guess as to what’s going on.
You also state you have the belt and water pump fixed. Does this mean as part of normal maintenance or because it failed and led to a tow?
Do you mean to say that the camshaft and the pistons interfered? That really means that the valves and the pistons interfered and that can happen due to a timing belt problem due to a defective installation. The crankshaft and the pistons do not interfere unless a highly stressed racing engine unlike yours self destructs.
Your mechanic needs to provide you with more detail that you can understand or else you need to write down in detail what he says and post that here for a better chance at a remote diagnosis of the problem.