my son has an 88 toyota corolla, the timing belt broke and we are wondering what the chances of valve damage are? what i have found out so far seems to indicate it is not one of the cars that always trash the valves. the car cost $200, so while we are willing to pay for a timing belt, a valve job might be more than the car is worth. any input?
Your engine is a non-interference engine according to gates.com/partslocator
The engine in your son’s Corolla is not an interference engine, so a new timing belt should be all it needs.
If you purchase a service manual like Haynes this job could be done at home. The new belt itself is not very expensive. Labor is what makes a timing belt replacement cost money.
I’ve replaced the timing belt on a Corolla, and it’s not terribly difficult. You do need a manual to follow, however.
cool, so if i understand that correctly the likely hood is that the valves did not get damaged when the belt broke. right?
It’s been a long time, but I thought an 88 would still have been a chain. I certainly could be wrong.
As mentioned you would be fine with a new timing belt, maybe add new waterpump and belts.
thanks. if it weren’t jan. i would probably try to fix it myself so he could learn as well. being that it is jan., and i don’t have a garage to fix it in i think i will just let him learn the lesson of keeping a little money in the bank (which he does better than i do by the way) with which to pay for it’s repair. 
A new belt tensioner is appropriate here too. Perhaps even a new front crank seal if the old one is leaking.
How many miles on it? How’s the rest of the car? A $200 car is a great find . . . but suggests a car with a lot of miles/bad body/rough interior/ whatever . . . I hope for your sake that it was just a great find with decent body and reasonable miles. Good luck! Rocketman
I checked gates.com. From 1983 to 1997, the Toyota Corolla had the 1.6L engine with cam timing belt. After 1997, the 1.8L engine was used and has a timing chain.
We can only assume the reasons for the discontinuance of the 1.6L engine (at least in the Corolla).
Make sure you do water pump, tensioner, and seals while you have it apart.
it is a combination of a good find and a perfect beater/around town car for a teenagers first car. body is okay, NO RADIO (which is also perfect for a teenager as he has fewer distractions) interior is good, high miles but drives fine, needs shocks…
all around good first car since I told him he had to buy and maintain his own car.