# Timing Belt Floods Engine **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Created:** [October 20, 2008, 1:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/timing-belt-floods-engine/20961 "2008-10-20T13:57:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![common-sense-answer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/common-sense-answer/32/716_2.png) [@common-sense-answer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/common-sense-answer)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 1:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/timing-belt-floods-engine/20961/1 "2008-10-20T13:57:39Z")
It would have totalled my 97 Dodge Intrepid with 226,000 miles, cost wise, if I had to pay somebody to do a timing belt change, so I installed a new timing belt, tensioner, tensioner pulley, water pump, and front crank seal and serpentine belt. The engine is a 3.5L interference engine. When trying to start it after the maintenance it gave me a sickening feeling, firing a little here and there and sounding like the timing was off. I gave up and went away for a while. When I got back I gave it one last try, even flooring the pedal, just in case. When it started I spewed a lot of white smoke … it was just flooded … life was worth living again! This car has multi-port injection and dual throttle bodies. My question is: Why did putting on a timing belt flood the engine? I think it has something to do with my following instructions and rotating the crankshaft 2 revolutions and then rechecking cam /crank timing, but why did that flood it? I thought the injectors fired electrically and the battery was disconnected during the entire procedure. ---
**Author:** ![mcparadise](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mcparadise/32/32_2.png) [@mcparadise](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mcparadise)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/timing-belt-floods-engine/20961/2 "2008-10-20T14:48:30Z")
Turning the engine a few revolutions is not enough to flood the engine, even if the injectors were firing, which they weren’t. Are you sure you don’t have a leaking injector? There is nothing about a timing belt replacement that should have caused this problem. ---
**Author:** ![common-sense-answer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/common-sense-answer/32/716_2.png) [@common-sense-answer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/common-sense-answer)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 2:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/timing-belt-floods-engine/20961/3 "2008-10-20T14:57:13Z")
Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire! I can’t say one way or another. However, this car fires right up in just a revolution or two, cold or hot, and I never get any chugging or smoke, nothing. ---
**Author:** ![circuitsmith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/circuitsmith/32/40376_2.png) [@circuitsmith](https://community.cartalk.com/u/circuitsmith)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 3:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/timing-belt-floods-engine/20961/4 "2008-10-20T15:04:52Z")
I thought flooded engines made gray/black smoke when they get going. Could you have spilled some coolant down the intake? ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://community.cartalk.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/timing-belt-floods-engine/20961/5 "2008-10-20T15:13:57Z")
I’m not at all familiar with Chrysler electronic stuff, but I know some cars remember what position the engine stopped in so it knows which injectors and spark plugs to fire immediately before it even gets a signal from the crank sensor. It could be that moving the engine or even just disconnecting the battery confused it and it fired the wrong injectors for a few turns. Although, usually if the engine’s flooded doesn’t that usually result in a puff of black smoke? Is there any chance you got some water or coolant into the intake while you were working on it? ---
**Author:** ![common-sense-answer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/common-sense-answer/32/716_2.png) [@common-sense-answer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/common-sense-answer)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 3:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/timing-belt-floods-engine/20961/6 "2008-10-20T15:14:42Z")
I Don’t Think … … so. I only spilled coolant when I pulled the water pump out of the front cover and just a drip or two near the recovery tank. Any parts of the intake system should have stayed covered. ---
**Author:** ![common-sense-answer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/common-sense-answer/32/716_2.png) [@common-sense-answer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/common-sense-answer)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 3:17pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/timing-belt-floods-engine/20961/7 "2008-10-20T15:17:58Z")
Please See Above Answer I’m going out to look at it again, but I can’t see how. I’m back in the house. I looked under the hood. I still can’t figure any way of spilling coolant into the intake, but who knows? It’s 52 degrees F outside, 100% humidity, raining, and I started the car and ran it after it sat all night. There is no visible exhaust of any color. ---
**Author:** ![mr\_josh](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mr_josh/32/3008_2.png) [@mr\_josh](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mr_josh)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 4:00pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/timing-belt-floods-engine/20961/8 "2008-10-20T16:00:25Z")
Well, if it’s running fine now, I would maybe even blame it on the fact that the battery was disconnected.