I had a 1991 Civic. At 105,000 miles, the timing belt broke while we were driving. I pulled off to the side of the road — the cold, dark, middle-of-nowhere, Indiana road — and just to make sure to do ...

If a timing belt breaks, one of two things are likely. Either the broken belt will allow the valves and pistons of the engine to collide, instantly turning the engine to scrap. (This is what happens ...

Our 2001 Subaru Forester (93,000 miles, we're the only owner) has been an excellent, essentially maintenance-free vehicle. Recently, when a front axle was replaced for a torn CV joint boot, the garage ...

Timing belts themselves are relatively inexpensive but can easily cause thousands of dollars of damage if they break while the engine is running. Engines come in two configurations: Interference and ...

Q: I had a 1991 Civic. At 105,000 miles, the timing belt broke while we were driving. I pulled off to the side of the road – the cold, dark, middle-of-nowhere, Indiana road – and just to make sure to ...

An interference engine is one in which the valves and the pistons operate within the same space inside the cylinder. The timing belt or chain regulates the movement of these internal engine parts so ...

It really doesn’t matter how fast you’re driving when a timing chain or timing belt breaks. If the engine is an interference design, then this failure has possibly turned the rest of the engine to ...

Justin Pritchard is a seasoned Sudbury, Ontario-based automotive journalist, producer, and technical writer. With a passion for cars and a talent for storytelling, he's established himself as a ...

Q: You recently wrote about a guy whose timing belt broke, and who tried to restart his car but whose valves survived only through sheer good luck. In 1957, I had a new Ford six-cylinder, standard ...