Q: Is it true that if a timing chain is bad it means the engine needs to be rebuilt or replaced?
I just bought a used car and I'm extremely worried that I made a terrible decision. It is a 2008 Infiniti manual...it was idling pretty rough and the guy who sold it to me took it back to check it out and said that it had a bad timing chain. I have a friend who says that if a timing chain is bad it means the engine is totally messed up and needs to be replaced or rebuilt...is that true?
My car has 37000 miles.
My car has a manual transmission.
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This is largely dependent upon whether or not the motor is what is considered to be an "interference motor" or not, meaning that the timing belt or chain being stopped or damaged will cause a drastic stop or damage to the timing components. If the motor is an interference motor, this means that it may have caused some significant damage. In your case, since the motor is still running, this is likely not the case. I would suggest having a professional from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose and inspect the vehicle.
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