Q: My harmonic balancer/crankshaft pulley broke in my 1996 3000GT. When installing new one, I noticed that part of the drive belt tha

asked by on December 22, 2016

I was driving my 1996 Mitsubishi 3000GT getting on the freeway and my drive belt broke. After taking a better look at it, i noticed that the harmonic balancer / crankshaft pulley had separated so I had to replace it. While replacing the harmonic balancer once it was off I noticed there was part of the timing belt cover was missing which allowed the belt that shredded off and broke to get caught in there in between the timing belt in the gears. After spending about a half an hour removing all debris from the belt and being as careful as possible, we installed the new crankshaft harmonic balancer pulley, torqued it to specs, installed two new serpentine belts and then tried starting it, and now it does not start. Is it possible at the drive belt getting caught in timing belt housing could have messed up or made it jump a tooth or two or three, enough to where the timing is so far off that now it won't start?

My car has 186000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

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Hi there. Absolutely, there is a chance that there could be a damaged timing belt or it has jumped time. However, there is also the possibility that the debris has damaged the crank/cam position sensors. With a capable scan tool/ oscilloscope the sensor signals can be inspected. I suggest having a qualified technician perform an inspection to avoid replacing unnecessary parts. Your Mechanic has several technicians that can assist you with a car does not start inspection.

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