Q: Timing belt broke and coolant leaking

asked by on February 05, 2016

The timing belt broke and coolant is leaking.

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The most likely reason why you would have both of these problems at the same time is that your water pump is seized up. When this happens, it over-stresses the belt, which will cause it to break. When a timing belt breaks, this can allow things to happen that aren’t supposed to happen, such as the valves being open when a piston comes up on the compression stroke in the engine. When this happens, the valves in the cylinder head can be damaged and not allow the engine to run. If this is the case, the cylinder heads will need to be removed so the valves can be replaced. This can be a big job. I would suggest asking for help from one of the mechanics at YourMechanic to come to you and inspect your coolant leak to see what repairs need to be made.

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