Most timing belts look perfectly fine right up until they destroy your engine.

On New Years Eve 2015, my family and I were driving eastbound down the Ohio turnpike in my beloved 2002 Saturn L300. Everything was fine until, just past the Route 250 exit, the IP lit up like a ...

The timing belt or chain sits at the center of an engine’s rhythm, quietly keeping pistons and valves in sync. When it fails, the damage can jump from a simple no-start to a destroyed engine in a ...

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 ...

If you have an older car from the 90s and below, odds are you have a timing belt. Some new car manufacturers, such as Audi, still use timing belts in their engine designs, but for longevity, many ...

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: If the timing belt breaks in an interference engine, it will self-destruct. What advantage is gained by this design that outweighs the risk of engine damage if or when the belt fails? — R. Fischer ...

DEAR CAR TALK: 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, ...

From what I can gather, the engine in your Barina is an interference design. That is, if the timing belt breaks, the pistons and valves (in the cylinder head) will, indeed, meet head on at speed, ...

For years, small diesel engine manufacturers have been using overhead cam designs as a way to get the most out of a limited-displacement platform. Unfortunately, many small overhead cam mills utilize ...