'92 Legacy: Blown head gasket/popped timing belt pulley

On my '92 Legacy with 2.2 liter non-turbo engine, it appears that the driver's-side head gasket has blown, because all the anti-freeze was quickly blown into the overflow container then out to the pavement, splattering the inside of the right front tire & suspension.

Also, the driver's-side timing belt idler pulley has been forced out through the plastic cover and is now exposed.

The engine actually runs in this condition.

I am not sure that the head gasket has blown or something more serious has occurred. The popped idler pulley doesn't seem to explain why all the coolant was ejected. A blown head gasket doesn't seem to explain the popped idler pulley.

Can anyone here piece this together and come up with an idea of what happened and if it is worth repairing this 14 year old car?

Thanks, George S. NJ-USA

Reply to
George S.
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PS: There is no coolant in the oil or vice versa.

Reply to
George S.

Could you put some pictures up somewhere and send us a link. I'm having a hard time visualizing a poped idler pulley and how the engine could still run.

Reply to
Jim Stewart

If this were a Chevette I would say the water pump just broke. The pulley is attached to the water pump and is what makes it 'pump.' And would also explain the gush of antifreeze. But it wouldnt have went through the bottle.

In any even this is not a Chevette...

Reply to
dnoyeB

IMO separate issues. From what you've said I'd agree with thoughts on blown HG. Why do you believe it's the left side HG? If blowing out the overflow and that's on the right side, what's the importance of mentioning the splatter on right side?

Mickey

Reply to
Mickey

Here is what occurred: The water pump seized and the water pump shaft broke. The water pump pulley, now unattached to the pump but still driven by the timing belt, pressed against the plastic timing belt cover through which it neatly wore a hole and protruded outward from. (It was not an idler pulley that was forced out through the timing belt cover.) The car overheated and blew out most of the anti freeze, overflowing the overflow container onto the ground.

Lessen learned: Although the timing belt was replaced at 55,869 miles, the water pump was not. I understand that it is advisable on vehicles with timing belt driven water pumps to replace the water pump when replacing the timing belt. (Along with all idler and tensioning pulleys and even camshaft & crankshaft oil seals.) Doing so would have prevented this incident.

George S.

Reply to
George S.

Ow! Hate to hear that, George.

I've championed the idea of changing water pumps with the timing belts for all cars that have a timing-belt driven pump, ever since I read a similar post in a Volvo group. What a heartbreaker. Some people are just as adamant about not changing the pump until it fails (even though in many engines it means all the labor of changing the timing belt anyway), and what can I say?

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

I once 'cheaped out' and my oldest daughter's Toyota ate a 4K miles old timing belt. The idler/tensioner bearing seized and burnt through the belt. I say change every rotating part (except of course crank and cams) when you change the belt.

Carl

Reply to
Carl 1 Lucky Texan

wow I did not realize anyone was driving water pumps this way. I would much rather have an electric water pump! It should be external to the block too.

Reply to
Clamstrippe Fecadunker

Thanks for the warning. I was never really sure how important it is to change the tensioner(s) because it is a slick surface on the smooth part of the belt. A lot of people say it's no big deal, but anything that affects the timing belt gives me the willies so I change them out for moderately priced peace of mind. Of course, a lot of people say changing the water pump is a waste of money, too. Amazingly, I occasionally see people offering "good, used" water pumps cheap. Oh, the humanity....

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

Yes - it is very common. I have known two people who had timing belt failures before the first scheduled timing belt change (and just after the standard new car warranty ran out!) on Ford Escorts because the water pump siezed. Very sad indeed, since both were still making payments on the cars.

For years water pumps were driven by V-belts, then by serpentines. I think the attraction of timing belt driven pumps is that the pump is guaranteed to turn whenever the engine is turning, which is almost as important as the oil pump turning for modern engines. The shaft can be kept short because the timing belt is always right nearby, which means less side-load problems for the shaft. The timing belt tension is also fairly controlled, which gives better control of the side-load. The pumps are set into the block because the coolant flow can be maximized and the number of places it can leak are minimized - those short hoses that used to connect water pumps never got changed if the far end was less accessible than the pump end.

Still, I agree it is something that waits to bite the unwary mighty hard.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

Well, it's a risk. But I was halfway to a function we had paid money to attend, out of town, with my middle daughter in the car when it happened. Just barely able to coast off the highway. had to get a tow, rent a car, find a mechanic, blah-blah. Never again.

Carl

Reply to
Carl 1 Lucky Texan

I did a quick Google and found this thread, "Cars That Failed To Reach

125,000 miles" on Edmunds. One post, which listed a long sad litany of US makes, included: "1982 Ford Escort hatchback. Baby blue. 62000 miles Water pump seized , which ripped the teeth off the timing belt which crashed the valves into the pistons... you get the idea."

Don't misunderstand - this is by no means unique to Ford engines. I just have encountered that more than I have similar problems with other engines.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

I understand. Our '85 Volvo has a non-interference engine, and some people who have the same vintage take the stance that they can just wait until the belt fails rather than change it early to prevent failure. My view is that when we are in our car with the engine running we want to go somewhere, and if we just let things like that go sooner or later we are guaranteed to at least be late to wherever we are going. Add towing, having to fix it without a schedule, taxi, rental, all the hassles of this happening on the road, and it doesn't look attractive to me.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

For what it's worth:

When our dealer changes the timing belt and water pump, he also changes the front crankshaft seal. The cost is almost zero compared to the time required to do the seal at a later date.

And after five Subarus, every bloody water pump that came out with a timing belt was starting to leak from the seal drain. Which means that every bloody water pump was about to eat it's bearings, and that never works to our advantage ;-(

Reply to
Brian W. Gamble

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