Timing Belt

If she has the 2.4L 4 cylender, it is a non-interferance engine. Basically, that means the head doesn't need to be touched. If the mechanic has any experience, he can tell by cranking the engine if the belt has broken. So, I can give him that. The belt cost around 40.00 and according to my book, it calls for 3.6 hours labor X their labor rate. (NOTE: An timing belt from Chrysler us 100.00 I'm sure you can get one from a parts store for much less.) I just looked one up for a price, 43.99 at a nationally recognized parts store. As far as the mileage, check the owner's manual. I would think replacement is aroung 100K

Remember, if you have the 2.4L, and I believe you do, tell the mechanic 2.4L Chrysler engines have valve relief notches in the head, so a failed timing belt shouldn't result in piston or valve damage. That should shut them up. I would take it to a different shop if it was mine.

Let me know what they say and how you make out with this issue.

Joe

Hello Joe,
I seem to be having the same issue. all crank, no start. I put a spark testing on one plug and cranked it, no sparks. A mechanic told me the timing belt is broken over the phone. Would a broken timing belt on the 2.4L engine cause the sparks to be disabled? or should if buy a ignition coil, crank sensor and keep troubleshooting?
Thanks
Harv

driving down road engine light came on,then car shut off.

Will the vehicle start and run, now? If not does it crank ok? When it died, did it cough and sputter or did just drop dead completely, all at once?

2005 dodge stratus replacing timing belt 2.4 L..is there any way to lock the cams in place while installing belt?

There's no tool like you might find for some GM engines. The easiest thing to do, as long as the old belt isn't broken, is to set the crankshaft sprocket at top dead center and leave it there. Valve spring pressure might cause the cams to turn when you loosen the belt, but when the opening valves hit the pistons, the cams will stop rotating without causing valve damage. Turning the crank is what will damage the valves, and since you're starting with it already at TDC, nothing will happen. When you turn the cams to line up the timing marks, you'll be moving the valves away from the pistons, not into them.

Belt broke at speed,is this an interference engine or not? I've heard it both ways.

The older single cam 2.4 was an interference engine. I don't know about a 2005, if they changed the design or not, and I've never really heard anything about the double cam engines.

Once the new belt is installed, run a compression test to check the valves. Another test is a cylinder leakage test. I can describe that if you've never heard of it. The compression test will tell you if there is leakage. The cylinder leakage test will let you determine where the leakage is occurring.

I have both a compression tester and a leakdown tester, thanks for your time.

I need to find out what the real timing marks are on the dual over head cams and the crankshaft timing marks.

what is the 8th digit of your VIN?

the letter you need is a x

thank you for your help.

I need to know how to set the timing belt on this car.

Hi there, Engine timing belt set up as per pic. Mark (mhpautos)

How to line up camshaft to install timming belt

There's a whole page of instructions and warnings. Unfortunately I can't copy and paste them. For a job like this you should consider getting a copy of the manufacturer's service manual. They're pretty easy to find on eBay.

I am in the process of aligning the camshafts to install a new timing belt, but I cannot get the rear camshaft (number one cylinder) timing mark to align properly. When I turn the camshaft, to pops by the mark and is about nine teeth off (see arrow in attached image).

Any suggestions?

you may have not backed off auto tension-er and pinned in place. see instructions and recheck your work to it.

Thanks for the information, but the timing belt has been removed. I wanted to set timing before I put the new belt back on.

once you get cam in place you may need to lock it down so it does not move. also, this is an interference engine so do not turn engine over while belt off. See special tool picture.

i need to know how to correctly time my timing belt

Go to the BELT ROUTING GUIDES site on this page. Put in your vehicle info, and it will provide a routing diagram and timing marks.

Recently purchased 2003 Status sxt.
Mechanics have stated timing belt replacement recomended at 80k or such.
Odometer reads 116k.
Is there any way to tell if or when the timng belt was or has been replaced??
No records available to check..
Runs just fine at the present time??

Would be necessary to remove plastic covers to inspect the belt. Look for signs of dry rot, numerous hairline cracks, or partially missing teeth. If you see any of those, you can justify replacement. If the belt looks shiny and new, or has visible writing on the smooth side that doesn't say "Mopar", the belt PROBABLY was already replaced once.

caradiodoc

I replaced the water pump and timing belt but the car will not start now.

Obviously, something was done wrong, probably in the timing. Double check any sensors or wiring that you unplugged. It's also very easy to bend the valves in that engine when doing a timing belt.if the engine is rotated incorrectly.

Engine Mechanical problem
2003 Dodge Stratus 6 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic

I have set the timing using the repair manual. After I bar the engine over the timing marks on the chain move forword, but the crank and cam position appear to be in the correct set positions.

Is this normal?

If you mean that the bright/painted links on the chain dont line up after turning the engine over, but the actual cam/crank marks do, yes it is normal.The distance between the crank and cams is different side to side (tensioner vs. guide sides) so the chain has a differnet amount of links on each side.If you turned it enough it would all line back up again.As long as the cam,crank correlation is correct you should be fine

Can you move the cams only if you need to set the cam timing I know they have dots on both cams and both sides left and right will be the same when right twelve links at ninety degrees if I have to rotate them will they hit the pistons. And also is it timed on the exhaust stroke top dead center. Thank you.

You do not have to worry about which stroke because every cylinder will be on a different stroke. You only have to worry about the marks on the crank and cam sprockets. That will be at the end of the compression stroke for cylinder number one.

To avoid hitting the valves, rotate the crankshaft backward about an eighth revolution from top dead center. That way no piston will be all the way up. Rotate the cams to line up their marks, then rotate the crank in the normal direction to top dead center.

Even if you rotate the cams with the crank at top dead center, you will not damage a valve if it hits a piston if you are turning things by hand. It is when a cam sprocket is off by three or more teeth, and you are cranking the engine with the starter that you will bend valves.

When you have the gold links on the chain lined up with the mark on the oil pump housing and the mark on the crank and the the gold link, and on the right bank the single gold one lined up with the round circle , and the left lined up with the arrow in between the two gold ones. Is that when on the cams you suppose to see the timing marks the dots and the 12 pins with the piston at TDC on the exhaust stroke?

see pictures for diagram left hand side must be done first then force oil from tensioner and lube chain with engine oil prior to install. also either rent a manual from here or buy one so you do not install it wrong it is a lengthy process.

While changing the water pump, I lined up the timing chain marks, removed left cam sprocket, left timing chain attached to the sprocket and just lowered down in the head to give the chain some slack. Removed most of the guides. Removed chain form right sprocket & crank sprocket. changed water pump, put everything back together. Realized that I had the wrong marks lined up. Rotated crank till I saw the correct marks. All arrow in correct position however marks on chain are off about 6 teeth. Did I accidently change the timing of the engine?

Of course the timing has changed. Even one tooth off on any sprocket will cause severe running problems. Depending on which engine you have, at one tooth off the engine will run, poorly, and the Check Engine light will turn on. A fault code will be set in memory related to "cam and crank synch". At two teeth off, the Engine Computer will shut the engine down to protect it. At three teeth off, the pistons will hit the open valves and bend them. If you tried to rotate the crankshaft by hand, you should feel the interference but you won't bend the valves by hand. Cranking the engine with the starter is when the valves will be bent. After that you'll hear the engine spin very freely due to lack of compression.

looking for the timing belt marks

there is a mark on the cam shaft and the crank shaft, it is either a punch mark or a little dash line the two up.

will replacing the belt after it has broken fix the problem or will the heads have to be reworked?

well there is a very good chance that you bent a couple of valves and possibly damaged a piston or two when the belt snapped. so you will need to do a compression test also. that will give you a good idea if you need to replace some valves. of course set the timing with the new timing belt first, otherwise you'll do more damage.