1996 Mercury Villager

The cam is what opens and closes the valves. I have two concerns. First, what caused the cam to break and was other damage done.

I need to try and explaine something. This is the only belt driven engine from Ford that is a "interfearance engine." What that means is this. If the timing belt breaks, when the pistons come up, there is no clearance between them and the valves. If the belt breaks, the valves can remain open and get bent when hit by the piston. If the belt is good, the valves close before the piston comes up. So my question is did the cam break first or did the belt strip and cause the damage to the cam and internal damage that he can't see yet.

Ask him about that so you have a better understanding as to what the final bill may end up being.

Let me know if you have other questions.
Joe