Right, scenario...

 

Driving along. Zed feels a bit sluggish, but I didn't think too much about it. :slap: About 10 mins later looked down at the temp gauge and it's off the scale! Immediately backed off but had to keep going until the next inhabitted area. Wound down the window and could hear an intermittent screeching sound coming from the engine; not revving above 3000rpm :( .

 

Found a place to pull in, killed the engine and got out. Popped the bonnet, and there's smoke aplenty, looks like it's mainly coming from around the belts :cry: .

 

Rad cap was loose and it looked like coolant had sprayed out everywhere- lots of water around the area, but obviously none in the system.

 

Now I've filled back up with coolant and made sure the rad cap's on tight, and it's been fine- temp gauge get's to mid-range then stops and doesn't move, as it's always been before.

 

My concern is have I cooked my timing belt?

 

Do I need to get it checked out before driving my Zed again at all, or can the belts take a certain amount of abuse?

 

Yours anxiously,

 

Mark

if it were me i would definately get the belts checked out, for what it costs to replace its just not worth the risk of totally killing your engine, ive had mine near the top of the scale but never off it , and i would be paranoid about doing any more damage.

Was it smoke or steam comming from your engine around the belts?

No you wouldn't have cooked your timing belt, and I doubt if you would have damaged your auxillary belts, but be very careful over the next few hundred miles. Keep and eye on your coolant levels after every trip and the other eye on the temp gauge.

TBH I couldn't tell if it was smoke or steam- I guess it could have been steam but it just looked more like smoke to me! (Ameteurs eh? :slap: )

 

Topless- I'll do the chameleon thing with my eyes! :D

Ok- sorry to resurrect this thread but I was away for a week, and I've never cooked an engine before and basically I'm trying to work out if the car's fine, or whether I shouldn't drive it until I've got it checked out... (either way, once I'm driving it again I'll keep an eye on temp and check coolant levels daily)

 

So... I guess the real question is *if* the engine overheats, is there a risk of damage to the timing belt? :confused:

 

The screeching I heard- would that have been the auxilliary belt slipping, or would it have been something else, like the sides of the timing belt rubbing on something? (But if the timing belt has deformed that much, would the timing itself get screwed up too? Coz the engine ran fine on the way home)

 

Feel free to ignore this if they're amateur questions! If no-one replies I'll get it checked out by an expert anyway... :)

The auxiliary belts do screech if they are wet - doubt its anything to do with the timing belt

and you should drive it and check the water - its the only way to be sure. Mine has a coolant leak from a water pipe at the back of the engine - needs the plenum by pass I hear - but I'm driving it and keeping an eye on it. Doesnt lose that much water -yet!

Mark when an engines been overheated the timing belts usually least of your worries. Usually piston pick up fecked head gasket etc occurs. As Willie points out the screech is unlikely to have been the timing belt, probably due to the steam round the engine its been an auxiliary belt got wet and started to slip.

 

you say that after topping up the system the engine ran ok, i'd hazzard a guess an say youve been a lucky sod and got away with it.

 

Ive never had the pleasure of working on a Z32 engine ( yet!!!!!, still looking for my first real car :) ). but ive worked on plenty of other engines (usually a bit bigger than a Z though) and work to the principle that if it aint broke dont try and fix it, do what your doing and monitor the situation, if your loseing power, losing coolant, the oils turning grey and sludgy or if the cooling systems pressurising then yes look deeper. but if its not leave it be, sometimes when something is stripped down it just never goes back to how it should be.

 

Back to the timing belt I reckon that a change would really only be for peace of mind. that said ive been there myself, once you've got something in your head it knaws away until you end up driving the car at no more than 2000rpm. If your in this frame of mind probably then best to have someone look at the belt condition then you can get back to driving it as it should be driven.

 

Hey but you shouldnt listen to me many many moons ago i burst the belt on my pride and joy a 2.8 supra through pure lazyness ( i was at the time working as a mechanic and had all the facilities at hand to do a quick check or change) Luckily i got away with just fitting a new belt. I was too lazy or was that frightened to look for any damage to the engine. the car started and ran perfectly, I never looked back.

 

And Willie, have been lookin out for the red Z round town but havent seen it yet

OK- cheers for the helpful words chaps! :D

 

I'll continue driving but keep a very careful eye on things...

 

Tho not sure how easy it is to drive with crossed fingers, black cat under one arm and touching wood (fnaar) :rofl:

OK- cheers for the helpful words chaps! :D

 

I'll continue driving but keep a very careful eye on things...

 

Tho not sure how easy it is to drive with crossed fingers, black cat under one arm and touching wood (fnaar) :rofl:

 

It should be fine, just do as the others have said and keep an eye on the temp and water levels. I've seen a zed engine get so hot that the knock sender melted and the engine was fine.