Someone has donated a 96 Diamante LS to me that has a busted timing belt. I took the car to my trusty mechanic and as he was researching information about the car he came accross a helpful tidbit of information. Apparently when the timing belt breaks, as it has a tendency to do, the valves tend to bend. This is a common but not certain occurence. He has checked the front valves and not seen any problems; however, he would need to put the timing belt on to know for sure that they are okay. He has offered to replace the belt for $350 and if all goes well, the valves that he has checked and the valves in the back which he has hasn't will all be fine and I'll have a nice car. If the valves are bent then it would cost upwards of two thousand dollars to replace the whole engine because the valves may not be replaced separately. So, I am faced with a dilemma. Do I gamble and put $350 into the car and hope everything comes out okay, or do I find something else to do with the car? If I am to find something else to do with it, what would that be? My mechanic and I could not come up with any profitable ideas. I would appreciate any helpful advice. Thanks.

 

Gamble! lol

 

I guess my next question would be what I would do with the car if I did replace the timing belt to find out that a valve or two were bent? Any help with this question would be appreciated as well.

 

Remove the timing belt, remove the head, replace the bent valves and put it all back together.

You dont have to get a brand new engine. Not a 2k job. 350 for a t-belt change is a little steep too. I had a guy that used to do it for 180.

Usually if one entire side is ok... then the ones on the other side should be too.

 

I gotta go along with Sebba. Even though this is an interference engine, since your "mechanic" didn't find anything wrong with the valves in the front head, the back head's valves are probably okay too. You could probably get a stealership to put a belt on for about the same price, but for a free car, you should go ahead and spend the cash to check it out. Even if it's screwed up, you've only spent $350. And as mentioned, the valves are replaceable. Somebody's trying to screw you into buying a new engine. Find another mechanic.