So I finally go the opportunity to take my car
apart; sure enough, the timing belt had some stripped teeth, which was allowing
the crank to turn within it. Weird, cause the belt looked to be in otherwise
good condition, and the other teeth looked ok. Unfortunately, seized/eventually
stripped allen bolts on the vibration damper took a while to get off, and i
didn't have time to put on a new belt to see what kind of damage was done, and
I'll be away from home starting tomorrow morning until the end of
december. So should i just assume that my valves are bent, and get a new
engine (I'll have time to call around while I'm gone)? or should i wait till i
get back to replace the timing belt and risk finding out then, and risk being
without my car even longer? ie, how often is the 16v engine NOT damaged after
breaking a timing belt? anyone have any experience? lastly, having never done
it, how long does it take start to finish to replace an engine? sorry for the
prolonged whining on the list over the last few days, but this totally sucks and
i don't know the shortest/best path to getting my car on the road again, and i'd
like to hear from people that have been there before...
-michael
88 16v scirocco
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