Re:Bad day for my Jimny...timing belt slipped

On my way down to Swansea after the Christmas break and I pulled off the M1 to take a quick break. I head a faint noise coming from the engine bay but nothing that was of any concern when I checked under the bonnet. Drove for approximately 30 seconds (car running fine) to the Shell garage attached to the service station, paid £50 for fuel (bloody motorway markup!) and turned the car on and there was a large knocking noise!

Reversed the car back and tucked it into a car parking space just next to the pumps and took another look thinking perhaps the front fan was hitting something but it wasn't. Checked oil - all good. Temperature had been fine all day sitting in the middle. Turned the key and the car ran, but there was an occassional hesistation when I noticed the engine block jump slightly. Revved the engine gently and it didn't smooth out and just exagerated the problem - the noise got louder.

Called the RAC fearing the worst that my engine was about to bust itself open. The mechanic diagnosed it as the engine timing belt coming loose and it was slapping on the inside of the plastic cover at the front (G13B engine); he thinkgs it has skipped a little, but not enough to do any serious damage. He prised the top of the cover off and the belt tensioner was loose/busted (he couldn't quite see from the angle without all the other bits out) but the belt had a good 1 inch play on it. I think I could have actually slid it off with my fingers!

I got it on the flatbed to a garage down in Swansea. Fingers crossed the little Jim will be okay upon further inspection and that it hadn't done any major damage.

Hope it's just a new belt and tensioner then and nothing more serious.

That's good to dampen your day, when I had the defender it did that to me because of britpart components, it's not good. Hopefully you stopped using it in time.

Went into the garage today, they said that if it was still running it should not have damaged anything severely (metal crashing into metal) and they initially think it may not have skipped but that it could have been the belt slack causing some very slight incremental delay given the hiccup/hesitation most noticeable at the exhaust.

Should find out later on...

Owning a Jimny has made me very sensitive to sounds and I really feel I know when its not running as it should. Just glad I am not deaf otherwise I think it might have been a different story!

I thought G series engines where none interference
Meaning the belt can snap with no damage incurred
I could be wrong........... i am sure someone will be along to confirm either way

jackonlyjack wrote: I thought G series engines where none interference
Meaning the belt can snap with no damage incurred
I could be wrong........... i am sure someone will be along to confirm either way

If that's the case that would be great... I will look into that as I didn't realise that was a thing. I just thought when it was all out of sync it was going to end badly.