The following appeared in today's Sydney Daily Telegraph - Cars Guide - Ask Smithy with Graham Smith. The following question was asked that may interest others.

Matter of Timing

Q. Can you tell me if the Mitsubishi Magna 3.5 litre V6 is a free-spinning design, or is it goodnight to the engine if you break a timing belt?

A. WE ASKED Mitsubishi and received this response. With larger bores (90-plus mm), compression ratios around the 9:1 mark and large diameter valves, it is virtually impossible to design an engine that does not have valve/piston contact when a cam belt fails. The level of contact is dependent on the position in which the cam stops. The answer is that it's probably goodnight engine if the belt breaks.

Thanks for the info.

It is common knowledge that our engines use an interference head and when the belt goes pistons and valves generally become friends.

this is the case with most engines today.. the early subarus however had non-interference heads up until the 2nd generation of the liberty...

yeah i remember dads old subaru wagon, they wanted some outragous price to change the timing belt, and quite frequently, so he just drive it till it snapped, no biggy, didnt break anything

yeah i remember dads old subaru wagon, they wanted some outragous price to change the timing belt, and quite frequently, so he just drive it till it snapped, no biggy, didnt break anything

Why'd they stop making them like that then? Engines get too complex?

well i remeber it wasnt a very good engine, as it had no power.
mabey modern more powerfull engines, are running higher compression (therefore closer to the heads), and having larger valves with larger openings?
this could result in a piston hitting a valve, if timing is out.
but im just taking a wild guess here

It is common knowledge that our engines use an interference head and when the belt goes pistons and valves generally become friends.

Found that out the hard way 6 months ago :cry: And they aren't good friends either... they bash each other.

Regards, Tony

Found that out the hard way 6 months ago :cry: And they aren't good friends either... they bash each other.

Regards, Tony

Hi Tony

Can you give us details, like how many K's on the belt before it gave out - extent of the damage - repair costs - any warning signs ?

Cheers