Drove My 98 Frontier 4X4 home and was running fine...went to start it and it seemed to studder when I turned it over and now just spins like no compression on any cylinder...pulled valve cover and both timing chains apper to be tight and in time..no excess wear on upper guides...what could be the problem
The symptoms tell you that the cams are not being turned at all--folks that lose a timing belt know the feeling when the belt breaks. Watch the cams while someone turns the starter--you may have sheared a key in the crankshaft sprocket so that the cams don't move, but the chains are tight. Hopefully, the engine is a 'non-interference' design so that you won't have to deal with bent valves or 'punched through' pistons. That will be a major repair if so. It might be cheaper to replace the engine with one from a wrecking yard if it is an interference design. Hope this helps!
Answers & Comments
The symptoms tell you that the cams are not being turned at all--folks that lose a timing belt know the feeling when the belt breaks. Watch the cams while someone turns the starter--you may have sheared a key in the crankshaft sprocket so that the cams don't move, but the chains are tight. Hopefully, the engine is a 'non-interference' design so that you won't have to deal with bent valves or 'punched through' pistons. That will be a major repair if so. It might be cheaper to replace the engine with one from a wrecking yard if it is an interference design. Hope this helps!