I was headed home two nights ago and right before my exit I could hear what sounded like the timing chain rotating and hitting the top chain guide and my temp gauge immediately went to hot. Luckily, I was able to limp it home since I was limited to only 2k rpms but now I'm worried about possible engine damage. Could it be possible that I sheared off teeth on either the crankshaft sprocket and/or water pump? If so, would it be worth repairing or should I just invest in another engine? Engine has never been opened and has 195k on it.

 

If the sprockets slipped/ chain broke the engine would not run at all. How does the engine idle? If jerky or rough then it is possible timing slipped. Either way, unless you crack open the front end there is no telling what is going on in there.

IMO, with 10-years and almost 200k miles on the clock, I would just replace the engine with a low mileage used unit and get back on the road.

 

Engine cranks but doesn’t start.

 

Then more than likely there is potentially catastrophic damage to the timing assembly.

As stated above, I'd just replace it. I wouldn't throw a whole new timing assembly (and whatever else once you crack it open) into that engine when there are tons of low mileage VQ's out there. But, again, that's just me.

Good luck and please keep us updated whichever direction you take.

 

So I attempted to start my car again and it fired up with a slight hesitation but it idled like nothing was wrong but I could still hear the timing chain rattle around so I hope it’s salvageable. I’m gonna disassemble the timing cover and look because I’m curious. I’ll keep you guys updated.

 

If the engine is running and idling normally then likely she's still in time- which is a good sign.

Definitely curious to see what the gremlin is in this case. A failed tensioner would be extremely rare especially for these engines but anything is possible.

Staying tuned....

 

Finally got time to work on my car and took off the oil drain bolt. The oil was very watery at first then it thickened up. It wasn’t milky and I didn’t have white smoke coming out the back but it is definitely a sign of a blown head gasket. At this point, it would just be better to replace the engine but I still wanna know why it failed and why I have timing chain rattle.