wally

so was mine. similar symptoms. periods of rough running, barely able to accelerate, nearly stall at idle. no codes. then it would go away for a day or three. tensioner retracted, allowing slack in belt, then it would extend. belt was in correct position, but the slack allowed the cams to be in "different" positions. eventually, snapped the belt from the slack. new tensioner seems to have made the symptoms go away (just got back from a round trip from nh to mi).

hydraulic tensioner failing?

update on likely t-b failure cause: wasn't the water pump, even though it IS original. wasn't any of the idlers, either. it appears to be the tensioner. it retracts, rather than extends, so it seems to have allowed slack in the belt, which ultimately snapped it. the belt wasn't "burned through". guess ima looking for a tensioner now.

i would guess that there's a cotter pin out there that would work. they come in lots of lengths and diameters.

all three idlers were replaced the last time, along with the tensioner. i did it. in looking through my receipts, i discovered that the water pump is the original to the car. it has 266K on it. still haven't pulled it apart.

while that might be the accepted limit, i'll push it to 370 if it lasts.

i don't know yet. when i tear into it, i'll update.

2 out of 3 isn't bad. just an inconvenience. i can deal with that for the "extra" mileage out of the belt/etc. this will be belt #4. with the regular interval, i'd be on belt #5.

95 2.2 changed idlers, tensioner, cog, seals, belt last time, about 70k miles. i've replaced the belt/etc at 100k intervals. didn't replace the water pump last time, but i will replace it now.

because today, at 266+K, i had my first timing belt failure. :-\ it was previously replaced circa 195K. haven't gotten into it to determine the cause of failure, just pried the p-side cover off to see if that was the reason for the sudden engine shutdown. it was. if it had been a 2.5, i'd be looking for a new car. now i have a project for next weekend.

"throw the gasket away" wasn't clear?

that's where i'd start looking.

the 2.2 will turn the 4.11s or lower (numerically higher) gears better than it will turn the 3.90s with the same tire/wheel combo. higher (numerically lower) gears are more difficult to turn, as the ratio is closer to 1. i need only look at my dump truck for an example. it's only a 237 ci engine (flathead). the truck weighs over 4 tons empty. but the axle gearing is around 6.7 to one and 8.25 to 1 (2 speed rear). the engine easily moves the truck along, fully loaded (over 8 tons), just slowly. plenty of "power", minimal speed, no chance of stalling. it's all about low gearing.

i wouldn't worry about it too much. i drive mine from nh to mi and back every year. only 850 miles each way, but comparable to your trip, since the return leg is done in a day. mine is also a '95 wagon, and has over 260K. i have had a few failures on the trip, too. rear brake line cracked (from rust) three years ago, and last year, the alternator failed. both were fixed and i was on my way. the reality is you can only take so many things with you. basic tool set, some fluids (oil, brake, dexron). forget the rest. visual inspection to replace anything that's obviously bad - like hoses. otherwise, hop in and drive.

not a bad total amount. however, it must be frustrating that such a large portion goes to the state. i'm glad i don't live in kalifornia.

brake pedal has to be depressed to shift the car out of park, since it is an automatic. therefore, the brakes have been applied, albeit lightly and with the car not moving at the time.

only for an auto. t/b happens in the manual trans subies too. whole 'nother animal.

i kept firm, even pressure on the pedal. car kept sliding right on through the intersection (and the red light). i got lucky that i didn't sideswipe anyone, or have the same happen to me. after discussion with my brother, who is a mechanic, i disabled the abs unit by unplugging the connector on the valve body. i've never had a problem with stopping the car since, in far worse conditions, including ice. that's good enough for me. i don't claim to be the world's greatest driver. but i do have a pretty good background and a load of experience in winter driving and non-road driving. the vehicles keep getting dumbed down with more technology so that less competent drivers can handle them in worse conditions (in theory).

you overlooked my statement. i had good winter tires, brand-new hankook snows, yet still the abs prevented the car from stopping. as soon as the abs system was disabled, the car stopped when i wanted it to. haven't had a problem since, and that was 10 years ago.

and there it is.

sorry. should have indicated "choose one of the following conclusions". i've edited it to reflect that. based on the information/descriptions, i'd choose conclusion 2. as indicated earlier, i've already disabled the abs for the exact same reason. that was 10 years ago.

you'd really consider, based on the described circumstances, that the abs system works fine and that the tires are at fault? my opinion is that you cannot come to that conclusion using logic. fact: with the existing tires, the car cannot be stopped satisfactorily or safely with the abs system operational given the described road conditions. fact: with the abs system disabled, using the same exact tires, the car can be stopped safely/satisfactorily given the described road conditions. which conclusion would be logical? conclusion 1: the tires are at fault conclusion 2: the abs system doesn't function properly for all anticipated normal road conditions, ice and snow being normal for the north and northeast.

i've had the abs disabled in my '95 for 10 years. i'm able to stop when i want to. frankly, i don't give a damn about steering when i use my brakes; i want to stop. i have ALWAYS used snow tires in the winter, and decent all-season tires the rest of the year. i've always had tires with good tread. during the first minor snow event back when i first had the car (with brand-new snow tires), i could not stop it safely with the abs. f-that. of course, many will disagree, :horse: and claim that the abs is perfectly fine. wally

it would if you "deleted" it incorrectly. the return spring on my hill-holder failed years ago, and the result was the driver's side caliper would remain partially engaged. got the rotor red hot, and wore the pad. i used a zip-tie to hold the mechansim in the off position, with no problems for at least 3 years.

those same studs/nuts on my '95 are also very rusty. but i've had them out a few times, once for the timing belt, once for the clutch, and once for the "new" transmission last year. sprayed them with pb'laster and they backed out. i think that on 4, the nuts came off, while on 2, the studs backed out. no matter, i put em back on that way.