I just started going home from work when suddenly I have heard some noise as if the tire got flat and it was hitting the road. Then I lost the power and even so the engine was running there was no tork. I was able to get of the road and tried to start the engine again, it was starting, ran for 4-5 secs without any power and did not respond to the gas pedal and then kept stalling. After about 10 starts, the engine stopped starting, but it was still cranking. I tried to jump start it (also it was not the battery problem) but again with no success. I can guess there is no ignition, so this could be a timing chain problem? or could there be anything else? Where should I start and go with diagnostics? This car has about 140k miles.
Thank you

 

Get a OBD reader and see if there are any diagnostic codes.

Pull off the coil pack to see if the spark plugs are still there. Hope you have a 10mm socket for the coil pack and "spark plug socket."

Make sure you're not dumping gasoline all over the place, in the off chance a fuel line got nicked.

If the engine was still running with no power/torque to the wheel, that could've been a snapped axle. I know this because I snapped mine. But this doesn't explain the inability to crank later though.

I haven't seen any mention of Fits with snapped timing chains... I would expect catastrophic failure (smashed valves on piston heads) if the chain failed. You'll need a borescope (through the spark plug opening) to see if that happened.

Depending on the noise, it's possible that a spark plug did indeed blow and the sound you heard was the pumping of air in and out of the chamber.

 

The problem was with the timing chain, it snapped and now the engine has no compression. Im going to take the intake manifold and cylinder head off and assess the damage to the valves and pistons and then decide if I should buy a new block or just replace the timing chain and fix the damage to the valves and or cylinder head

 

Wow, that's a disaster, Why do you think the timing chain let loose?

 

Most likely worn out, the engine has about 145k miles

 

took apart the engine all the way to the cylinder head. Mechanic that I took my car for diagnostics is full of shit. He claimed to check compression and removed the spark plugs to do this. Diagnosed a broken BELT!!! not chain and claimed that the engine needs to be replaced. The chain appeared to be tight and intact, no valves are damaged or bent. Upon cranking the engine we saw strong suction in intake. My pressure test kit turned out to be not a good one, still do not understand how to get their attachments tightened up in the spark plug gaps, when the fittings are loose on the hose and are spinning in one kit, while in the other the fittings are slide on like an air compressor attachments and again are loose on the hose. These kits work fine on the marine engines but are quite useless with the coil fitting holes. Will buy a kit tomorrow at NAPA and if the test shows the cylinder pressure in the spark plug gaps, will have a serious conversation with this damn mechanic about his diagnostics and $100 charge. Next test will be the fuel pump test and seems to me that this might be the cause of the whole problem.

 

Not saying that the mechanic isn't a joke but I was a marine products mechanic for 365 days (family biz that was completely crazy - not my family). It was mostly simple but old 2-stroke engines with jet pumps (river full of rocks) but my point was that sometimes we ' collectively' got it wrong. I'd still get some / all of the diagnosis $ back.

 

Looks like this guy wanted me just to do the engine block replacement, with a lot of hours of work and a lot of money to spend. I dont think he even touched the spark plugs, since there was a lot of old dust on the headcover, air intake, coils, literally all the parts he should have taken out to reach the spark plugs. And not a single trace of a human touch. The assembly bolts felt like nobody ever turned them and the timing chain (which on diagnostics they called a broken timing BELT!) Is as tight as it is supposed to come from the factory.
But on the good side, there is probably no need for a more expensive and extensive engine and head rebuild, my guess is a bad fuel pump.
Another question, since I'm already in the exhaust side of the engine and will replace the spark plugs, should I also replace the coils? And is there any way to test the coils? In 140k+ miles car coils might go bad soon?
Thanx.

 

Also, on the good side, after working on my Honda I got to my boat, Baja Islander, on which I replaced all the drivetrain and we managed to start up the engine. Couple minor fixes and this v8 started purring like a kitten. Still some work, but looks like I'm getting close to the end!

 

I'd replace coil packs with the plugs, at 145k they're closer to letting go than being new.

Sorry about the bad experience with the mechanic.

 

Thank you, will do this. Should I buy Hitachi coils or generic ones will do?

 

I wouldn't automatically change coil packs (about $100 / cyl) without an indication that they are bad. Install new plugs and run it. If you get a code on a particular cylinder, change that coil pack and if it clears the code then you know it was bad.

 

Geez... OP needs to learn the basic diagnostic procedures...
google that or watch youtube. Blind guessing and throwing parts at it is just dumb.