Good morning. This is my first post on this forum. This concerns a car in Virginia. I need some help with my daughter's 1996 Mitsubishi Galant.
She broke down on Interstate 64. Car overheated and she pulled over to the side of the road. As we were visiting her she calls me and tells me the symptoms. I pick up antifreeze, belts and hoses and get to the car. The alternator/waterpump belt is gone. The radiator shoots water out of the cap.
I replace the alternator belt, fill the radiator with 1/2 gal of antifreeze and a pint and a half of water. The oil is a little low so I add a quart. Battery terminals are corroded, so I clean them off and reinstall the cables.There doesn't seem to be any contaminents in the oil.
Try to start the car and all I got was it trying to turn over, but it wouldn't start. What seemed odd was that neither one of the pullies on the engine was moving.
Right now the car is at a shop in Charlottesville awaiting diagnosis. Cursory possibility was a blown head gasket. Looking for any ideas.
Thanks.
Ron Thompson

Probably a Timing belt failure. Not better than the head gasket. In either case you need a valve job. These are intereference engines.
Sorry!

Appreciate the reply. Any other symptoms to a timing belt failure? I thought it strange that none of the pullies were moving as the engine cranked. Though I'm not really familiar with the car.
Ron

May i add to this 95molavi....


The timing belt in the galant Turns the Crankshaft and also the Cam Shafts. The cam shafts open at (timed intervals) to let in air and fuel (intake) and then exhaust.

The belts on the water pump and power steering should be inter connect in some way to the crankshaft.
It is strange that they didn't turn ..however with a rupture tiing belt you'd hear the engne spinning extremely (free) and you'll get no compression what's so ever.

I am subject to correction on that last one.

But suffice to say the oler mitus ate valves when we unknowingly cranked on a torn timing belt. I bent 10 of my 12 valves with my CA1A mirage down here already.

Hope this helps.

Also another symptom if you are runing the car and you start to back fire for no reason at all and the ignition and battery comes on you're screwed.