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A reason why a timing belt failed catastrophically

Model: (Various brands) Various
Part: Timing belt

Video tutorial

In this video, you can see what happened to a 1.5 Citroen engine (but this could happen to any engine). It was a practically new car: the engine stalled while the owner was on the motorway.

He was terrified and had to return home with a recovery vehicle. The belt was completely severed, and the YouTuber shows us that he had to dismantle the entire car because this caused significant damage: the pistons were scored, and the valves were all bent.

The head gasket will need to be replaced. In short, a really considerable damage.

Fortunately, the car was under warranty, as the problem was caused by the crown of a water pump bolt that was probably not tightened properly: the crown struck the same point on the belt until it broke.


Updated on 30 August 2026 by ScegliAuto


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Watch the video!


by ScegliAuto

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