I think one of the cams on my 91 DOHC literally disintergrated

[StuntingShaggy]

So I've been having a problem with my cam chain being loose since I bought the car. It has a miniscule clanking like any loose cam chain does.However about 3 days ago I started hearing a new sound that is more like a rhythmic clanking that sounds similar to what badly misadjusted valves sound like. I didn't think much of it, but on the freeway earlier today it got really loud. It got loud to the point that I could hear it over my exhaust and open windows going 80 mph. Shortly after the noise got loud I started losing power. The car started slowing down even though I was 3/4 on the throttle. I pulled over on the shoulder and the car died. I popped the hood and I took my oil filler cap off and it was smoking. I know I have an oil loss problem so I added a quart and it freed up the engine a little bit. It ran but there's this obnoxiously loud clank that sounds like it's coming from anywhere in between my crankshaft and my valve head. The car still runs but there's a 50% loss in power and it won't idle for more than 5 seconds if I let off the throttle. It has some difficulty starting almost like i'm starting it on a battery which barely has enough juice to start a car. Any ideas on what could have taken a sh1t on me?

[s13_coupekilla]

I think it could be the timing chain or may be the compression is gone. I mean if the cams are sticking or the car needs to reset the timing. Don't take my word for it.

[rogoman]

There's a strong possibility that the timing chain may have skipped a tooth or more due to a disintegrated timing chain guide; also if the oil pressure is extremely low, the timing chain tensioner will not work correctly and can also cause the chain to skip.

It's very possible that there may be some bent valves as a result of chain failure.

Do a compression test and an oil pressure test.

[KFL]

I'll say possibly, Rod knock due to lack of oil/oil pressure= dead engine. It happens most end up shooting a rod thru the block. Search rod knockTime to find another engine or swap. compression test it though

[Florida240sx]

Timing check, compression check, and then pull valve cover to see what position cams are in...

[StuntingShaggy]

Ok i'm not exactly fimiliar with doing a timing check, how do you do one?

[rogoman]

To recheck your cam timing, first disconnect the ignition coil wire, remove all the spark plugs and remove the valve cover. Have someone tap the starter while you have your hand over the #1 spark plug hole. Once you feel compression, insure that the block timing pointer at the front pulley is pointing to the zero mark on the pulley. Remove distributor cap and insure that the rotor is pointing to #1 firing position. The #1 piston is now sitting at TDC compression stroke. Here's a picture of the cam sprockets and chain timing marks:

[initial_jc]

rogoman thanks a lot for posting that upit really helped outI need that pic

I have a question tho

if my sprockets and lobes are how they are in the pic, does it matter where the marks on the timing chain are? becuase my timing chain doesn't have any marks

thanks