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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Storminator" data-source="post: 2739941" data-attributes="member: 305">As fuel & air enters the cylinders and exhaust is expelled, the valves open and close. Simultaneously, the pistons compress the fuel/air. If the pistons hit the valves, you'll need to replace them all, at huge expense (they are all internal to the engine, which means tearing it apart). The timing belt (or chain) coordinates the mechanisms so none of the moving parts hit each other. So if the timing belt goes when the engine is revving high, everything must be replaced. Sometimes you can hear it start to go. If you get a little extra chatter under the hood on hard acceleration (often called "valve clatter") you might want to get the timing belt looked at.I have a Mazda MPV, and no matter what happens to it, it's a thousand dollars to fix. Two things break? Two thousand dollars. My Geo Metro is dirt cheap to fix. Just the way of things.I usually put it on a card or cut a check.Used to suck when I was young and poor tho.PS</blockquote>