Last Tuesday, I left work for home at about 4 AM. As I turned onto the highway, I felt a slight hesitation, but then the engine ran fine. The only thing I noticed was that it was louder than usual under the hood. I figured I had possibly gotten an air leak in the CTA, so I would check that out when I got home. About 20 miles or so into the trip, I pull off the highway into my subdivision. As soon as I got to the Stop sign, the CEL came on. I wasn't far from the house, so I continued on, barely feathering the gas. (In my heart of hearts, I suppose I'm ready to be out of this car, but I digress...)At every stop sign thereafter, the car would die, but would restart and I could continue on. As I pulled up to the house, I could hear a racket coming from the engine bay. I shut it down and made plans to call my mechanic first thing in the AM. The car would not start when I went out at 8 AM, so I had it towed to the mechanic's garage, about 1.5 miles away.
Turns out, the timing belt had sheered off a considerable amount, but had not snapped. Replaced the belt and tensioner for $350 (suprised at the low cost!).
I figure that it ran okay on the highway, but not in subdivision due to VCT. That is my best guess...
Since the timing belt replacement however, the car is quite sluggish (moreso than usual...this thing has always been a bit of a turd) from a stop. Any ideas?
Sorry for the long post. Just happy the engine wasn't toast! (Somewhat....I'd love to get into a Jetta or Mazda 6 right about now!)
