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1.8L SOHC engine (4G37) interference or non-interference

12K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  1.8turboeclipse 
#1 ·
Hey guys I have a 1990 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS the 1.8L SOHC (4G37) engine and the timing belt broke while on the highway so the car came to a halt and I had to tow it home.

That was 3 months ago, I have never gotten around to buying a new belt because I didn't know whether it was an interference engine or not and if it is would the valves have gotten bent.

I posted at dsmsource and many users say it's a non-interference, but autozone, gates, and advance auto has replacement oem timing belt under a interference application.

I haven't been able to open the head and the block up so see if the valves have gotten bent or not.

I called the dealership and they didn't know (i wasn't surprised), I called 4 mechanics 2 have said that it was a non-interference, and 2 have said that my eclipse has no hope unless i either swap the engine or rebuild the engine and the heads and the valves.

So yea I am more confused then ever.

The dealership parts number was MD140228 which at autozone and advance auto had cross-referenced it to a Interference engine application so yea.

Am I fucked or not?

A bad thing is that the person on ebay bought it from me and he wanted me to do the repairs and he'll pay extra to me and we are both assuming it's a non-interference due to majority vote but can someone please tell me that real truth even if it's bad news.
 
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#2 ·
Non-interference. And for future reference, you could have done a compression test. 0's on any cylinder, bent valves. Trust me, you're gas sipping baby is still alive. Go throw on a new t-belt and you'll be good to go.
 
#3 ·
Non-interference as kronus stated. I had the timing belt go on my original 4G37 and thought it was finished too. I asked around and found out I was good to go. I also had autozone tell me it was an interference engine, but I've had autozone tell me lots of funny stuff.
 
#4 ·
xuberantz said:
Non-interference as kronus stated. I had the timing belt go on my original 4G37 and thought it was finished too. I asked around and found out I was good to go. I also had autozone tell me it was an interference engine, but I've had autozone tell me lots of funny stuff.
Exactly. I don't trust any one from a parts store, or even the stealership, for parts advice. All I trust them with is putting my money into the drawer and giving me the part I ask for. And even then, they still get it wrong sometimes. If you want really knowledge, places like dsmtalk are where you get it.:banana:
 
#7 · (Edited)
Don't listen to him! Goodness. Have we not told you that it's non interference? I've cranked my engine over with the timing belt off. And does it still run? YES. Just go grab another timing belt and put her back on the road.
 
#12 ·
Whether or not you haven't figured it out yet, those little 1.8's that all the turbo guys love to bash on are the engines that are the most reliable. You just cant go and throw on a timing belt on a '63 like you can with a '37. Those little guys love us, and we love them because we can laugh when we snap a belt and then just throw another one on and go on along our way. :p Thats some lovin.:banana:
 
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