It's unlikely incorrect mechanical timing is going to do much damage to the 5S, it's just going to sound and run scary.
We see it a decent amount [stretched or incorrectly installed belts], I've never seen one damaged from it [Toyota non interference engines].

well , i just got from the mechanic again , he fixed it a tad bit better , still misfiring and idling roughly , but pinging only occurs when trying to accelerate hard , which i dont do much... i cant not drive the car , i have to ... i am also selling it THIS month ..

--> the mechanic said that he def. have the cams alligned and he swore that the car is running right ... ofcourse its not , now i dont know if going to another shop to fix is worth it or not , since i am selling it

the plan was to get it running perfectly so i can sell it for top $$ , but i just dont want to spend too much money for that , i can sell it priced pretty low and it will just equalize ...



or i can just do it myself , but i have this feeling that its not just the timing thats off ....

This post has been edited by NaderG: Mar 16, 2008 - 8:30 PM

Is your CEL on?

>

Negative

[quote name='NaderG' date='Mar 17, 2008 - 2:05 AM' post='654541']
[quote name='alltracman78' post='654540' date='Mar 17, 2008 - 2:01 AM']
Is your CEL on?
[/quote]

Negative , He said that if the crank/cams weren't aligned the CEL would turn on ... but i didnt belive him .

I asked around and found this guy who apparently is a toyota expert , he worked for TRD , he worked for Toyota in japan and other stuff , so i am taking my car there by thursday .. sadly i have to drive it to and from school ,which is about 5 miles ... as i said the car has pinging if i try to drive it hard ( which i dont ) or going on an uphill , the engine is still misfiring like crazy ! but not overheating , i can tell it gets hot much uicker and the fans come on more frequent when standing still

now , i know pinging/knocking/misfiring can cause engine damage , specially if i pushed the engine to around 5K rpm ( when i test drove it right after i had the belt changed) ... so to expect the worst , lest just say i toasted something in the engine , maybe damaged cylinder walls , pistons , rods ... etc .....

now i asked this before but i am still freaking out , now worst case scenario : engine is critically damage , rebuild or replacement required , how much should i expect to pay for a used 5s in decent enough shape ?? i have a couple for friends that offered to help me swap the motor if its damaged (but not the timing belt lol ) ... so what do u guys think

thanks for all those who replied , i know i keep asking the same stuff again and again so thanks for patience