My 01 Xterra has been a reliable wonderful vehicle for me, thus when it died Friday night and left me stranded I was stunned. I had pulled into a parking stall to drop a kid off and while sitting there it died. Tried to start and it would crank but not turn over.

Inevitably I had it towed to a shop and the initial response was distributor but apparently it was a faulty code and it is a broken timing belt. They explained that since it's an interference engine this could mean bent valves. As it was not even moving when it died is it possible it may be ok? I really can't afford to replace the engine right now. Keep in mind-I am not mechanically inclined at all, so please, keep any explanations in simple terms for my sake. Thanks.

Sorry, but the absolute best case is that the engine is fine, but you still are going to have to pay around $700 to have the timing belt installed.

Thanks...I can manage the belt replacement- an engine replacement means I`d have to put her to rest :-( . I just keep hearing horror stories about belts going and engines being toast after.

you weren't moving so from all the stories i have read with them breaking you maybe ok. See if your flying down the road its pretty much a guarantee that ya will need a new motor.This is what seems to be the general consensus of breaking timing belts.

Just curious, how many miles?

It`s got about 220kilometres on it. The original owner had replaced the belt at 175 about 4 months before I bought it. Thanks for the words of hope Echo_Nine. I truly love that vehicle. For a single parent of two kids and a variety of critters it has safely gotten me through mud, ice and snow and has always looked cool enough to pull up in front of a high school with. Up till this aside from a headlight switch, I`ve never had an issue.

Assuming you mean 220,000 kilometers and not 220, that would be about 137,000 miles.

You sure the original owner changed the timing belt? Maybe they just changed the serpentine belt or something.

you weren't moving so from all the stories i have read with them breaking you maybe ok. See if your flying down the road its pretty much a guarantee that ya will need a new motor.This is what seems to be the general consensus of breaking timing belts.

the engine is spinning regardless, doesn't much matter if the truck is in motion

needs a water pump change also. a new belt wouldnt have snapped. Sorry about your luck. Highly likely you will need to have the valves replaced. FYI im on my 3rd belt and WP and have 220,000 miles on my engine and its still running. Alot of life left in the engine if you want to get it fixed

:):):)

Yay! they changed the belt out and it runs! There appears to be no valve damage.

As far as the water pump goes...is that a cause of belt issues

I`d rather get her home and have that dealt with by my normal mechanic rather than the only shop I could get it towed to when it died.

The water pump is behind the timing belt (you have to take the Tbelt off to get to the water pump), so it's almost always done at the same time. It's just replaced because it's much more convenient to do when doing the timing belt than when you break down. Except in your case, when you should replace it because you're already broken down and the mechanic's in there.

And thus my horrific fear of taking it to a shop where I don't personally know the mechanic. That's something you would think they would have mentioned rather than suggesting a tune up.

Thank you all so much for the wisdom!