Timing Belt Teeth

This one is truly an automotive puzzler. Not a quasi-automotive puzzler, or a slightly automotive puzzler. A real, honest automotive puzzler.

Years ago we had a fellow come into the shop with a Mazda. One of those really little ones. It was a Mazda 323 I think, way back in the '90s.

The car had about 80,000 miles on it and it had a broken timing belt. If you're not familiar with a timing belt, it is a rubber belt that is flat and it has teeth on one side. The teeth wrap about sprockets and they go around the camshaft and the crankshaft and when they get old, they get weak and fall right off. All the teeth had been stripped on this guy's Mazda.

And we figured this was about the time that it would need a new timing belt anyway. So we put a new timing belt on. Then the guy tells us that he had just replaced the timing belt about 6 months before this. We thought this was strange, but you never know about the work that was done at another shop. Maybe they put it on wrong or something. So he left with a new timing belt. Then, about a week later, he comes back again. He needed a timing belt again. And again, the teeth had been sheared right off.

We were all standing around scratching our heads... So, we went ahead and replaced the timing belt again, assuming that the part must have been defective because we never make mistakes... Right? LOL...

So, we are extra careful when we put on the new timing belt. We check the tension multiple times. The installation is perfect.

Sure enough, a week later the guy comes back. The timing belt broke again. We couldn't believe it. The whole shop was moaning and groaning, just can't believe it. We are about to put on the 5th or 6th timing belt when one of the guys decides to take off the valve cover and take a look inside. He thought that maybe one of the valves was getting stuck, and maybe that was causing the breakage of the timing belt. So he checked it all out and nothing was wrong with any of the valves. However, while he had the valve cover off he noticed something that had to be fixed. He was able to solve the problem by removing a part. He took something out and said, "I guarantee you that this won't break anymore."

So the puzzler is, what did he do? What did he find in there that ended up fixing the problem once he pulled it out?

Good luck with this very, very automotive puzzler!

Answer the Puzzler »

Remember last week's puzzler?

Puzzler for the Masses

Time for the newest, slightly automotive puzzler.

I stole this one from a listener. I adapted it, actually. A listener wrote in with this many years ago. So, it just seems like it is time to bring it back.

We got this letter from a fan. It said, "As one of your longtime listeners, I can honestly say that I have never been able to solve even one of your puzzlers. Although I'm not proud of this accomplishment or lack thereof, I am certain I am not alone. Undoubtedly, there are others like me who would like to wear a Car Talk baseball cap but have been denied the opportunity because of the requirements of having to solve one of your difficult puzzles. On behalf of the many other listeners like me, I'd like to ask that you present a puzzler for stupid people so that we too, can experience the thrill of victory."

So, that is what we have today. A not difficult puzzler. A puzzler for the masses, you could say. Here it is.

Many years ago, we all used to go to drive-in movie theaters. Many of you remember that. They don't have them anymore these days. Anyway, you had to wait until the sun went down, until dark, and then you could go drive in and park and watch a movie at the drive-in.

So, when you get there and it is getting dark, you have to get your popcorn and your soda. Get all the things for your movie. And while it's getting dark and we are preparing for the movie, something began to happen, which was about to threaten the show. In other words, something was happening that was going to prevent us from seeing the movie.

We all sat in the car saying, "Ah, shucks, we're gonna have to leave. What a disappointment."

Then all of a sudden, the manager of the drive-in comes over the PA system and says, "May I have your attention, please? Could everyone please start his or her engine?"

So the question is, what was happening and why did starting all our engines prevent it from happening and allow us to see the movie?

Good luck!