Somebody told me that Fiat engines later than 79 are OK if the belt breaks- is that true?
Well, possibly, but only if you are lucky. The 1500cc SOHC engines and 2000cc DOHC engines were built with dished pistons that will not bend valves, but there are other issues. A lot of these engines have had rebuilds that included flat or even special Domed high-compression pistons, which will make them interference engines again. Furthurmore, on the 2000cc Twin Cams, there is a more serious issue- If the Auxiliary shaft stops in the wrong position, then the crank can come around and whack the Aux shaft (aka Jack Shaft) and the results are nasty. At best, you will come away with a (hard to find) Aux shaft that has been neatly blown in half by the much larger Crank, and at worst the impact will knock the Aux shaft and it’s housing right out the side of your Block. One way or the other, the reasons for replacing your Timing Belt before it breaks are there no matter what engine your have in your Fiat.
