still.monkey

I should add that it didn't have the splash guard under the engine compartment. The chances of something getting thrown into where the timing belt is seems high. There are a lot of things missing with this truck when I got it. It only had half of a dipstick, half of the vacuum lines were missing, no armrest, no stereo, no brakes(they weren't actually missing but it freaked me out how bad they were and that I drove it back from Denver) . But it was only $750. I was planning to just get the new timing belt back on and do the compression test and then decide whether I need to pull the heads or not. Will post pics, if there is anything worth seeing. I'm also curious about peoples opinions that timing belt covers are optional and why? I've always thought that they were essential because they protect a belt that if it brakes or slips can do serious engine damage, so why wouldn't you want to protect this belt at all costs? I feel like a tard for running the engine on the road without half of the cover.

I have a 89 XE with 270k on the truck and roughly 120k on the engine. I have had the truck for two months now and have gotten to drive it about 7 times. Got the truck and immediately did brakes, CV joint, vacuum lines, oil change, fuel filter, plugs wires, dash volt regulator(thank you to whoever posted that info). Then did belts, timing belt, water pump, heater hoses, gear oils, thermostat, bypass... and after this session of maintenance I was backing out of my garage and didn't realize the passenger door wasn't closed. It swung open caught on a wooden table and made a god awful metal on metal noise, and now doesn't close right. It still closes, but it isn't able to latch and stay closed, the door doesn't appear to be out of alignment more then a bit, but when it was driving it had to be secured with a rope to keep it from swinging open in traffic. I have no experience with body work of any kind so I would love some advice on how to fix this problem. Now for the most serious problem. The engine was replaced 10,000 miles before I got it, and had no maintenance records with it, which is why I did all of the above as soon as I could. Well I got into the timing belt, and it only had the top half of the timing belt cover. I immediately ordered a replacement cover but put everything back together so I could drive it, not planning to drive it around town more then a few days a week. A week after this my friend's car broke down and I let him borrow the Pathfinder and completely forgot about the timing belt cover still being off... After two days of driving it 200+ miles round trip to work, the timing belt had torn itself in half lengthwise while driving on the highway and stopped the engine. Obviously it had slipped multiple teeth(the old timing belt was off a tooth when I replaced it). What I'm wondering is how likely is it that I will need to pull the head to replace those internal components? And how much of a pain in the ass would it be?