MX5Ireland

my timing belt broke last Sunday and after reading both here and on other sites that its a non interference engine I bought a timing belt kit and gave it to a local mechanic to fit but it still wont start.Is there ANY chance the timing belt damages the engine.
Its a 95 eunos R Ltd 1.8
ps
had the rocker cover head done 2 weeks ago and we had to return the 1.8 head for a 1.6 as the former would'nt fit.? my mechanic is not familiar with mx5's and I might as well be looking up a bulls arse as looking at an engine.

PPs hi everyone,excellent site

Hi Paddy,

You are correct, it is an non-interference engine (have snapped a timing belt myself in the past). Without seeing the car its hard to know what the issue might be but I'd get him to check the timing marks are lining up correctly, the camshaft pulleys are lined up with the marks and there are 19 teeth on the belt visible between the tops of the camshaft pulleys. If they are correct just start trouble shooting the usuals (the car has spark, fuel and the airflow meter is connected and working).

Heres a v.detailed how-to worth printing off for your mechanic :
http://www.miata.net/garage/timingbelt.html

Let us know how you get on.

Before this expert costs you a whole pile of money, take the car off him and bring it somebody who is a proper mechanic i.e one who has access to engine data. They are an easy engine to work on and should start first time.

thanks guys,I was busy getting our mazda tribute back on the road.But thats great to know.will probably take it off the road for a few months to sort some cash to get it back running(we have been using it as our daily driver)but hopefully now it should'nt be to expensive.