Motor has over 200k miles. Water pump took a dump. Gear is very wobbly! primary timing chain tensioner off the right bank hasn't any tension on chain at all! Crank turns but doesn't turn the chain. So motor is way out of time for sure now.Found small piece of aluminum and 2 -1/2pieces of appears to be a spring pin. Am I correct to assume these pieces are from the water pump? A new chain and water pump I can see doing on this old motor! But? Any suggestions on what to do next before I waste my money? What kind of compression reading can I get with all the plugs out and manually turning the crank? Short answers of scrap it not welcomed! I'll determine that after I'm satisfied it's truly bad! Thanks!
I also own a 2001 Intrepid and recently had a water pump go bad which also broke my timing chain. The pieces of aluminum you found are probably valves or valve springs from the head. Mine broke every vavle and spring on one head when my engine jumped time and a few more on the other head that is probably what your seeing. Also you don't want to check for compression by turning the crank manually. It is an expensive job to fix but the cars are great but I wouldn't spend too much on them because they only go for about $3000-3700 in great condition nowadays. Good Luck
