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Christ! i think my cambelts snapped :-(

T

Tiger

whats the symptoms of a snapped cambelt on a williams? i was only doin 20 mph and it just died on me, when it trys to start it turns over then theres a whining noise after it, the f'n 72k major service (cambelt change) is due in 2000 miles as well!
 
wouldnt even know where to look mate, car engines isnt my strong point, how can i find out? under the rocker cover where the spark plugs are?

cheers

Tony
 
Rac chap took a plug outta mine and got me to turn the engine.....
the pistons were not going up and down wen he shone a light into the block,so thats how he knew me belt had gone
 
Tucks said:
my 72k service was due in 500 miles time wen mine snapped!
Click to expand...


how much did it cost you to get sorted mate? im f'n skint as well :-(


Aly, he's just does the spraying and bodywork i think, i need to find some one to fix it for me tho, i'm not for goin to reno to get ripped off
 
Its not sorted yet mate,its in the garage now.
I think the garage are talking about 700quid,but not sure till its done.
I dont have the money...but its going on the credit card. :(
 
I don't know if it's a good idea to try and keep turning the engine over? Or doesn't it matter?

Think you can remove the cam cover tho whilst it's in the car so you could check that way?
 
nah not best idea to try starting it if its snapped, as is the pistons arent moving with engine will only cause them to colide more
 
From what little I know, do not turn it over! This will only make it more costly, you can see the cambelt by removing the plastic cover on the left hand side of the engine (drivers side when looking at the car!), you wont even need to take the whole thing off, just undo the top bolt and pull the cover out a bit and see if there is any tension in the belt.
 
cool, ill check it out tomorrow, too ruff to fart about with it tonight, ive turned it over about 6 times when it first happened as i didnt have a clue what was wrong, looks like no more nights out for a couple of months and some saturday shifts, what a nightmare :(
 
had the same happen on my 1.2 8v.

Totally different engine, and only costing a few £100 to fix, but thats me doing almost all the labour.

Keeping turning the engine over can damage the pistons, although it hardly happens. Otherwise, as the cams are effectively locked - you're unlikely to bend more valves than it did when the belt snapped.

Not quite sure what people mean by the pistons not moving when its turned over. Why wouldnt they move? Thats what the starter motor is doing when you turn it over. Or is it me missing something?
 
Tucks said:
Rac chap took a plug outta mine and got me to turn the engine.....
the pistons were not going up and down wen he shone a light into the block,so thats how he knew me belt had gone
Click to expand...

eh???
 
its not the pistons youre so worried about damaging as the valves! pistons are solid lumps of metal, and turning over wont damage them. the valves are thin and softer, and bend very easily, and theres 16 of them to replace if theyre damaged lol. they can then damage the pistons, but when youre turning over on the key its unlikely. dont turn it over until youve seen if its the belt thats snapped, its easy enough to check
 
Need to get my belt done. 112k now and it was done at 60k last. I think too mnay people dont think about the age of the belt aswell as miles done. 5 years max so anyone with a 16v/williams should get it done if its never been changed regardless of miles. Will be 8years or more for all of em if they havent.
 
i dont know when it was last changed, ive had it 2 and a half years with no change...
does anyone on here that live north of the border take on this kinda work? i dont want to just give it to just anyone to get it done, rather it was someone on here that knows what they are doin

cheers
 
im not actually 100% now that this is whats happened, what would the symptons/noises to expect if it had, i just went out for a look at it there, i took the smaller plastic cover off to the left but i cant see jack, how do i defo find out it is it? or how do i get into where the belt is? i can only see the alternator belt without taking much off.......

cheers

Tony
 
cant u undo oil cap and turn engine whilst someone is looking inside to see if the cams are moving?

i may be completely mixed up tho lol
 
me and my dad done that last night but it didnt look like there was anything moving, to see the actual belt, does that metal chunky clamp thing over the engine mount need to be taken off? i cant get into the top torx screw on the side of the timing belt cover?

Cheers

Tony
 
well if you can get to the alternator belt, then just try turning the alternator pulley round! its driven off the cambelt, so if the belt is snapped it will be really easy to move, if the cambelt isnt snapped it should be just about impossible to turn it by hand

how hard is it to remove the rocker cover/s? thats another way you could see easily wether the cams are turning over or not. i still dont see whats so hard about removing the cambelt cover lol, it cant be more than a few bolts, you cant do any damage just taking it off
 
lol jimbo, i can barely turn my alternator pulley by hand... and thats without a cambelt. Its quite stiff even using a spanner to turn it. Cambelt snapping just means the camshaft and water pump stop turning.

Someone with little experience will have no idea how hard a pulley should be to turn.

If in doubt, get a friendly garage to check it. Otherwise, get the cambelt cover off (easy job! just sounds dodgy to non-diy'ers) and have a look.

You CAN remove spark plugs and use a finger to block the hole and feel for compression in each cylinder while turning the crankshaft. If theres no compression after two full rotations (depending on engine really), the valves arent closing - hence lacking compression.
 
jimbo said:
well if you can get to the alternator belt, then just try turning the alternator pulley round! its driven off the cambelt, so if the belt is snapped it will be really easy to move, if the cambelt isnt snapped it should be just about impossible to turn it by hand

how hard is it to remove the rocker cover/s? thats another way you could see easily wether the cams are turning over or not. i still dont see whats so hard about removing the cambelt cover lol, it cant be more than a few bolts, you cant do any damage just taking it off
Click to expand...
chances are, if its anything like some of the later engines, cambelt cover will need to come off to get the rocker cover off

and even then, the only way of checking if the cams turn, without turning it by hand (and if you could turn it by hand, you'd obviously have access to the belt, and be able to see it), would be to turn the engine over - which could end up very messy for start - if the belt hasnt snapped that is.
 
Jesus!

Just get a socket and ratchet and get under the car and turn the crank by hand, even moving it forward and backward is enough!

Then get someone to take the oil filler cap off and see if you can see any cam lobes moving about. If the cams are static, get your wallet out.

job done.
 
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