I fear she has died.....

[PeterG]

Hi,

My story goes like this: I was driving down to the school through the village when suddenly the engine lost all power and stopped. I managed to coast into the local chippy car park but she would not re-start. When I tried the started sounded like it was spinning faster than usual so, fearing a cam belt failure, I stopped trying and have subsequently get her towed home.

What could the problem be? Is it a cam belt failure, as I fear? Is this really the end of my trusted 75?

It is a 2.0l V6 with an auto box, no engine or box mods.

Any and all help very much appreciated.

Thanks,
Peter.

[timspencer]

Sounds very much like a cam-belt failure to me Peter

decisions are to get a replacement engine or another car as I imagine it probably done some damage.

How good is the rest of car?

[PeterG]

It's pretty solid, plenty of miles left in her. I've recently fitted new front disks and pads and rear exhaust.

How difficult is an engine swap, is it easier if it's done with the gearbox intact and what should I be paying for a v6?

[Mickyboy]

Did the oil pressure light go out while cranking or did it stay illuminated ? If it’s spinning fast I bet the oil light stayed on
Mick

[COLVERT]

Get a compression test done.

It will show you if the cam belt is still doing its job. ie. compression on all cylinders with no bent valves.

[trikey]

More than likely snapped the end of the camshaft, read the fault codes, see if cam sensor shows up, the belts will be intact and turning just not rotating the front cam.

[philm]

Don't even consider cranking the engine over until you can confirm the belts are still intact.

[COLVERT]

Don't even consider cranking the engine over until you can confirm the belts are still intact.

A bit late for that if you read the OP's posts.---:duh:

[philm]

A bit late for that if you read the OP's posts.---:duh:

OK smart NAUGHTY WORD-NAUGHTY WORD-NAUGHTY WORD-NAUGHTY WORD- theirs always one shame you don't take notice of other post,s also :duh:,how come some comments are belittled & some not,normally the first thing you do when the motor stops is to crank it over to try & restart & least he had the sense to stop cranking suspecting belt failure,back to the point in question can you tell me how to do a compression test without turning the engine over.:getmecoat:

[COLVERT]

OK smart NAUGHTY WORD-NAUGHTY WORD-NAUGHTY WORD-NAUGHTY WORD- theirs always one shame you don't take notice of other post,s also :duh:,how come some comments are belittled & some not,normally the first thing you do when the motor stops is to crank it over to try & restart & least he had the sense to stop cranking suspecting belt failure,back to the point in question can you tell me how to do a compression test without turning the engine over.:getmecoat:
Sorry about that Absolutely no belittling intended.---:bowdown:

My thought was that if he had already cranked it over, as he said he had, then no more damage could be done by doing so.

If there was valve and piston damage I think he might have heard some noise :shrug:

Personally I would have checked the belt before trying anything else.


Humble apologies again.---:bowdown:

[philm]

No problem bud i should apologise your post came at the wrong time.:getmecoat:

[SD1too]

... the starter sounded like it was spinning faster than usual ...
If you hadn't said that Peter I was going to suggest fuel filter separation.

What's the car's mileage? What is its service history with respect to cambelts and tensioners?

Simon

[oswestryalex]

Hi Peter - I would have it checked to make sure if it is the belts. I have heard of instances where despite belt failure there was no damage done. I am not far from you and would suggest you ask Jason on the industrial estate who runs a garage there to check it out. He is dependable and pretty good (that is the small estate heading out past the school and on the rhs as you drive).

[trikey]

Easiest test is to remove the cam sensor, have a look in while someone is turning the engine and see if the cam is spinning.

[PeterG]

After much thought and no time I finally got around to cheking out the old girl today and found that the CAM belt is still intact. I've also plugged in the ECU reader I have and it says there are no fault codes in the system. Turn over still sounds a bit fast and nothing is fireing. I'll give it a compression test later, when the rain stops, and report back.. What sort of number should I be looking to get?

Thanks.

[dave lincs]

sounds like the front camshaft has snapped which is not unknow on the 2.0 v6

[PeterG]

sounds like the front camshaft has snapped which is not unknow on the 2.0 v6

I've had a check and both the front cam belt and the cam move, I checked by removing the cam sensor.

What I did notice was that after a while of no use the battery has gone a bit flat so I've been jumping it from another car. It turned over initially but now it just clicks and the head lights come on, even thought the light switch is off. I've put the battery on charge now so hopefully it will have enough charge to turn itself over soon when I will do some more tests.

Thanks for your help..

[Rogue]

I believe the headlamps come on as a warning that there is not enough charge in the battery but i'm sure a more knowledgeable person will be able to shed more light on the subject :getmecoat::}

[SD1too]

I've put the battery on charge now so hopefully it will have enough charge to turn itself over soon ...
Peter,

Leave your battery on charge for at least twenty four hours before attempting to start the engine.

Simon

[PeterG]

HAPPY NEW YEAR..!!!!

Thanks for all of your help so far guys...

I can confirm that I have the earlier filter so no FFS..
I can also confirm that the front cam is intact as I've removed the cam sensor and seen it move when the engine is turned over.

Is there a test I can do on the rear cam to check that is also intact?

Thanks...

[sworks]

The earlier fuel tanks didn’t have an enclosed filter housing that separates

[milford man]

HAPPY NEW YEAR..!!!!

Thanks for all of your help so far guys...

I can confirm that I have the earlier filter so no FFS..
I can also confirm that the front cam is intact as I've removed the cam sensor and seen it move when the engine is turned over.

Is there a test I can do on the rear cam to check that is also intact?

Thanks...
What was the result of the compression test?

Regards John

[SD1too]

Is there a test I can do on the rear cam to check that is also intact?
The accessibility of the sparking plugs on the RH (rear) bank makes a compression check rather difficult. Unfortunately there's no easy answer to your question. If it was me, I would take off the plastic manifold chamber. This is not difficult but it's laborious. You can then undo the cam cover screws, lift it off, take out the gasket and the camshafts will be exposed to your eyes in all their glory. There is no more certain "test" than that!

Simon

[minimutly]

Wouldn't it be easier to remove the gearbox end cam covers?

[SD1too]

Wouldn't it be easier to remove the gearbox end cam covers?
If the exhaust camshaft had snapped, you wouldn't know.

Simon

[Comfortably Numb]

I have had cambelt failure twice, Once on a Pug diesel, the other an Audi diesel. Both times, a replacement (second-hand) head, gave me another 100,000 miles, both cars still running well at over 250,000 miles. No piston damage, just bent valves, broken tappets and camshaft.

[minimutly]

Really? These things break inside the head? At the ends I could believe, but surely not?