My nephew has called me today to say that he broke down whilst traveling at about 30 mph. The RAC have towed him home and diagnosed it as a snapped cambelt and the car is probably scrap.
He has only had the car for around six months and is heartbroken. What is the likely prognosis?
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To be honest, it's quite an easy DIY job, using the Haynes manual.
Losts of room to work (especially on the single-point injection model) and no special tools, other than the usual spanners, sockets and screwdrivers
Just take the head off, and if the top of the pistons look OK, buy a new cambelt, and set of valves, or the head off a scrap Punto.
Also check the rockers, it really depends how much interference there was between the valves and piston, they could just glance or smash and bend. You will have to buy a new head gasket and cambelt too.
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Oh, and new head bolts, the price of all these are cheap as chips for this car.
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Pardon my ignorance, but I thought that, when this happned, valves and pistons crashed everywhichway and totally wrecked the engine. Sounds as if the result is less dramatic.
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I used to own a Punto 75 - not quite the same as the 55, I know. The chief technician at the garage I use told me this engine was very unlikely to wreck itself if the cambelt snapped, as there is a reasonable clearance between the valves and cylinder head. It seems to me that the amount of damage caused will depend on the design of the engine, the speed of its rotation when the belt broke and maybe luck.
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Thanks people.
I haven't seen the car yet and in any case I wouldn't really know what to look for.
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Don't rush to pull the head off!!
To the best of my knowledge that engine is supposed to be "safe" - that is the valves and pistons shouldn't touch.
If he was red-lining* it they might have come to grief, but try putting the UKP13.20 cam belt on first.
There's little to loose in trying.
Tension should be approximately right if you can manage a 1/4 turn of the belt with finger and thumb on the longest run - without doing Geoff Capes impressions.
You can run it up without the alternator belt (and belt covers, if you keep fingers and rags out of the way) to see if it will go.
Regards
John H
* "only 30 mph" - in first ??
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"There's little to loose in trying."
Freudian slip - make that "lose"
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He's just rang me.
Snapped belt only - cost £65 to fix at local garage so I have a very relieved nephew at the moment.
Ta all.
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