Timing Belt damage assessment

Take the cylinder head off and you can count the bent valves and check if it has split any pistons or liners. There is no other way to check the damage unless you have a bore scope.

generally just valve damage, sometimes can cause piston damage but usually just valves get bent, just done a clio 8v had a snapped timing belt, 8 new valves, new timing belt and a headset and away it went, cost me around £180 in parts but i done the repair myself, £100 of that was the new valves incl fitting and a skim aswell at a local engeneering place

mark

As above,
The usual damage is just bent valves, but I've seen the whole range, all the way through to a box full of scrap metal!

thanks, im not 100% sure on how to remove the head gasket, will there be posts on that? and i dont know much about the engine but if i can figure it out and know the damage id like to try and repair it but obviously it depends how much damage,

its a 16 valve engine so my guess is all 16 lol.

thanks again

Removing the head is not really a job for a first timer, but you probably can't do any more damage than has already occurred. Just make sure the engine is set to the timing position before the head comes off and don't turn the crank once the head has been removed.

The How To is here - http://forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?t=180729

that was my thinking as i have not much to lose, were thinking about getting another engine if it is gonna cost a few hundred anyway so therefore nothing to lose, im doing a course in mechanics but not quite got to this yet so might give it a shot anyway.

will i need a bore scope to see if there is any damage at all?

thanks again

c_odee1989 said:

that was my thinking as i have not much to lose, were thinking about getting another engine if it is gonna cost a few hundred anyway so therefore nothing to lose, im doing a course in mechanics but not quite got to this yet so might give it a shot anyway.

will i need a bore scope to see if there is any damage at all?

thanks again

Click to expand...

Not if your taking the head off. When you look at the head it will be quite obvious as you will see your 4 valves per cylinder and the spark plug.

A bore scope just means you wouldnt have to take the head off.

ah right no bother so if i follow instuctions for removing the head i will be able to see what damage has been done and then go from there on what ill do next. any ideas roughly how long the head would take to remove? a few hours?

thanks again for all your help

c_odee1989 said:

ah right no bother so if i follow instuctions for removing the head i will be able to see what damage has been done and then go from there on what ill do next. any ideas roughly how long the head would take to remove? a few hours?

thanks again for all your help

Click to expand...

I would give it 4-5 hours for a first timer, thats if your fairly competent with a spanner. the main thing is taking your time, double checking what to do and remembering where everything goes (labelling helps).
Obviously you also need a nice dry dust free area to do it in so thats another factor, a markee thing will do fine.

no bother thanks again,

also im looking at the guide that i have the link to and just to check are all the rover engines k series? or is it different for each car?

Yours will be K, the 2ltr's are T series the rest are K

mark

I always suggest setting up the timing before removing the head, put a cambelt on it and do a compression test to give you a idea which cylinders valves are bent, you never know luck just might be on your side

LORDPSK said:

I always suggest setting up the timing before removing the head, put a cambelt on it and do a compression test to give you a idea which cylinders valves are bent, you never know luck just might be on your side

Click to expand...

I always suggest this too but get beaten up on here for mentioning it...

With regards to removing the cylinder head-I advise getting hold of an impact gun to remove the crank pulley bolt as these can be FT (if you're doing a mechanic's course you'll understand that abbreviation...). You'll also need a torque wrench, some sort of tool to turn the cams (you can make one from two pieces of flat bar plus some bolts and nuts, although we have the correct tool at work) and a cam locking tool (£4 ish from your local motor factors, or look on ebay).

Good luck.

I'd agree that the crank position must be set, but if the belt has already gone there is little point in fitting a new one just to position the cams. The bent valves will soon become apparent when the head is off and stripped. (and I'm sure that there will be bent valves )

thanks for all advice, im guessing nothing else i can do to check before taking head off?

Ill not get onto it untill saturday as need to get the car to my parents house,
my dad works in a garage so hes got all tools ill probably need at there house.

Its anoyying waiting about though when the car is just sitting there lol

c_odee1989 said:

thanks for all advice, im guessing nothing else i can do to check before taking head off?

Ill not get onto it untill saturday as need to get the car to my parents house,
my dad works in a garage so hes got all tools ill probably need at there house.

Its anoyying waiting about though when the car is just sitting there lol

Click to expand...

Not really. Id google for some images on what exactly bent valves look like, some may be obvious but others can not always be seen by somebody not knowing what to look for. It may just help you for when you get the head off.

I suppose it goes without saying that you will want to do the all the gaskets for the sake of it. Might as well when youve already stripped it.

yeah i was thinking that, hopefully the father will be off and can give me a hand anyway.

can the pistons be turned manually even if there damaged at all?

Do not move the crank with the head removed or you will unseat the liners. You will be able to see all you need if the crank has been set to the timing position before removal. This puts all the pistons half way down the bores.

If it is not obvious, check for leaking valves by pouring liquid into the combustion chambers and seeing if it runs out past the valves. Then remove the valves and roll then along the edge of a table when you will be able to see if they wobble.

If the valves are badly bent, check to see if the guides are cracked.