:lol:.....yes, holiday madness!!....if its dropped a valve, it shouldn't run...and you shouldn't try either...could cause further damage

 

The guy started it before I had a chance to say no!!! . It ran though for a few seconds before I could get him to turn it off. It did sound very rought though.

 

Will probably run on 3 for a while but yeah could knacker a piston. If it is indeed a dropped valve.

 

When my MGF vvc Tensioner fell to bits last month it carried on running even though the belt was slipping and even restarted afterwards even though I'm sure I'd done at least a couple of valves (Just replaced whole engine gonna rebuild old one in summer). So who knows whats wrong?

 

so does anybody know if there is a way of checking if you have dropped a valve with taking the head off?

 

I'm afraid I think the only way to know exactly what is wrong is to take the head off, this is why I sourced a replacement engine rather than try to fix existing one whilst still in car, don't have a clue what damage has been done yet, needs the head off to have a good look.
It's not all bad news as when it's fixed you can replace everything and be sure about belts, tensioner and water pump!

 

Do a compresion test. When I had a slight miss last year, I thought Plug, or lead. I drove to theworkshop they did not bugger around straight to the engine, compresion tested the engine said number two very very low, bring it back next week when they would have time to look at it. Number two had a broken valve that had bent and stuck in the valve guide, did not drop in to cylinder, told to take out a lottery ticket! How did it happen? the rev limiter only works on the way up not down, grabbing to low a gear on a track day, 8750RPM+.

 

What about a complete head swap? Buy a cheap vvc lump and instead of dropping the subframe etc etc and just swap the head with mechs and cams etc and time it back up. Then keep the other head and bottom ends for spares or scrap it.

 

well got the new car home and decided to start having a play. I took the plugs out first 2 where fine one was abit sooty and the last was covered in oil!!! I checked the oily plug hole and there didn't seem much oil on the piston top.

I then turned the engine over and I couldn't hear any bad noises, so any bending/damage must be done. I used a compression tester on the engine but I not happy with the results becuase I not sure I seated the connection properly, it's hard to do with a flexible pipe!!!

The results where 0,0,50,150 ( that was the one with the oil in it), so who knows.

So what would people do next? How long does it take for a normal person to take the head off and where is the best guide?

 

I'd try and get a decent set of compression readings first. You need to stop the fuel supply (disconnect the cutof switch) and hold the throttle wide open whilst turning the engine. This should give you an indication if there is a valve problem.

As for the oil, could it have been spilt whilst topping up and collected in the plug recess? Could this cause a misfire?

I think its worth trying to get a good set of compression readings before removing the head