Vrs .. Cam belt snapped :(

[Ianvrs87]

This morning my cam belt went on me and just conked out the car , there was coolant underneath the car so I'm a assuming it was the water pump

I'm just wondering if anyone has had this happen to them and what problems it caused , I know it's going to be a very expensive job .... But how expensive ? And what are my best options ?

I'm gutted :(

[moley]

When was the belt last changed?

Bent valves at a guess, so at least a new top end.

[Kenny130pd]

Might be better to look for an engine.

[sepulchrave]

Might be better to look for an engine.

 

This. A guaranteed used engine is probably the cheapest and quickest option, replace the cambelt before putting the engine in the car.

[gadgetman]

When was the belt last changed?

Bent valves at a guess, so at least a new top end.

+1

[jays]

Doesn't always mean bent valves etc get it looked at before buying a new engine. If it's low mileage with history even if you have a few bent valves, will be better to repair than take a chance on a second hand engine

[sepulchrave]

Doesn't always mean bent valves etc get it looked at before buying a new engine. If it's low mileage with history even if you have a few bent valves, will be better to repair than take a chance on a second hand engine

 

It does always mean bent valves since cambelts tend to fail while the engines running!

[@Lee]

+1. Had a cambelt jump and miss a few teeth on our old Golf PD140 and that knackered the valves, the head and it even needed new injectors, and as mentioned, that was just it jumping while at low revs and not even snapping.

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/249801-urgent-help-required-re-cam-belt-change/?p=2934752

[felicia16v]

I have done 3 on tdi automatic's that just damaged the lifters, new set of lifters and they were good as new, but I think that maybe due to the auto box dropping the drive as soon as the engine slows down.

Pretty sure jambro has a good engine for sale on the classifieds here

[BossFox]

If you want a complete engine I might have one in a week.

It's done 137k, but with full history.

[hutchysrs50]

Blaaa! Just rebuild it.

[shlobber]

i've had a cam belt snap when the car was ticking over,and no damage was done to valves at all,so,i think it's always worth checking your own engine first.

[sepulchrave]

i've had a cam belt snap when the car was ticking over,and no damage was done to valves at all,so,i think it's always worth checking your own engine first.

 

It's an interference engine, there would still have been a valve/piston 'interface' which is what stopped the engine so abruptly, you decided to take a chance that it would be OK, I would never recommend that because the heads of the valves are welded and that weld would be weakened causing future catastrophic failure if a valve head were to snap off.

[mattbvRS]

Out of interest was the cam belt service overdue?

 

Hopefully if anything this will make people realise not to skimp on the belt/pump change! ~£300 short term pain is a lot better than a potential £1000+ bill. You maybe lucky and not have done any damage but I'd prepare for the worst as it could mean an engine swap if it's uneconomical to have fixed.

[flanders010]

This happened to me about a week before christmas. I ended up buying a new engine but only used the head off it (the price of the engine was cheaper than rebuilding the head and only had 50000mls on it so i now have a spare).

 

Can you do the work yourself? it is relatively an easy job if your used to some spanners

[Steamfan]

This morning my cam belt went on me and just conked out the car , there was coolant underneath the car so I'm a assuming it was the water pump

I'm just wondering if anyone has had this happen to them and what problems it caused , I know it's going to be a very expensive job .... But how expensive ? And what are my best options ?

I'm gutted :(

You might want to search Gumtree for skoda fabia vrs engine theres on 4 sale in Arnold £250 with injectors 

[robbieh]

Sorry to hear your belt's failed.

They really don't like 'extended' intervals.

I replaced mine after 25000 'ish miles but it was just over 5 years old (should be changed every 4 years) and the belt was in a pretty bad way. I was bloody lucky!

 

Without question, that broken belt will have damaged valves at the VERY least.

As mentioned in this thread already, it's an interference engine and the valves WILL hit the pistons.

You could pop a belt on it and it 'might' run, but how well and for how long?

As for rebuilding the original?...not very cost effective unless you are able to do it yourself (saving a fortune on labour) or have a friendly mechanic who works for the love of it.

 

If fitting a second hand engine, do make sure you replace the full timing belt kit AND the water pump irrespective of whether the seller claims they have been done recently.

While your engine's out you could use the opportunity to look at your DMF and clutch and replace if necessary.

 

Don't forget you can look for an engine from various other PD130 VW group cars (Octavia/Seat Ibiza/VW Polo/Golf?etc...).

You may want to check you get one with the same engine code as the one fitted to your car. Should be an ASZ (>2005) or BLT (2006>).

 

 

Good luck.

Edited 24 March, 2014 by robbieh

[jays]

Tbh if I was in the same situation and was looking to replace rather than repair I'd be going for a 1.8t conversion

[sepulchrave]

Tbh if I was in the same situation and was looking to replace rather than repair I'd be going for a 1.8t conversion

 

Good luck with that, so you'll need everything rather than just a bare engine. Loom, fuel system, all ancillaries, rad, turbo, intercooler, gearbox and clutch, ECU the whole shebang. When it's eventually finished you'll be left with a DREADFUL engine that produces half the torque and uses twice the fuel to make slightly bigger headline figures. Brilliant, go for it!

[hutchysrs50]

I agree with the above, but I am biased.

[jays]

Good luck with that, so you'll need everything rather than just a bare engine. Loom, fuel system, all ancillaries, rad, turbo, intercooler, gearbox and clutch, ECU the whole shebang. When it's eventually finished you'll be left with a DREADFUL engine that produces half the torque and uses twice the fuel to make slightly bigger headline figures. Brilliant, go for it!

A DREADFUL engine? Can you explain more? Not a hard conversion if you know what your doing with huge potential but each to there own I suppose

[sepulchrave]

A DREADFUL engine? Can you explain more? Not a hard conversion if you know what your doing with huge potential but each to there own I suppose

 

No problem. The 1.8 20v engine is hobbled by having a dreadful cylinder head design, the worst sin from a performance perspective is the tiny inlet valve followers which dramatically limit valve lift, this is why this engine was turbocharged, the design cannot be made to flow well enough for real performance and it is comprehensively outperformed by most of the Japanese 16 valve heads and even the venerable Vauxhall XE. In any given engine Inlet valve area is king as long as you can open those valves far enough and for long enough.

[jays]

Don't all engines have problems? If we compare the 2 in question I know which one I'd go for if I had a choice and it's not the one with 3k of useable power.

[Guest BigJase88]

I do wonder at times.......

[sepulchrave]

Don't all engines have problems? If we compare the 2 in question I know which one I'd go for if I had a choice and it's not the one with 3k of useable power.

 

Not really, most multivalvers are pretty good, the Ford (Mazda) 2.0 16V Duratec is one of the best, the VW 1.8 20V one of the worst, I've seen a 1.8T make 545 BHP on a dyno with <2k RPM useable power band, it used a turbo like a dustbin lid to do it, that same turbo on an Evo would give about 750 BHP, 800+ on a Duratec, that's how bad the 1.8T is. The scoobys pretty horrible as well although that's more because the flat four bottom end simply can't cope.