I am thinking of buying a sick D3!
Ailment - the timing belt tensioner has snapped off.
The belt is still intact and from what I can gather it all happened at a very low speed engine wise.
It could be a good buy as it is in good nick, body wise etc.
A SE, virtually an HSE but without Panoramic roof and Bi-Xenon, but has sat nav, electric seats and Bluetooth.
So guys what would be damage to the engine?
Is there any way of checking if the cam has jumped and allowed valve to piston contact without taking the head(s) off?
The poor thing has been left to gather moss, loose air from the suspension, flatten the battery etc for a couple of months and it is crying out for help!
If it does need a rebuilt engine, whoo does the best deal and how much?
1st Nov 2017 2:32 pm
Gareth Site Moderator
Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26683
Take the cam covers off and look for broken tappets. Drop the sump and look for metallic debris.
Perhaps even then fit an oil pump and retime the engine, and do a compression test?
As Gareth has suggested thats what I would look for first, if no damage to top end and nothing showing in the sump or Oil then risk a new oil pump and see what happens.
Hi Gareth and Flack
Thanks for your replies.
I would love to be able to remove the cam covers but the vehicle is on a car lot who just want to sell it and I doubt would allow me to start dismantling it.
Someone has removed the fan and cowling to expose the damaged timing belt cover and that's all.
Taking the sump off is way beyond any possibility!
I've only seen broken and stripped belts, never a broken tensioner. From what I could see there was no detritus evident, bits of belt etc and the belt still seemed quite tight, just no tensioner.
So looking at the best case scenario - what are the chances of damage if the broken tensioner has just allowed the timing on that bank to go out enough to stop the engine, cam sensor say, and how far out does the cams have to go to cause damage to vales and piston?
Your thoughts if I took a socket and bar to the engine and slowly turned the engine over?
Costs to put it right are my concern, hence the question where is the best re-conned engine deal and the likely cost.
Ian
1st Nov 2017 5:41 pm
Pete K
Member Since: 15 Jan 2016
Location: GL
Posts: 10337
I wouldn't bother taking the sump off.
2nd hand heads £200
oil pump,seal,crank bolt £165
head bolts £45
gaskets £100+
chain? in head maybe broke
cambelt kit
glowplugs
oil&filter
lots of labour and love
Only worth it if its low milage
1st Nov 2017 5:54 pm
Gareth Site Moderator
Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26683
Well in that case I would not be paying a lot for it, and be presuming the worst. The seller has to appreciate that. Scrap value only IMO.
Thanks again for the replies.
Pete,
If those are realistic secondhand prices then it does looks a worthwhile project.
I will need to get some decent heating in the garage though!
Gareth,
That's my quandary! What is a fair price? The figure mentioned initially is on the higher end side of between 2 and 3 grand.
My feeling is sub 2 and a half grand.
It is fairly high mileage but has been well tended service wise.
The cambelt was changed at the correct time and it has done 70K since then.
So why did the tensioner break off?
Was the bolt done up too tightly and was a ticking time bomb and 70K was its limit.
I believe there are stories of tensioners going but why?
Cheapest replacement engine I can see is 3 grand plus VAT and of course it is a body off job, too much for me in my garage, That adds labour to the costs and it becomes a non viable repair, BUT if the bottom end is OK then it is a home garage job, fiddly yes but do-able. My labour is free of course!
You see my dilemma!
Ian
1st Nov 2017 6:56 pm
Gareth Site Moderator
Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26683
Yes I understand. If you bought it, and it transpired that it was not repairable, then as you have pointed out, it's 3 grand plus a lot of work, and there is a risk that there are other major issues that you won't discover until you drive it.
What's it worth in bits? A few on here have stripped their Discos and sold the parts. If it's got good wheels and tyres, good spec and condition interior, straight panels, and has not got any big bits missing, then it must be worth a couple of grand as a scrapper.
1st Nov 2017 7:06 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72742
Plus you'll have the whole car to strip down, rather than just what you can do in a few hours with limited tools that I had. Even with the low second hand prices there are enough parts to fairly add up.
Just don't close the lower tailgate after stripping out all the battery, fuses & relays like I did.
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