Siezed Engine - Slipped timing chain?
Discussion
Had a spin in the Tuscan today, great sunshine for the time of year and loads of bikers up for some fun so it was a very fast enjoyable spin.
I stopped off on the way home at my parents, did the last 2 miles at low revs to cool her down then left it parked up for 1 hour.
I set off and in stalled on the way off the drive, it started agin to problem but it did sound slightly more tappety than usual. I drove home for 10 miles, normal driving, not more than 4k revs, she was runing fine, still slightly more tappet rattle, maybe...
On a down change for a corner, dipped the clutch and thr engine stopped. Tried to turn her over a few times but it was very slow and then eventually wouldn't move at all, it didn't fire at all.
I called for the AA and took it home on the back of a transporter.
Before it stopped, like a say, it ran fine, oil presure and temps were fine. I'm thinking that the timing chain will have slipped and the result will be a valve or 2 hitting the pistons.
I'll get it into a garage tomrrow.
Any ideas on what might be the problem would be much appreciated.
Cheers,
Richard.
I stopped off on the way home at my parents, did the last 2 miles at low revs to cool her down then left it parked up for 1 hour.
I set off and in stalled on the way off the drive, it started agin to problem but it did sound slightly more tappety than usual. I drove home for 10 miles, normal driving, not more than 4k revs, she was runing fine, still slightly more tappet rattle, maybe...
On a down change for a corner, dipped the clutch and thr engine stopped. Tried to turn her over a few times but it was very slow and then eventually wouldn't move at all, it didn't fire at all.
I called for the AA and took it home on the back of a transporter.
Before it stopped, like a say, it ran fine, oil presure and temps were fine. I'm thinking that the timing chain will have slipped and the result will be a valve or 2 hitting the pistons.
I'll get it into a garage tomrrow.
Any ideas on what might be the problem would be much appreciated.
Cheers,
Richard.
Quite a few of those symptoms correspond to a flat battery, which could easily be caused by the fusible link failing (although there are plenty of other electrical faults that could cause it). That wouldn't explain any unusual mechanical sounds from the engine, but it's easy to persuade yourself it's about to blow up if you start listening for strange noises. So I suggest you check the battery voltage and check that you can gently nudge the engine through a full 360 degrees either by a spanner on the front pulley or by rocking it in gear.
Hi,
thanks for that, I would be delighted if that was the case!
I did leave the hazards on for about an hour waiting fot the AA (sent a roadsize assistance first that couldn't tow the Tusc) and they were flashing OK at the end.
When it stopped the battery Voltage was about 13V. I did noticed a code "L" on the multi display for a moment after the engine stopped but it dind't stay on.
I'll try cranking the engine with a spanner like you say and se how it feels.
Fingers crossed!!
Cheers,
Richard.
thanks for that, I would be delighted if that was the case!
I did leave the hazards on for about an hour waiting fot the AA (sent a roadsize assistance first that couldn't tow the Tusc) and they were flashing OK at the end.
When it stopped the battery Voltage was about 13V. I did noticed a code "L" on the multi display for a moment after the engine stopped but it dind't stay on.
I'll try cranking the engine with a spanner like you say and se how it feels.
Fingers crossed!!
Cheers,
Richard.
GreenV8S said:
Quite a few of those symptoms correspond to a flat battery, which could easily be caused by the fusible link failing (although there are plenty of other electrical faults that could cause it). That wouldn't explain any unusual mechanical sounds from the engine, but it's easy to persuade yourself it's about to blow up if you start listening for strange noises. So I suggest you check the battery voltage and check that you can gently nudge the engine through a full 360 degrees either by a spanner on the front pulley or by rocking it in gear.
NTEL said:
Or......... I think you may have lost a valve shim (hence the tappety noise) which has rattled around the engine and found its way into the oil pump, got stuck and..........best of luck mate.
Hope its not that
Mine lost a valve shim last year. luckily I was only doing about 15mph and stoppped straight away. The shim was found sat next to its valve.Hope its not that
When it happened, the engine sounded terrible. I thought that a valve was bust and was bouncing on the piston. I think that you would have pulled up pretty sharpish if you had heard that kind of noise.
Good luck.
I heard one where the pad had fallen off the end of the rocker arm, which sounded very tappety but not a seriously nasty 'your engine has self destructed' sort of sound. But that wouldn't account for any problems cranking, unless as suggested earlier the stray part has got jammed somewhere. I'd investigate the electrics first as a cheaper and easier problem to fix, but the thought of stray bits floating around inside the engine is a worrying one.
Track V Road are collecting the car in the morning.
Hopefully the news will not be terrible, a fear the worse of course.
I'm thinking perhaps clutch/ fly wheel related now as the engine sounded pretty much fine and it stopped when I pressed the clutch.
Time will tell, I'll keep you posted.
Cheers,
Richard.
Hopefully the news will not be terrible, a fear the worse of course.
I'm thinking perhaps clutch/ fly wheel related now as the engine sounded pretty much fine and it stopped when I pressed the clutch.
Time will tell, I'll keep you posted.
Cheers,
Richard.
richard90 said:
Track V Road are collecting the car in the morning.
Hopefully the news will not be terrible, a fear the worse of course.
I'm thinking perhaps clutch/ fly wheel related now as the engine sounded pretty much fine and it stopped when I pressed the clutch.
Time will tell, I'll keep you posted.
Cheers,
Richard.
Best of luck with the car Richard. Its going to the right place anyway. Ian will soon have it diagnosed and sorted. Its in good hands.Hopefully the news will not be terrible, a fear the worse of course.
I'm thinking perhaps clutch/ fly wheel related now as the engine sounded pretty much fine and it stopped when I pressed the clutch.
Time will tell, I'll keep you posted.
Cheers,
Richard.
Edited by NTEL on Wednesday 19th November 07:17
a miricle has happened, the Tuscan is back!!
It wasn't poosible to get the car picked up last week so after a lot of hard work push and shoving up the drive I got it put away in my garage.
I had a spare few hours tonight so thought I'd have a look at it. So, I popped off the bonnet and had a look.
After a lot of thought of how to diagnose the problem, I decided to turn the engine over by hand and see how it felt.
I popped her in gear and tried to push it forwards, as suspected, jamed imediatley.
So, I pushed it backwards, no problem, it turned over! I mamanged to turn the crank a good few revolutions and it didn't seem to have much resistance, so I turned it forwards and it was again fine.
Well, to hell with this, I'll turnthe key.
It started first touch!
After jumping round the garage in joy for 30 seconds, I opened the door to avoid dieing and had a good listen to the engine.
It's a bit rattly still but generally fine, smooth, good oil pressure etc.
I'll get it into the specialist later in the week for a check up and it's due a service. No idea what called it at this stage, perhaps starter motor related, other electrical, I'll hopefully found out soon.
I shall update shortly.
Cheers,
Richard.
It wasn't poosible to get the car picked up last week so after a lot of hard work push and shoving up the drive I got it put away in my garage.
I had a spare few hours tonight so thought I'd have a look at it. So, I popped off the bonnet and had a look.
After a lot of thought of how to diagnose the problem, I decided to turn the engine over by hand and see how it felt.
I popped her in gear and tried to push it forwards, as suspected, jamed imediatley.
So, I pushed it backwards, no problem, it turned over! I mamanged to turn the crank a good few revolutions and it didn't seem to have much resistance, so I turned it forwards and it was again fine.
Well, to hell with this, I'll turnthe key.
It started first touch!
After jumping round the garage in joy for 30 seconds, I opened the door to avoid dieing and had a good listen to the engine.
It's a bit rattly still but generally fine, smooth, good oil pressure etc.
I'll get it into the specialist later in the week for a check up and it's due a service. No idea what called it at this stage, perhaps starter motor related, other electrical, I'll hopefully found out soon.
I shall update shortly.
Cheers,
Richard.
Hi,
I've done a compression test on the engine today. When it was cold, the figures were all over the place. I warmed it up for about 8 minutes, I got 120psi on all but no.1 (nearest flywheel) which was 100psi.
These sound too low to me, I think the compression should be 11:1 so if atmospheric is 14.6 then I should be seeing around 160psi?
It however seems strange that all but one of the cylinders are exactley the same. The valve clearances are a mile out as its tapping like crazy, I'll do this next. COuld it be that too tight valves are causing the lower compression, could my compression tester be reading low?
Any ideas gratefully recieved!
Cheers,
Richard.
I've done a compression test on the engine today. When it was cold, the figures were all over the place. I warmed it up for about 8 minutes, I got 120psi on all but no.1 (nearest flywheel) which was 100psi.
These sound too low to me, I think the compression should be 11:1 so if atmospheric is 14.6 then I should be seeing around 160psi?
It however seems strange that all but one of the cylinders are exactley the same. The valve clearances are a mile out as its tapping like crazy, I'll do this next. COuld it be that too tight valves are causing the lower compression, could my compression tester be reading low?
Any ideas gratefully recieved!
Cheers,
Richard.
Hi Richard,
When using a Compression tester, The engine should be at normal operating temperature.
Make sure you use a thread-in Compression Tester not a "cone" one.
You should always count the number of engine revolutions it takes to reach maximum pressure.
The number of revolutions for each cylinder and the maximum pressure should be very close between cylinders, I would say 10% difference across all cylinders would be a maximum.
The amount of valve overlap will determine maximum pressure. A high compression motor with a long duration inlet and exhaust camshaft will produce less maximum presure than a lower compresion motor with little valve overlap.
E.g. One chevy V8 I had was 175 psi and another 145psi, both were of the same compression ratio and in good condition, but the lower reading engine had a camshaft profile with more overlap.
Therefore I would suggest something is wrong with your engine as one cylinder is reading much lower than the rest.
I guess someone will be along soon with their compression test readings?
Hope this helps?
When using a Compression tester, The engine should be at normal operating temperature.
Make sure you use a thread-in Compression Tester not a "cone" one.
You should always count the number of engine revolutions it takes to reach maximum pressure.
The number of revolutions for each cylinder and the maximum pressure should be very close between cylinders, I would say 10% difference across all cylinders would be a maximum.
The amount of valve overlap will determine maximum pressure. A high compression motor with a long duration inlet and exhaust camshaft will produce less maximum presure than a lower compresion motor with little valve overlap.
E.g. One chevy V8 I had was 175 psi and another 145psi, both were of the same compression ratio and in good condition, but the lower reading engine had a camshaft profile with more overlap.
Therefore I would suggest something is wrong with your engine as one cylinder is reading much lower than the rest.
I guess someone will be along soon with their compression test readings?
Hope this helps?
Spark plugs out and throttle wide open 
richard90 said:
hi, no, the throttle was closed. this rings a bell actullay! the throttle should be open should it not?
Cheers,
Richard.
Yes, as above post. Take all the plugs out, wedge the throttle in the fully open position and then crank away. You should at least see higher readings, the cylinder thats currently down may still be down, but it may bring it into spec with the higher readings, i.e. 10% variation across all 6.Cheers,
Richard.
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