Broken Cambelt - Next Steps

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Gez72
480 Newbie
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Jan 26, 2020 8:52 am

Broken Cambelt - Next Steps

Post by Gez72 » Sun Jan 26, 2020 5:11 pm

Hi, am looking for a bit of advice really

My 1990 480 Turbo B18FT had a broken cambelt and now i have removed the cylinder head i can see that all 8 valves are badly bent. Not only that all 4 pistons have damage to the tops where the valves hit

The car has done 69,000 miles

So what should i do next ? , try and source a replacement cylinder head or take the head to a specialist company to see if can be repaired or not ?
Also should i just replace the pistons and fit new rings ? , which according to the Haynes manual i can do without removing the engine

Looking for the most cost effective way to do this plus not have to remove the engine from the car

Alan 480
480 Is my middle name
Posts: 1489
Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2011 9:03 am
Location: Aberdeen

Re: Broken Cambelt - Next Steps

Post by Alan 480 » Sun Jan 26, 2020 6:27 pm

that's really not good :(

for my tuppence the guides in the head could be damaged, so maybe a replacement head, it will depend on how hard the valves were smacked ?

you 'might' be lucky with the pistons, if only a wee mark on crown, or are they savaged?

might be easier to get a 'complete' engine and pull the bits you need from it?

are you sure you can get the pistons up the bore with the con rods attached? I have a couple of damaged pistons and con-rod here so I could check the width of cap and see if smaller than the piston bore. NB mine is a two litre and i reckon the turbo will be same con-rod width?

it depends on what facilities you have, are you inside or in driveway/street ??
Alan

480 ES 2litre 'Celebration' ? , C30 1.8ES, SS1

jifflemon
480 Is my middle name
Posts: 2464
Joined: Sat Dec 17, 2016 11:03 am

Re: Broken Cambelt - Next Steps

Post by jifflemon » Sun Jan 26, 2020 7:10 pm

Have you pictures of the piston damage?

There’s many factors here:
How much time have you got?
How attached are you to the car?
Have you space to work on the car?
Have you the tools/knowledge to do the work yourself?

Engine out and rebuild would be the optimal - but it’s not cheap, easy or quick. If your attached to the car though...

Second hand engine next, but your still taking a chance (everyone will tell you what they’re selling was an excellent engine). Quicker than the above, but still engine out which means time, tools and knowledge.

Head swap/Head repair. Gamble on the pistons and rods being ok. Quickest of course...

Alan 480
480 Is my middle name
Posts: 1489
Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2011 9:03 am
Location: Aberdeen

Re: Broken Cambelt - Next Steps

Post by Alan 480 » Mon Jan 27, 2020 7:22 pm

wot he said

been and checked, the width of the con-rod cap is 78mm and measured across corners also 78mm, so pretty tight to come up through the bores if you decide to leave engine in place and fancy the work with waste oil dripping onto your face :-)
Alan

480 ES 2litre 'Celebration' ? , C30 1.8ES, SS1

cranna21
Can tell where the 480 was built
Posts: 313
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2014 3:44 pm
Location: Aberdeenshire, Huntly

Re: Broken Cambelt - Next Steps

Post by cranna21 » Wed Jan 29, 2020 8:42 am

Gez,

see the link below, someones just posted a B18FT for sale on this very forum - might be an option :)

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=36064&sid=2458fb812 ... 1e3a2054f2
'91 480 ES 2.0l 16v 'Williams' Conversion - 212bhp/230nm
'90 940 GL 2.0l Estate
'08 XC90 D5 SE Premium

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