Any mechanics out there for advice?

[babydriver]

I have a 95 Vauxhall Omega as my shite and have spent a fortune on it over the last 2 years on a complete new exhaust, new cat, new brakes, new wishbones, service and all belts change etc just to keep the begger on the road. its only done 77k full service history etc.To cut a long story short the water pump went tother day so on inspection the belt has slipped quite a few teeth, the left hand cam timing mark is 10 to 12 the right is 20 past 12 and the bottom is about 25 past, I know the top 2 should be in the same position. I have asked several garages in the area if it is totaled and they all seem to be of the opinion that it is and will cost betwixt £700 - £1550 to put right, obviously out of my price range............. Is there any chance they could be wrong? I was stationary at the time and all I got was a rubbing sound (I thaught the belt was breaking down and rubbing on the casing) It stalled, I tried to start it again, pushed it to the side of the road then towed it home half mile (even though its an auto and I shouldn't have) half hour later. I got a parking ticket for it too and the warden watched me hitch it up to the wifes Astra and said unless I get it fixed and sent the repair bill in I can not appeal.Just call me Mr Lucky. All the best to everyone too for the coming Christmas & new year.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Thats a tricky one, it could be OK, but theres no way of knowing without a) taking the head off for a look or fixing the waterpump + fitting a new belt, then trying it! Neither is a cheap option if you are not a DIY'er.

[Marty]

I cant really comment on the engine, its sounding FUBAR to me, but may be repairable - all depends on labour costs really if you can do it yourself.

 

With regards the parking ticket, appeal - tell them you have broken down, even get a garage (or mate) to write on headded note paper that the car is beyond ecconomic repair and was dead on the day of the ticket. Dont take the wardens word for it, appeal, appeal again and make the establishments life a 'kin misery - take them a bucket full of oily engine parts (they dont have to be yours - just take them) and dont be afraid to cry like a baby - always works.

Then seek out the offending warden, hunt him down and place dog turds under the door handles of his car. (or curry powder in the air intake vents is another good one)

[Ratdat]

With something like this, I'd drain the water out, pop the cambelt on properly and do a compression test or just see if it'll run. Probably the cheapest way to diagnose if it's FUBAR'd.

[Volksy]

Hmm, not a good situation. Yes you could put on a new waterpump and timing belt to see if it will start, i'd advise disabling the ignition and run a compression test rather than trying to start it up. Just if a Valve(s) are bent, suddenly firing it into life could cause more damage. I'm presuming the belt did not snap just lost teeth on the seized(?) waterpump. The position of the Cam pulleys only co-relates at a certain position of the engine, normally TDC (top dead centre) on No 1 cylinder, this varies from car to car so without the relevent manual/data book i dont know. Is it a 2.0 16v or a V6? If you are willing to have a go (and provided the timing belt hasn't snapped), try taking the spark plugs out, and the cambelt cover off, and turn it slowly over from the bottom pulley with a ratchet (provided also the whole engine turns over, not just the crankshaft) listen carefully for any tapping, and feel for any resistance or if the engine locks up, however this will only show seriously bent valves. But check if the timing marks line up on any revolution. if they do line up then you may have got away luckily, i doubt it though as you said it stalled and wouldnt start.You used to be able to flat tow autos, however only very minimal distance and under a certain speed. Refer to your manual though on that one. At the end of the day if it has damaged valves etc your looking at a head off job, new valves, plus waterpump, gasket set etc. Is the car worth it?

[shite_meister]

I work in a garage, as the others have said-without taking the head(s?) off and looking its hard to say. Last week we had a Skoda Octavia in that had badly shredded and slipped its cambelt due to a naughty idler and although it was an interference engine we decided to chuck a cambelt on and see, the owner was going to dump it but we talked them into taking a gamble for the cost of a belt and the labour. Anyways we put a belt on and it ran fine so we did the job properly with a cambelt kit and water pump.Not to get your hopes up but it could be that it might be alright-the only way of finding out is by taking a gamble or you can just write it off now. Really depends how much the belt has slipped and how much damage it may have done and without taking the head off you're options are limited. I'd imagine that if you have a V6 it'd be an even bigger headache.

[babydriver]

It is a 2ltr 16 valve just to infill a left out point, and I only towed it less than half a mile using the wifes 1.6 Astra mk2 auto and she has only been driving 2 years so it was at a snails pace which with no power brakes or steering on my car was quite fast enough.My local car parts emporiam says that on his auto data info the two cams should both be at 12 o'clock and the bottom pully at 6 o'clock when setting things up so do I set everything to this and slip on a new pump & belt and hope for the best or does things like dizzy (i don't think it has one) and other things need to be set up?Thanks again peeps & peepettes.

[wrecker]

would say valve damage has occured

[ayd]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vauxhall-Corsa-No ... dZViewItemalways an option

[r.welfare]

Bummer, babydriver.Before you do anything else, I advise joining the Omega Owners Forum and asking there - some very switched-on people on that one (just like us ).Compression test sounds very sensible actually - I would get a new belt and water pump (try Autovaux, GM quality stuff at much less than main dealer prices), would also suggest you beg/borrow a timing kit - hopefully your friendly local garage may have one, or Autovaux can hire you one cheaply. Your garage's timing positions sound about right, you'll need the timing kit to lock the crank to the water pump. Then bung the belt on and turn it by hand on the crank. The hardest bit is making sure that the belt is correctly spaced - a new belt will have white marks for the crank and both cams; I found it difficult to get the crank one correct, an old interior mirror held underneath will assist!As I recall, changing the belt is relatively easy on one of these, plenty of room round the engine anyway. I am pretty sure Car Mechanics did a cambelt change feature on the 2-litre 16v, in fact the timing kit I hired from Autovaux had a photocopy I'd ask on the Omega forum to see if anyone has a PDF. No dizzy to worry about but you will need to be switched on about the various wiring multiplugs you undo at the front of the engine - doing them back up incorrectly will lead to the dreaded engine management light!I personally had the 3.0 V6 and it took a few hours, but mainly because I had to strip a lot of parts away first - all the intake plumbing, aux belt and tensioner, etc etc etc. You'll find the repair quotes are high because of all this labour, but it's not especially tricky - you'll need some Torx sockets and probably a 30mm cranked-offset ring spanner for the tensioner.If I were you, provided you are happy it turns over OK on the new belt, I would spring for a new tensioner as well - it's usually these that go and cause merry hell, not the belts. Vx did suggest 80k change intervals but reduced them to 36k in short order because of much calamity! I'd also clean out the breathers in the intake plenum at the same time, they tend to fill with mayonnaise and that leads to the rocker cover gaskets leaking oil - a smell of burnt oil is not unusual (check the spark plug holes too).With a bit of luck you may be OK - if not, I would suggest stripping off as much of value as you can and eBaying it (and weighing in the remains), or get another one of lower spec and transfer. Values are on the floor - I paid £300 for my 94/M Elite last January with 11 months' MOT...I'd still have it if the crankshaft oil seal hadn't disintegrated

[marinast]

A straight engine swap for a second hand unit would be your best option here. Many yards now offer you some sort of comeback if it does not work, if the second hand unit is ok, then look into having the belts changed at the earliest oppotunity.

[MrRegieRitmo]

Thanks again peeps & peepettes.

We have peepettes?

[babydriver]

Surely God didn't create only one Vicky Butler-Henderson , Someone on this site must have the perfect wife/girlfriend who likes brum brums. unfortunatly my missis is of the 'it was a red one' brigade.

[bigstraight6]

Surely God didn't create only one Vicky Butler-Henderson , Someone on this site must have the perfect wife/girlfriend who likes brum brums. unfortunatly my missis is of the 'it was a red one' brigade.

Mrs Straight6 likes cars, and sometimes has a giggle at posts around these here parts and has some quite impressive car identification skills, with 60's/70's tin in particular, her first car was a purple ADO16, and when the rear subframe fell off acquired a MK3 Cortina GXL auto, white with a black vinyl roof

[Ratdat]

Mrs Ratdat likes cars and has developed quite impressive car identification and spotting skills even to the point of being ably to name quite a large number of American cars. She's also happy to lend a hand and has helped me prep cars for paint and heave engines about when needed (so long as they're not too heavy!)

[keef]

[her first car was a purple ADO16

Any pics?

 

Like this one? :-