01 corsa...think timing chain is gone

jon1981

hey,

started the car yesterday, put it into gear, took off, got about 10 yards then it just cut out, there is a very weird banging sound coming from the engine block. the AA guy thinks the timing chain is gone or something. the thing is i can still creep along in reverse or 1st with clutch control. 64k on the clock. any ideas?

dr.bollocko

Jaysus I wouldnt touch the thing, even in 1st gear / reverse until you have gotten the bad news from a mechanic.

Hope it works out for you.
Has the T-belt been changed before?

jon1981

dr.bollocko wrote: »

Jaysus I wouldnt touch the thing, even in 1st gear / reverse until you have gotten the bad news from a mechanic.

Hope it works out for you.
Has the T-belt been changed before?

no, because its a timing chain, apparently they are meant to be good for like 100k ...obviously not

Green Hornet

I dont think it would go at all if the chain was broken. Usually you can hear the chain going well before it finally goes I think.

testicle

The engine wouldn't start at all if the timing belt/chain was gone.

Tails142

Green Hornet wrote: »

I dont think it would go at all if the chain was broken. Usually you can hear the chain going well before it finally goes I think.

I've heard that little gem before on these boards before. Just for my own benefit, what exactly does a timing chain about to go sound like?? Might save me a few quid in the future.

jon1981

testicle wrote: »

The engine wouldn't start at all if the timing belt/chain was gone.

well thats somewhat a relief to know!

MercMad

A bad Timing chain rattles like crazy, you'd know there was something wrong !

The Corsas do give T-Chain trouble though, the tensioners go bad early particularly if you havent changed the oil regularly enough, and used the correct spec. oil.

Opel have a modification kit out for them.

If the car still starts then the chain hasn't broken but if the tensioner has gone it could run but sound awful.

Doe sit idle smoothly ?

biko

As said above - if timing belt/chain snaps the valves on the cylinders stop working and the engine will seize immediately.

jon1981

MercMad wrote: »

A bad Timing chain rattles like crazy, you'd know there was something wrong !

The Corsas do give T-Chain trouble though, the tensioners go bad early particularly if you havent changed the oil regularly enough, and used the correct spec. oil.

Opel have a modification kit out for them.

If the car still starts then the chain hasn't broken but if the tensioner has gone it could run but sound awful.

Doe sit idle smoothly ?

no it sounds like a deisel at the moment! the car can move fine by clutch control, but as soon as i give it some accelerater it gets about 10 yards then conks out (there is also a repetitive quiet knocking sound coming from the engine). have to wait a couple of days for my mechanic to get back from hols

jon1981

timing chain is gone and 3 busted valves :mad: 1000 euro thank you very much

craichoe

jon1981 wrote: »

timing chain is gone and 3 busted valves :mad: 1000 euro thank you very much

Well ffs... that car was in sh*t and you kept trying to drive it of course theres going to be severe damage.

In future if your car makes 'strange noises' and won't go, i suggest you stop it and get it towed.

jon1981

craichoe wrote: »

Well ffs... that car was in sh*t and you kept trying to drive it of course theres going to be severe damage.

In future if your car makes 'strange noises' and won't go, i suggest you stop it and get it towed.

i only drove it 10 yards after it first cut out, it was after it cut out i heard the banging noise when i started it back up. i know thats all it takes to do the damage

egan007

Where are you? I have a mechanic in Ashbourne if it's anywhere near, would probably give you a better quote than that - it seems high. Most I ever did was blow a head gasket and melt the engine tappets into the block and it cost 600Euro to fix, 100 seems high....although im no mechanic..

jon1981

egan007 wrote: »

Where are you? I have a mechanic in Ashbourne if it's anywhere near, would probably give you a better quote than that - it seems high. Most I ever did was blow a head gasket and melt the engine tappets into the block and it cost 600Euro to fix, 100 seems high....although im no mechanic..

i think 5 or 600 would be about right if it was just a timing chain replacement, but the fact that there is damage id imagine is why its costing that

groupb

egan007 wrote: »

Where are you? I have a mechanic in Ashbourne if it's anywhere near, would probably give you a better quote than that - it seems high. Most I ever did was blow a head gasket and melt the engine tappets into the block and it cost 600Euro to fix, 100 seems high....although im no mechanic..

How do you melt tappets into the block?