I had to get recovered by RAC on Friday night. 

I was doing 50 on cruise control, when car just gave a "bump" and died out.

Cam isn't turning (spied through camshaft position sensor hole)

Has anyone been lucky enough to just swap the belt? Would I see any valve damage with the rocker cover off?

Oh dear!  You might see a snapped rocker with the rocker cover off.  Won't be able to see any bent valves without taking the head off though.

Snapping at 50 will almost certainly have caused damage. 

On 9/8/2020 at 9:31 AM, TomsFocus said:

Oh dear!  You might see a snapped rocker with the rocker cover off.  Won't be able to see any bent valves without taking the head off though.

Snapping at 50 will almost certainly have caused damage. 

 

Cheers Tom.

I still have my old estate, and the only good part is the engine.

I was tempted to take the head off that.

13 hours ago, tommy1340millar said:

 

Cheers Tom.

I still have my old estate, and the only good part is the engine.

I was tempted to take the head off that.

Depending on which tools and workspace you have, it might be quicker and easier to swap the engines complete rather than swap heads. 

Only worth it if your previous engine has had a recent belt change though.  By the time you've accessed the belt you're half way to swapping the head anyway!

9 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Depending on which tools and workspace you have, it might be quicker and easier to swap the engines complete rather than swap heads. 

Only worth it if your previous engine has had a recent belt change though.  By the time you've accessed the belt you're half way to swapping the head anyway!

Plus the 1.8 TDCi is an interference engine so unfortunately I can't imagine that there hasn't been valve damage.

On 9/12/2020 at 7:16 PM, 1979Damian said:

Plus the 1.8 TDCi is an interference engine so unfortunately I can't imagine that there hasn't been valve damage.

Oh there was valve damage alright 😉 😮😮

 Sorted 😉

 

Lol, whoops!    I'm not sure the blu-tack will hold....maybe try some chemical metal?  

Interesting that these don't have rockers as I think the pre-PSA 2.0 TDCi does.  Of course, without them, that makes the cam the weakest point unfortunately!  If the valves are vertical and not angled at all, you might find the valve is actually ok under there!  

18 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Lol, whoops!    I'm not sure the blu-tack will hold....maybe try some chemical metal?  

Interesting that these don't have rockers as I think the pre-PSA 2.0 TDCi does.  Of course, without them, that makes the cam the weakest point unfortunately!  If the valves are vertical and not angled at all, you might find the valve is actually ok under there!  

As per Haynes Manual looks like valves may be vertical, or pic is wrong...

 

I'm just waiting on the Torx T70 bit getting delivered, then we'll know for sure.
In the meantime, I'll get the front of the engine stripped, just in case I can get away with a head swap.

On 9/12/2020 at 9:32 AM, TomsFocus said:

Depending on which tools and workspace you have, it might be quicker and easier to swap the engines complete rather than swap heads. 

Only worth it if your previous engine has had a recent belt change though.  By the time you've accessed the belt you're half way to swapping the head anyway!

I'm beginning to think that, when you take into account the cost of a head gasket and bolts.

The bottom belt & timing belt kits could go on the donor car engine a lot easier if it's out the car.

I reckon there's only about a dozen extra bolts to take the lot out.

(I might pull the front off the donor car to see how easy the whole lot removes)