Timing belt snapped - Bad?

Which engine?

1600 petrol automatic.

Its an 'Interference Engine' meaning it will have some form of damage. Any ideas of the cause? Broken tensioner / waterpump?

Maybe an idea (if you can), to remove the head & see what damage there is. If only the valves are bent then replace them & refit (if this is beyond you, get a garage to the work) If the pistons are damaged then buy a replacement engine from a wrecked car.

I was wondering what sort of engine it was. It had to be the 'wrong' type didnt it?

Dont know why it snapped. Havent seen it. Wife has got RAC to tow to Nationwide autocentres for diagnosis.

Any idea of the cost if its only the valves?

If its the pistons is that deffo a new engine needed then? Wonder if its even economically worth it...

Well not 'deffo', but it's not worth the labour replacing the pistons when a replacement engine would be so much more simple. I wouldn't even replace the valves if they are bent as you're looking at a minimum of 4...then there's no guarentee that there's been no damage to the guides, followers, camshaft or even the head itself. Get a scrap head.

It's a Renault Auto. Scrap it now. You'll rebuild the top end of the engine to have the autobox die within the next 30k. Get something with a decent Autobox (ie, a BMW, Merc, Lexus or Jag).

Do the work yourself, knowing all the possible hidden damage etc?

300-400 approx including buying cam-belt tools. Getting it done elsewhere probably nearer 1000 with a guarantee. it MAY be cheaper to drop in a used engine if you know its in good condition. J

Another option - stick a new belt on, if it runs go and part-ex it for something else.

It's a french car, so I'm not gonna ever come across it.

I'm really sorry to have to break it to you, but even best case it'll still be a Renault.

Economically worth it at a "Nationwide Autocentres" place? No chance. In my experience, they're overpriced and try to scam you.

Free brake check? I wish. ;) I went there because I had a sticking rear brakes on a 306 when releasing the handbrake.

Went there for a free check (expecting new shoes being required). Got told I had leaking rear cylinders ("they've exploded mate"). Fine - I'll get them fixed. "Sorry, can't let you leave with them like that - they're dangerous. Also, you need new front disks and pads." Basically they refused to let me take the car away to my normal garage - which potentially is right if it was dangerous.

Anyway - they worked out the cost - £465. This was a surprise to me so I queried this, only to be told I had special brake cylinders in the rear and were £110 each (so £220). This seemed expensive to me for what is quite a simple device - but I was on my lunch break, needed the car the next day, couldn't take it elsewhere for a second opinion/quote and had to make a decision there and then. I reluctantly said okay.

They charged around £40 for "delipping the rear drums", which someone on here pointed out was a quick run around with an angle grinder - nothing difficult or time consuming. They also charged, I think, £40 for flushing the brake fluid - even though they'd have to do that to replace the cylinders, and had already charged for that in the pricing of that work.

The next day I phoned around my local garage and my Peugeot dealer. Dealer wanted £400 for the work using genuine Peugeot parts and their overpriced labour. My local garage couldn't give an accurate quote (but did a low spec and high spec variant accurate quote) as they didn't know the exact parts which were originally on the car (parts hadn't been kept or offered, my mistake) - but if I had some high spec sports brake system (vented discs etc) they said the amount charged might be fair, but £350 to £400 was more likely for a basic spec.

I did manage to get them to price match the Peugeot dealer, and after about 8 weeks got a cheque from their head office, and they also did give me Tesco Clubcard points - but from my experience, they use (probably common) dodgy tactics to force you to go ahead with their work. £400 from a Peugeot dealer for the work is expected.

Just be careful, and don't be afraid to get a second opinion - don't assume they're on your side, or that they're cheaper than a main dealer.

D

Every year at MoT time they quote me =A3350 for a recon propshaft when all I need to do is get round to fitting the =A310 rubber propshaft bearing carrier, and they always tell me "get it done soon 'cos it's dangerous mate" as they write/print out the pass certificate. They also quoted stupid money to replace the wishbones.

Took a different car in recently and it seems like they decided to only do half an MoT, failing the car on some items but not others which were clearly failures. Then they decided that they didn't want to honour the free-retest coupon that I had. I think they get fed-up 'cos I never give them any work.

As for the OP, you could try fitting a new belt and seeing if the engine will turn over (by hand). It still might not run though. You need to look for a used head on ebay then pay a regular garage a few hundred to fit it. ...but as others have said the best thing you can do with a renault auto is scrap it :-)

Excuse my ignorance. So would a replacement head include everything that has possibly been damaged ???

Or is this the new engine? Would I need to get a replacement engine and gearbox? (Its an automatic).

Where would I get a scrap engine from? Scrap yard I presume. Roughly how much? How much to fit?

Not a fan of Renault automatics then ? :-)

My car is a Merc auto which is great !

Nah. Dont think I could do it myself !

I find them OK.

Its your car. You could have told them to f**K off !

Now theres an idea. Got no qualms about screwing car sales people (wouldnt sell it privately though)...

Wife did say engine was still running after it happened. She heard a pop and lost all power and pulled over. At the time the engine was still running. Wouldnt restart though.

Hmmm can they legally keep your car there ?

Personally I would've taken it back and told them to sod off.

David Hearn ( snipped-for-privacy@NOswampieSPAM.org.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

GSF list several 306 rear cylinders. The most expensive is £18.50 each. Rear shoes - £15-20 set Front pads - £15-30 set Front disks - £12-30 each

You could get ALL the parts for the price they charged you for ONE cylinder... Even a rear caliper would only be £60 if you had disks.

Or, preferably, a quick spin in a lathe. Keeps 'em round and helps not get bits in the bearing. I had a pair of out-of-round drums machined for (IIRC) about a tenner each by a local engineering firm.

FFS, NEW 306 drums are only £25-30 each...

There's still the front to do, of course.

Woo.

More to the point, it IS safe to assume that any national chain fast-fit centre is a total ripoff.

Providing that the pistons have not been holed then yes. The biggest weak point in valve to piston contact is the valve train itself. There are the odd occasions where valves will fight back and the valve will put a hole in the piston - easily spotted. Naturally there will be a slight chip or pit in the piston, but providing it's not too much it should be safe.

A new engine would replace everything that can possibly f*ck up. Your only real option if the pistons are shagged. Ideally source an auto engine so you can keep a spare gearbox (it's a Renault, you'll need one) and you don't need to mess about with replacing the flywheel with your torque convertor. There is also the issue that the torque convertor might not bolt to a manual engines crank, but I doubt most mass produced engines would have custom cranks for different transmissions.

Scrap yard is the best bet. If it's the 1.6 then I'd imagine most Megane's, Laguna's etc of that vintage will share the same lump. If you source a manual, double check to make sure the torque convertor will bolt to the crank. Engines vary in price. You're only looking for the lump itself, so don't waste money on alternator, PAS pumps, A/C pumps, electronics etc. Talking perhaps £2-400, then about the same for fitting (depending on how much your chosen mechanic likes engine swaps).

Good luck anyway!