Cavalier top end seize

I think most 8v cavs are non-interference - maybe some exceptions on SRI engines? - 16v are bad news.

Andy

have the shafts actually seized or is it just that the belt has failed. cam seizure is uncommon afaik. either situation means scrap time if you cannot get a second-hand head and diy.

8 weeks is too long, they are only taking three weeks at present. phone them up.

mrcheerful

Hi,

Thanks.

Definitely the shaft is seized. I tried turning it over and only the crank was turning, so I cut the belt off and tried turning the cam using a socket and there is no movement.

I called DVLA last week and they say that they have no record of the application. Looks like a =A319 fee for a replacement now :(

Cheers, Mark

Thankyou - this is nice to know. :)

Thanks.

Definitely the shaft is seized. I tried turning it over and only the crank was turning, so I cut the belt off and tried turning the cam using a socket and there is no movement.

I called DVLA last week and they say that they have no record of the application. Looks like a £19 fee for a replacement now :(

Cheers, Mark

the only cause of camshaft seizure will be lack of lube to the top end. has the engine been apart in the recent past? if so the oil way between cam carrier and head may be blocked with sealant. still scrap though

You don't need the V5 to scrap a car, you can fill in a form to say you are the owner.

I have recently done this.

Andy

Yeah, I thought lack of lube would be a possibility.

I've only had the car 3 months as a temporary replacement for a Mondeo which died on me. It's done all that I needed (which was to tied me over until after Christmas), so I think that I should just cut my losses.

A little annoyed of having to spend =A319 on a V5 to scrap it though ;)

Cheers, Mark

Hi Andy,

Thankyou very much - this is very nice to know.

Where do I get the form from (I've just checked the DVLA site and can't find any such form)?

Cheers, Mark

The scrappy brought the form with him when he came to collect the car, it's just a disclaimer I think.

I got it from 'Charles Trent's in Poole.

Andy

Take your pick..

1) Cam bearings seized due to lack of oil and/or wear. 2) Broken valve jams up cam. 3) Camshaft snaps from fatigue..

It won't be. It'll need money spending on it.

Didn't Cavaliers suffer from cam shaft failures in the early 90s? ISTR there was a spate of them around that time but ICBW

I know that Astra's allegedly suffered from camshaft problems, although I drove my D Reg one to over 170,000 miles, and it was still running as sweet as a nut before rust relegated it to the scrapyard. However I did regularly change the oil at 6000 miles intervals, and had used Magnatec from about

80,000 onwards.

In news: snipped-for-privacy@individual.net, ivan decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

I had a Mk2 Cavalier SR that snapped a cam follower.

I have a snapped camshaft from a Mk3 1.8 in my shed. No damage done to anything else, apart from my wallet. It went after about 120K miles, pootling along the motorway at 60-ish. Probably the result of fatigue and a small surface flaw in its casting.

I would say more likely a flaw in the casting, my brother and his mates work in the astra plant at Elsmere port, Chester, they regularly (1 in 10) see new engine castings coming out of machines with holes in, they simply fill the holes with a special epoxy!!! - I cringed when they told me, then went and bought a VW....

That hasn't been much better though!

Andy

Easist fix is just ring round the scrappys & buy a top end & a new head gasket.

If the cam is seized solid, its probably sheared through- they did have a spate of that around 86-89 from cam carriers which either werent line bored parellel, or had been torqued down incorrectly.

Tim..