Orion cut out

I think getting it towed back to the car garage is the first option. Sounds very much like the timing belts just failed (they did replace it when they done the water pump, didn't they?).

the cam belt has failed, this will have bent the valves, the engine needs a top end rebuild. It will probably be more than the car is worth.

Mrcheerful

Ever the optimist ;)

That engine does not even have a slim possibility of getting away with it!!!

Mrcheerful

Cambelt gone pop.

I know, I just found it amusing. You beat SteveH to the "It's F******, ditch it!", but in a much nicer manner!

"mrcheerful ." wrote in news:v4rph.29228$ snipped-for-privacy@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk:

I have always been led to believe it is bad practice to reuse a cambelt. If the garage have removed the cambelt to replace the WP, should they not have replaced it with a new one? If this is so, aren't they responsible if the OP has suffered engine damage as a result of the belt failure?

Stu

on these the water pump is NOT driven by the cambelt, but you do have to disturb it, best practice would be to renew it all while you are there, reality is that the garage that says they will change the water pump the cheapest (i.e. no cambelt) gets the job. Another case where proper maintenance and scheduled maintenance would have probably saved an expensive breakdown.

Mrcheerful

"mrcheerful ." wrote in news:Wrvph.29375$ snipped-for-privacy@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk:

Understood. Although they probably didn't remove it and are therefore not responsible, perhaps they should have at least suggested that the customer consider replacing it, knowing that it would be disturbed? Am I right in thinking that you would have done so if you had been doing the job?

Of course, the WP job and cambelt failure could be completely unrelated. Just seemed rather coincidental, that's all.

Stu

I would have insisted on a belt change at the same time, purely to save having to strip all the junk off again, unless I was absolutely certain everything was very recent and perfect, mind you if it was a recent belt they should have spotted the leaky pump at the same time. However, I am lucky in that I don't take on jobs unless they are on my terms. I turn away people that start by saying they want something done cheaply !! I made a mistake a little while ago, I gave a price of 120 pounds all in to change a 1.25 zetec water pump, I had not done one before (and guessed at a price), when I checked on how hard it is to actually do I found it was a right pig, likely to take about three hours, so although I wouldn't have lost money, it would have been a very low rate, Luckily that person (not a previous customer) found someone else that gave a lower price and had them do it, I breathed a sigh of relief, but I did wonder what the other place actually charged or whether they made a loss and swallowed it !!

Mrcheerful

Yup, I got scared by the pages and pages of instructions in the Haynes book on how to do that / change the belt :) Not doing it myself......

Peter.

I have done several since and charged the right amount, the first one took ages and would fox the average diy mechanic, not to mention the tools and experience needed. The second one was quicker as you might imagine, but still not diy territory, which is daft for a cheap car, I still feel that a ten year old car should be economically fixable, but if one (fiesta 1.25) comes in for service and mot it is touch and go whether it is worth fixing if it needs more than basic things.

Mrcheerful

We had a devil of a job getting _any_ garage to even look at my son's 'R' reg Zetec Fiesta when the rings went, it duly failed the MOT and managed to completely choke the testers emissions machine - he eventually found a top bloke who only charged him £600 _ROFL_ I was all for taking it to the scrappy, but my son said it was worth doing it, the car's only worth a few hundred - kids, they just can't be without a car, he duly paid up, it runs fine now, but too fast for my liking (I wouldn't get in it with him behind the wheel).

"Ditch it" = push it into a ditch at high speed, and claim off the insurance?

Bob