In message , Tim.. writes
>>
>> Are the guides likely to have been damaged and am I right to be worried? >>
>
>Yes you are.
>
>In this engine, the valves are vertical above the pistons, with the cam
>perched above and acting directly on the valves.
>
>If the valve gets hit by an assending piston, at least one of 3 thnigs will
>happen depending on your luck and the engine speed.
>
>a) valve bends into an S shape, no further damage.(see below)
>b) camshaft snaps between bearings- broken segment rises. (if any damage to
>cam bearings= head scrap)
>c) camshaft bearing housings shear off and whole cam rises. (head = scrap) >
>In any case it doesnt do the valve guides anygood, and if it was me with the
>problem I'd want at least the guides on the affected cylinders replaced to
>be sure. They are a sintered bronze type material on this engine which means
>they'll shatter and crack. The guide protrudes slightly into the valve
>throat, and also above the head below the camshaft. If any bits are broken
>off here, then its a good chance the guide has shattered within the head and
>should be replaced.
>
> That said, i,ve known engines with shattered guides run perfectly for
>several more miles without oil burning or running problems.
>
>150k really isnt alot for the Endura DE, so if the rest of the car is
>perfect, it would be worth doing a proper fix.
>
I managed to get to the garage today for the first time since the incident. The head is off (crowns are fine) and the head is supposedly away to have all the valves replaced and the shims done. The garage owner says that the guides were fine as well as the camshaft and bearing caps. Time will tell. He says he will fit a Ford belt kit this time (as I originally requested) rather than the Gates kit he fitted.
I asked how the belt failed as I was sceptical about the new belt snapping. He said that the belt had ridden up onto the lip of the metal tensioner pulley which had in turn shredded the belt. Obviously the tensioner wasn't set properly for this to happen or perhaps the belt had been routed over the lip on assembly rather than squarely round the pulley.