Damaged valves

If the valves are damaged it'll be because they've hit the tops of the pistons and been bent as a result.... meaning the pistons also likely to be damaged; so too are the vale guides, in fact this kind of event can be fairly catastrophic. You'd know if they'd hit because the noise would have been dreadful and the engine would now have very poor compression and run poorly. I'd guess it would take a decent mechanic at least a full day's worth of labour to sort, maybe even a couple of days, assuming he simply does a complete cylinder head exchange, replaces pistons etc... but along the way you'd have the costs of the new parts plus re-grinding the cylinders etc. You're probably looking at some serious costs here, maybe more than the vehicle is worth and it may be cheaper to get a recon engine. Before doing anything check the compression (or get it checked). That'll give you a fair idea of any damage.

Nasher wrote:

Hi The car started then shut down after about 2 seconds. The car was not moving and there was no noise at all from the engine. the camshaft jammed which broke the sproket and now the car wont start just turns over. any help many thanks.

first port of call is a new timing belt then cross your fingers as the rule the pistons normally survive the impact but not always so the valves