cam pully loose???????!??!?!??! just died...

[bassman]

My friends 92 injected festiva was running fine and at idle just died.
I picked him up and we towed it home thinking gas problem as it is minus 27c here, he cranked it over and I saw through the oil fill hole that the valves were not moving so assumed belt.

in the heated shop I pulled the top 2 bolts holding the cover to see if the belt was on the pully and saw that the pully was loose??

I will get back to it later tonight but was wondering if it is just a simple reinstall the bolt that holds the pully and line up the timing and we are good or is the cam end maybe damaged??


this ever happen to you??

thanks

shayne

[econoaddict]

Inspect the cam gear locating pin in the cam very close for wear and/or damage.
Also take a very very close look at the cam gear, I had one that had been run loose, tightened it up and within minutes blew the center out. I assume it was chewed and had a crack from being loose.
This was very recent, will never ever just tighten one again before removing and inspecting closely.

[bassman]

Inspect the cam gear locating pin in the cam very close for wear and/or damage.
Also take a very very close look at the cam gear, I had one that had been run loose, tightened it up and within minutes blew the center out. I assume it was chewed and had a crack from being loose.
This was very recent, will never ever just tighten one again before removing and inspecting closely.

thank you

[bassman]

It looks like the cam is siezed and it sheered off the pully???????????
the bolt was broken and it came out of the cam easy but the pin is still in there, I tried to turn the cam with water pump pliars and I can't??
what is wrong here????

[WmWatt]

Check the distributor is not jammed?

[bassman]

Check the distributor is not jammed?

how do i do this?
take it out??

[WmWatt]

Pull the distributor and try turning the cam with the water pump pulley again. If it's till stuck the problem is not the distributor. Mark the distributor and bloc so it can be put back in at the same angle. Also note where the pump pulley is so if it turns it can also be put back at the same angle so everything (timing) lines up again. I can't imagine why the distributor would get jammed but it might be worth a try. It's easier to do than taking off the timing belt cover to inspect that end.

[bassman]

pulled off the valve cover and the cam will not turn even with a big wrench on the cam it is solid!!

[WmWatt]

Any sign of a broken or bent valve stem?

[bassman]

walves ok, I put a wrench on the cam close to the timing belt side and a 3 foot breaker bar and it turn now but in no way like it should.....

new head time!

[econoaddict]

Had this happen as well.
The cam rides in machined "circles" in the head.
Lots of things will cause it to seize up, mainly lack of lubrication or bent/warped cam will do it. Overheating can cause either of these.
I have removed ALOT of heads at the shop with cams seized in the head.
Time for a different head, repairing after seizing gets spendy, just pull the head and find another is the easiest and cheapest.

[FordGuy]

Same thing happened to me. -34 below here one morning, engine oil level was down and starved the cam bearings of oil. Seized cam solid and broke the gear bolt and pin. Changed head with a spare and is running fine. Maybe a little more time spent on maintenance and less time customizing. OOPS!

[htchbck]

Its too bad that our the cam bearings are cast into the head and not removable with caps like the crank and con rods. Oh well, at least its relatively easy to find head for them

[91mcnasty]

I got a known good one from a FI car for 40 plus shipping.