shinns on track again Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 The guy who looks after my car is currently away and so I am hoping that one of you might be able to give me some idea as to what might have happened so that I can give him the 'bad' news when he returns. I was returning from a shortish blat when my car lost all power and just coasted to a stop. There was no associated 'bang' or any other indications that this was going to happen. The engine 'turned over' when trying to restart but did not 'fire up'. After a couple of attempts I tried pumping the accelerator and was able to get her to start but she sounded v sick, a cross between a bad case of timing out and a badly blown exhaust, and as soon as I took my foot of the accelerator or tried to move forward in gear, the engine just expired again. I tried this a couple of times and then gave up. Luckily fairly close to home and SWMBO came and towed me home! I fear the worse, so please be forthcoming as to what the problem might be. I am told that if the cam belt had broken I would not have been able to turn the engine over. Thanks. PS The car/engine is a 2005 Roadsport K Series 1800VVC - as original, no upgrades(yet). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Deslandes Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 could be fuel pump. Can you hear it running when you first turn on the ignition? If you have an impact switch, this may have been tripped, possibly but not necessarily if you went over a harsh bump. I'm not sure where it would be mounted, maybe on the bulkhead in the engine bay but its black and has a rubber top. impact switch Press this down firmly and you should hear a click as it resets. Failing that check the fuel pump fuse which is notorious for failing for no apparent reason. See recent thread on the subject but, basically replace with 15 or 20Amp rated fuse. It won't be anything too serious, just needs sorting. If your cambelt had gone it probably wouldn't turn over on the starter and it certainly wouldn't try and run, however badly. If you're anywhere near Guildford I could come out and have a look if it would help. Paul Edited by - Paul Deslandes on 13 Jul 2012 11:37:40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinns on track again Posted July 13, 2012 Author Share Posted July 13, 2012 Thank you for the response Paul and I am the more knowledgeable for it - not hard when it comes to me and things mechanical! Somewhere for me to start either this evening or in the morning. Hopefully John, my mechanic, will be on the case soon, but useful for me not to look too ignorant. I will keep you posted. David PS Thanks for the offer of help and whilst Brighton not too far from Guildford, the seaside is not necessarily the best place to be with this weather we are currently having! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StEVEN Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 did you have a missfire before hand?...Sounds like a Coil pack has packed up and has dropped down to running on 2 Cylinders there are two coil packs plugged into the head one per pair of cylinders if one goes it sounds like a badly blown exhaust and lumpy...Coil packs do pack up a lot on a K Series..if it is, just make sure you get the correct coil pack VVC ones have red tabs on them and Red on the ends of the rubber casing..all black ones are the wrong ones as they are shorter and only for non VVC... Frightening when it happens as you think something major has gone wrong with the Engine!!. HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstark Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Does sound like fuel pump or coil... If its a coil it might start ok once it's all cooled down (problem will reoccur as soon as warmed up). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinns on track again Posted July 13, 2012 Author Share Posted July 13, 2012 Thanks guys. As you can see from the timing of this post it has been a late night and so I will give it a go in the morning! Thanks for the input and I will keep you informed as to the outcome. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vine Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 I'd suspect a coil pack too. A wilder possibility could be that the cambelt has jumped a couple of teeth. Wilder still, perhaps something is interfering with the VVC gubbins. JV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinns on track again Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 Hi John, My man has had a look and I fear it is something more than the fuel pump (working) and coil(s) (appear to be ok). She is being collected on Monday and taken to the garage and we will go from there. Thanks to those that replied. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vine Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Coil packs are easy to test simply by swapping in a good one. If it should be a cambelt problem, that's not difficult to sort, provided there's been no piston/valve contact. Good luck anyway, David. Do keep us all posted. JV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StEVEN Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 I would make sure all Engine external components are checked.. 160 VVC is a strong well specced engine, yours being 2005 is probably the 160 Trophy spec too which has the higher spec Trophy pistons and larger valves in the head.... Please do report back as having owned a 160 VVC for 3 years I'm intrigued and curious to know what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Deslandes Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 crank sensor come loose or gone faulty might give similar symptoms. Does the VVC have a cam position sensor? If so could this cause a problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinns on track again Posted August 17, 2012 Author Share Posted August 17, 2012 Hi guys - in particular StEVEN - and sorry for the delay in coming back to you. A synopsis of what the problem was follows (to those that might be interested) and I am pleased to say we are 'on track (well the road) again. It turned out that there was no compression in cylinder no 4 and the reason was this - and please bare with me as I am only now just about understanding the basic workings of the Rover VVC: The camshaft for C4 is hollow to allow the passage for the camshaft to C2 and is only pressed into the drive boss. What had happened was that the camshaft had turned(!) in the boss and as a result the lobes on the camshaft for C4 were no longer at a 90' angle to C2 - in fact they were in line! Bottom end ok but needed some work and a new camshaft to the top end. Not sure what caused the problem, but has been suggested that over revving the engine might have caused it. Certainly was not doing so at the time it happened and whilst conscious that on a few occassions the rev limiter might have come into play, I thought that was what it was there for!? Anyway, everything seems ok now and thanks to Dave Andrews (Oily) for his chat with my guy down here. Looks as if it is going to be a nice weekend down here in the South, so feel a couple of blats coming on. Hope you all have a good one. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stationary M25 Traveller Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 Sounds odd that cam/lobes had turned 😳 The inlet cam is actually in two parts. The exhaust cam is one piece. There is a short cam belt at the rear of the engine that drives the inlet cam for cylinders 3 and 4. Glad to hear it has been sorted. Ian & 160 VVC Edited by - Stationary M25 Traveller on 17 Aug 2012 16:05:10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oilyhands Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 The part of the cam with the lobes is only a press fit into the part that drives it, if the interference is not spot on then under the affects of duress and temperature the cam can turn in the end boss, it's a common problem which is why I was able to diagnose it quickly over the 'phone. I have seen a number of engines rebuilt without the builders realising the mechanism had slipped with the result that after replacing bent valves and rebuilding, they immediately bent again on startup. Something to watch for. Oily Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 That's sounds really carp! Is it literally just a press fit? Surely a more sensible option would have been splined or male/female lobes to join it. What was the reason for making it in 2 parts anyway. Anyone know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StEVEN Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 Blimey ......glad its all sorted and that you're back on the road Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin J Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 Can't beat Ford engines...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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