Please help me get this car started. UPDATE*

Hackett

This is on VVOC.com but as you guys are experts on these engines thought you may be able to help.

Mate of mine has a 2.2 SRI which has sat for about 18months and is now shagged. I offered to fix it for him cheap and he got it trailered to my house. When i tried to start it (with my battery which is brand new by the way) it made a massive pop and the starter is whining but feels really smooth not like its actually spinning the engine over.

I meant to say when i try and start it for the first time after its been left for a while it always pops/ backfires sounds like it inside the engine bay some where,

I jacked it up and turned key with it in first and the wheels span so the starter must be spinning the engine.

I've changed the fuel, sparks, air filter and still nothing.

Please just chuck suggestions at me no matter how simple it may be something i've overlooked.

Cheers guys.

vocky

the first thing you need to do is crank the engine and get someone to watch the drive belt to ensure the engine is actually turning over 🙂

Hackett

already done mate the belt spins, i just wonder if maybe the teeth on the starter motor are damaged and slipping, therefore not producing enough rpm to fire it up?

simon1

might be a snapped chain and the fast turn over is the bottom end turning over...and not the whole engine?

vocky

I know this is being a pain but..... can you take some pictures of the cam timing

you will need to remove the cam cover again :roll:

I suspect the chain might have jumped and now you have low compression 🙁

Hackett

If i'm honest mate i cant be arsed with it anymore just went out for one more attempt but still nothing. I have checked the chain and it was on the sprockets also there was a lot of tension. I'm going to try dropping the cat away and trying to turn it over tomorrow when i finish work. But if that doesn't work i think he can have it back. Its kind of getting beyond a joke now 3 full days trying to get it to start with no joy what so ever.

Just a thought but surely if the cam chain was snapped then as it turns over i would hear scaping and crunching. Also the wheels turn when its in gear and i try turning it so obviously the starter is turning the engine.

I'm starting to wonder if its an immobiliser/key problem just trying to find out if he has another key. It has been sat with no battery for 18 months.

vocky

is the eml flashing notsure.gif

after a few months the immobiliser will loose it's settings and require the keys recoding :roll:

Hackett

eml flashes for about 5 seconds then stays on constantly. got the lad coming round with the other key so will try that. It would make sense though if it is the immobiliser as it seems everything is working fine it just wont actually fire up!

vocky

does it flash when cranking the engine, if it does it's the immobiliser 🙁

Hackett

lol no need for the unhappy face vocky if it is that i'll be made up......at least i'll know what it is!!!

vocky

it's difficult to diagnose non-runners, the chain snapping is the most common reason, which is why I asked so many questions about it.

as you say hopefully it will soon be sorted, maybe a mobile auto electrician can re-code the keys, otherwise it's a tow to the dealers :roll:

Hackett

right the guy just came round and we tried bump starting it and it didn't even come close to starting. The EML isn't flashing at all. I've told him i think its pretty serious and really needs VX to tech 2 it. Its deffo got fuel, sparks and air so i think the only conclusion is its something quite serious. Oh well all i can say is thank god its not mine but i still feel gutted for the guy.

The one thing that i don't understand is he said he did get it running about 3 months ago, drove it a couple of miles and then left it again. If it ran then, why wont it run now??

Thanks for your advice by the way

Hackett

hi guys right well took the head off tonight and all 8 of the cam followers on the intake cam have been snapped in half and are all lying inside the engine.

Where do i go from here shall i just give the guy his car back and tell him to go to vauxhall and take them on etc or shall i take the int cam out, fit new followers, line it up and just hope the valves arn't bent??

The guy is coming to look at it tomorrow so be good if i could advise him the best way to go.

Thanks for your help on all of this

vocky

he will have no chance claiming off vauxhall 🙁

are the valves bent notsure.gif

if not fit some new followers / lifters and rebuild it 🙂

Matt

When i first started to read this thread i thought "snapped chain" - unlucky mate - these engines are renowed for it - happened to me but got vxl to fork out for it - quoted service ref no to them...

Hackett

Vocky lol i love your petrol head enthusiasm 😃

The chain is not snapped and the exhaust valves/followers are all fine. Only the intake followers are smashed. I have no idea if the valves are bent or not.

Everything looks fine from the top, it looks like i could just fit new followers and hey presto it would be fine but if the piston hit the valve hard enough to smash the followers then i have no doubt the valves are FUBAR'd.

How hard is it to change valves??

The chain is slack by the way so i take it the tensioner is what has failed thus allowing the slip of the intake cam sprocket.

It just seems like such a big job removing the aux belt and associated components just to remove the engine housing to gain access to the guide rail.

I would be up for fixing it for him but so far i'm doing it mates rates (free) and the wife is starting to get a bit racked off with it so i think i'll have to say if he wants me to repair it then he has to pay me. But then i may not even be able to fix it just by changing valves and followers.

feck.gif

Lightning_Coupe

So why has it snapped all the inlet cam followers? Has the cam slipped a tooth, it must have to do all of them? In which case youll be bloody lucky not to have damaged the valves, maybe even upset the guides.

I'd take the head off to just check, all it needs is a fragment of valve to score the cylinder and its fecked. By the time youve bought replacement parts, gaskets, new chain kit etc and labour it might be cheaper to get a replacement engine on a crate and drop it in. dunno..

Hackett

So why has it snapped all the inlet cam followers? Has the cam slipped a tooth, it must have to do all of them? In which case youll be bloody lucky not to have damaged the valves, maybe even upset the guides.

Thats what i said notsure.gif

Any way i think you're right there mate it would probably be cheaper to fit a new engine. like i said chain is slack as a whores draws so this would explain how it slipped, probably when we tried to bump start it. 🙁

...........to ebay..... walkthedog..

Lightning_Coupe

Hackett said:

Thats what i said notsure.gif

sorry buddy, I had started typing my reply before you posted about the valves. If it was me I'd just buy a new engine from vaux. I think you can get a full engine minus the manifolds on a crate for just over a grand. You just dont know with an ebay jobby what your getting and lets be honest, if its not even your car do you want the hasstle of fitting something your not sure about, even though its not your fault you could end up having to tell him its another lemon and thats embarasing and bloody anoying as youve wasted your time and effort. Your already doing him a favour, hes just gonna have to pay

Hackett

good advice there mate, thanks