Picnic

[ricky1]

Hello all

just been given a picnic with a cambelt failer.

what are the engines like on the 2.0 r reg picnics are they a safe engine.

would i get away with just fitting a cambelt or is it gonna be valve damage!!!

[propnut]

Hello all

just been given a picnic with a cambelt failer.

what are the engines like on the 2.0 r reg picnics are they a safe engine.

would i get away with just fitting a cambelt or is it gonna be valve damage!!!

You would be foolish not to take the head off and check.

[ricky1]

You would be foolish not to take the head off and check.

would be if its a safe engine and a waste of money

but need to know if its a safe engine first

[propnut]

You would be foolish not to take the head off and check.

would be if its a safe engine and a waste of money

but need to know if its a safe engine first

The term you are looking for is "free running" which means that even with the valve at full lift there is sufficient clearance in the combustion chamber to mitigate a piston strike. Unfortunately I do not know the answer to this question on the petrol engine but do know that the diesel is definitely NOT a free runner. Most cars these days do not feature hemispherical heads which is generally a pre-requisite for a free runner. Hemi heads are traditionally more common of 8 valve engine and rare on 16 valve arrangements.However you can ascertain with a fair degree of accuracy whether or not you have suffered a strike by simply taking off the rocker cover, taking out all the plugs, REMOVING THE CAMSHAFTS and

1. Turn over the engine BY HAND using a socket on the crankshaft and feeling for smoothness of operation.

2. Measuring the height of each cam follower using a dial gauge in respect of a datum line (generally the surface of the head here the rocker cover gasket goes is a good reference point) If there has been a strike you alomost certainly will have a bent valve stem and as such this valve(s) will not close fully hence they will be lower in reference to the datum point.

If you are intending to fit the belt and sell the car then you could take a chance. If however you intend to keep the car, IMHO, removing the head, checking for certain and then doing a reprep on the head is always a good idea. By this I mean lapping all the valves, fitting new valve steam seals and cleaning out all water ways. This takes a few evenings and is time well spent....but hey I am old school and this is just my opinion.

Best of luck with the car.