Cambelt, towing VR4 and all that good stuff

[unclepete]

Quik question (but very long story behind it - don't use Vehicle Rescue Direct and AXA Insurance for trips abroad!) - can I tow a VR4? I am obviously freaked out with towing it behind a truck, as you do not want two wheels raised, but when I get the car back to my house, I want to take it to a garage so I can get the engine stripped down and rebuilt thanks to my 18 month old cambelt snapping.

I need to tell them where to take it so if you can help me out, it would be greatly appreciated.

Pete

[Paul Beazer]

You can tow a VR4, as long as its manual. If its an auto, then no not really. Back of a wagon job.

[Kieran]

I thought towing, even if all four wheels were on the ground, was bad for the diffs?

[richy rich]

You can tow a 4wd at very slow speeds.

But normally a back of truck job.

[Paul Beazer]

Something to do with diff wind up?

[unclepete]

Thanks guys, it looks like my VR4's getting repaired at home anyhow. Although I have heard that repairing a VR4 after a cambelt failure is basically a case of a new engine. Is this true? Anyone have any experiences of this at all?

I am thinking of another Leggie anyhow to tide me over/2nd VR4!!! but seeing my current Legnum written off because the previous owner was a fool and didn't change the tensioner at the same time, seems a hell of a waste.

I would greatly appreciate any advice.

Thanks,

Pete

[Kieran]

Oh dear. Yes, the VR-4 is an interference engine, so if the cambelt goes ping, the valves do strike the pistons - Though how much damage this causes in itself I don't know. At the very least it's bent valves and a head off job to recondition and inspect the pistons for damage.

[richy rich]

As K said it is an interference engine.

Your best bet is get a second hand engine and change it.

you will be looking at a bill off about £2000

[richard_v6]

As K said it is an interference engine.

Your best bet is get a second hand engine and change it.

you will be looking at a bill off about £2000
http://www.geocities.com/khk_vr4/facelift-Legnum-vr4-parts-price.htm
this might help

[cslotay]

I am going through the same ordeal at the moment. I just bought the car recently and the cam belt shredded soon after. I have managed to get the heads off and ALL the inlet valves are bent. I have checked the exhaust valves and they are ok.
It seems that because the inlet valves are bigger in size, they got a good knock from the pistons. The pistons are fine, they just have little marks on them where the inlet valves came into contact.

Parts that were needed are:

Head Gaskets X 2
Manifold gaskets X 2
Cam oil seals X 4
Crank oil seal (might as well change it now)
Idler Bearing,
Tensioner,
Water Pump (This was worn out in mine and caused the belt to snap)
Crankshaft position sense plate got bent as the belt got wraped around it.
12 Inlet valves (still waiting for them).
you also might want to change valve stem seals and lash adjusters.

As soon as the valves are delivered and I get hold of the crank sensing plate, I will be putting it all back together.

Parts are not difficult to get but it is a lot of work involved.

[unclepete]

Cool, thanks for the info. Hopefully it's just a matter of putting back together, as above. We shall see if I get it back...

Anyone got any pics/advice to all this work? I have a mechanic that can do it but obviously he is a wee bit intimidated by the car.

[Eurospec]

Just to mention a few things:-

Towing, two wheels up, two wheel s down = Bad, dont do. The centre diff wont like that.

All 4 wheels on the deck, manual car, okay for short distances, low speed like Rich said, but better on a loader.

Auto car, dont even think about it. Loader.

Ref the cambelt snappage, time it up with a new belt anyway and then compression test it. That will tell you if you are in to badness before you take the heads off (Although it sounds like you already have!).

It is an interfearance engine as Kieran pointed out, but you will also find the cam has a sweet spot where no valves are open. If you have a head off the car, you will see what i mean. When a belt snaps, sometimes the cam can snap to this position before any clatterage occurs, and if so you might be lucky and just have to change the belt and ancillaries.

In my experiance about 80% of snapped cambelts bend valves, and 20% are lucky gits who i get my lottery numbers from.

Cheers,

Ben.