Hi,

Wonder if anyone can help me, I gave my brother a Fiat Stilo 1.8 16v,02 plate,

Never the less he never looked after it, and it stopped working, he says that he was'nt driving it at the time but when he tried to start it, it just didnt want to start, now I have not opened the bonnet yet and taken off any covers, but I suspect the Cam belt is broken, now would this cause the valves to bend or what damage am I looking at ???


Any help would be appreciated


Thanks

yes valves will be bent and probably have caused damage to the pistons as the 1.8 is not a non-interferance engine.

Expensive repair

If it is the cam belt that has gone

open the bonnet and have a look at the belts that way you can be sure if its gone, it's pretty pointless asking a question unless you know whats broken and whats not !!
but to answer you it is more than likely you valves are bent

Like he said ^^^^

take the cam belt cover off and have a look, I could just bend mine back slightly and see the cambelt (on a 2.4)

There could be lots of reasons why it wont start

Is he sure he wasn't driving it at the time?:chin:

If it is a cam belt issue then obviously it won't be cheap:bang:

I think the top of the cover is easy enough to release so you can shine a torch in and take a peek. Hope it isn't that though.

Good luck. Let us know how you get on

cambelts normally go on startup or when pulling off from a standstill, so it is a possibility but make sure before you break the good news to him

Thanks Guys I will have a look this weekend, and let you know what the outcome is.

Hi Guys, Ok i have had a look and all the belts seems fine,what is happening is, when turning the key, it does not crank as normal, but its a continous crank if that makes sense???Maybe starter motor?I have charged the battery all day, any ideas??

Oh yes and another thing if I leave the car in gear and turn the key, the car does jump forward

has it got petrol in it?

I should think so, but in saying that even if it didnt have petrol in it, it would crank normal.

Maybe not if the ECU recognises the lack of fuel pressure...?

try bump start it.

and get the cambelt done what ever.

To check the engine is basically OK:

Jack up one of the front wheels, put it in top gear, and have a bit of a heave-ho turning the engine over. If you can't manage it then you'll have to remove the spark plugs which will make it a lot easier.

If you CAN turn it OK then the likely problem is going to be the starter motor / battery etc.

it does not crank as normal, but its a continous crank if that makes sense

If you mean the engine just turns over and faster than usual and with no normal fluctuating sound then that's what happens when you have no compression ie cambelt slip and bent valves. Had that once and the different sound on start up is unmistakeable as there's no compression and therefore no resistance. Just a steady whirrrrrrrrrrrrr

The fact the engine is turning around and the car moves when it's in gear would suggest the starter is ok

If your lucky and it's not a mechanical fault -

Did you touch the throttle pedal when you tried
to start the car when it was cold. If you did you may
have the same problem my VX Senator 24v has-
sounds just like a snapped cam belt. No compression
and turns over too fast. Called Bore Wash too much
fuel in the cylinder washing the oil off the bore
which stops normal compression.

My 1.8 stilo did it just after I bought it took a fair
bit of churning with foot clear of the throttle -
5 mins or so to clear the cylinders before it
spluttered into life.

John