NHC:Car Mechanical Advice

Looking to get advice from any mechanic. I have a Chevy Lacetti Estate originally an motability car that is for my son. Recently, it broke down with no warning. Towed to my garage, who found the timing belt was slack and therefore no compression to the engine. They were going to charge me for a minimum 8 hours labour to strip the engine to see what was happening. They did not try another belt to see if that would get the engine started. It is a 88/90 model which is why they wouldn't touch it.We need this car for our family for appointments here and in Glasgow for my son as he uses a wheelchair. And to make things worse, my husband has just become ill with Dementia, (he is 52). I am looking for any assistance to find someone who could look at the car to see if it can be fixed without costing me a fortune. By doing so, it gives me a bit of breathing space to arrange a replacement Motability car that requires nil or low deposit. Ideally current car when working would be used as a trade in. Looking for a break. Thanks

Bump.

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Originally Posted by guyll123

Bump.

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A mechanic AND a panel beater now.

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Originally Posted by blackpoolhibs

A mechanic AND a panel beater now.

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Shouldnae laugh, but 😂

Modern cars fitted with a timing belt fall into two categories, non-interference and interference.
On a non-interference engine, if the timing belt breaks the engine simply stops immediately and a new belt can be fitted and everything is fine again.
On an interference engine, if the timing belt breaks, it again stops immediately but the pistons are likely to hit and damage the cylinder valves which often will show up as a lack of compression. Should this happen it is possible to look into the engine through the spark plug hole with an instrument known as a borescope and check on any internal damage. The other alternative is to remove the cylinder head which is more time consuming.
If the engine internals are damaged it can be an expensive job to rebuild that particular engine, often it is cheaper to fit a reconditioned or second hand engine, particularly on older cars.
For your car, I don't know if it is interference or non interference but a main dealer would be able to give you that information from the car's registration number.
Timing belts normally need changing every 3-5 years. Has this one been replaced recently?

Two car threads on the main forum? There's a hilarious in joke here that I'm just not up to speed with, isn't there? :confused:

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Originally Posted by Glory Lurker

Two car threads on the main forum? There's a hilarious in joke here that I'm just not up to speed with, isn't there? :confused:

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Thought it was About a Certain Player !!! But Now i Think its Something to Do with Firing on All Cylinders !! :confused:

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Originally Posted by mca

Thought it was About a Certain Player !!! But Now i Think its Something to Do with Firing on All Cylinders !! :confused:

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Will you jack it in matey, or you will get this thread the boot.

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Originally Posted by blackpoolhibs

Will you jack it in matey, or you will get this thread the boot.

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In a roundabout way I see what you're getting at.

Ffs boys, gi'e the guy a brake.

Stop car pun on about it. The pun police will be along any minute.

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Originally Posted by THEWEEMAN

Looking to get advice from any mechanic. I have a Chevy Lacetti Estate originally an motability car that is for my son. Recently, it broke down with no warning. Towed to my garage, who found the timing belt was slack and therefore no compression to the engine. They were going to charge me for a minimum 8 hours labour to strip the engine to see what was happening. They did not try another belt to see if that would get the engine started. It is a 88/90 model which is why they wouldn't touch it.We need this car for our family for appointments here and in Glasgow for my son as he uses a wheelchair. And to make things worse, my husband has just become ill with Dementia, (he is 52). I am looking for any assistance to find someone who could look at the car to see if it can be fixed without costing me a fortune. By doing so, it gives me a bit of breathing space to arrange a replacement Motability car that requires nil or low deposit. Ideally current car when working would be used as a trade in. Looking for a break. Thanks

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In my experience it will cost you more than the car is worth to fix it. If you look on gumtree you will find loads of cars for really cheap prices. I have to get the timing belt changed every 75k on my taxi and that costs around £400 when the vehicle is running fine. If the timing belt has gone your car will probably need a full engine rebuild. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it's highly unlikely you will be able to fix it on a budget.

If it's damaged the interior of the engine, I'm afraid you'll probably be looking at a tow to the scrappies.....Unless you are able to source a replacement engine and at a decent price.

I dont want to clutch at straws, but if the previous few posts are any indicator of what's to come, I'd get your sat nav looked at too cos you're way off course.

The Dug out forum is that way >>>>>>>>

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Originally Posted by Magnus

Modern cars fitted with a timing belt fall into two categories, non-interference and interference.
On a non-interference engine, if the timing belt breaks the engine simply stops immediately and a new belt can be fitted and everything is fine again.
On an interference engine, if the timing belt breaks, it again stops immediately but the pistons are likely to hit and damage the cylinder valves which often will show up as a lack of compression. Should this happen it is possible to look into the engine through the spark plug hole with an instrument known as a borescope and check on any internal damage. The other alternative is to remove the cylinder head which is more time consuming.
If the engine internals are damaged it can be an expensive job to rebuild that particular engine, often it is cheaper to fit a reconditioned or second hand engine, particularly on older cars.
For your car, I don't know if it is interference or non interference but a main dealer would be able to give you that information from the car's registration number.
Timing belts normally need changing every 3-5 years. Has this one been replaced recently?

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Thanks for the advice. The belt was replaced. It is an interference engine. Because it was only cranked over once after the belt became slac, a mechanic seems to think there may not be any damage to the engine so is going to tighten the adjuster and belt to see if this works. Hoping for best. But being realistic too.

[QUOTE=BullsCloseHibs;4828957]If it's damaged the interior of the engine, I'm afraid you'll probably be looking at a tow to the scrappies.....Unless you are able to source a replacement engine and at a decent price.[/QUOTE

Thanks.Engine not been looked at yet.

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Originally Posted by Magnus

Modern cars fitted with a timing belt fall into two categories, non-interference and interference.
On a non-interference engine, if the timing belt breaks the engine simply stops immediately and a new belt can be fitted and everything is fine again.
On an interference engine, if the timing belt breaks, it again stops immediately but the pistons are likely to hit and damage the cylinder valves which often will show up as a lack of compression. Should this happen it is possible to look into the engine through the spark plug hole with an instrument known as a borescope and check on any internal damage. The other alternative is to remove the cylinder head which is more time consuming.
If the engine internals are damaged it can be an expensive job to rebuild that particular engine, often it is cheaper to fit a reconditioned or second hand engine, particularly on older cars.
For your car, I don't know if it is interference or non interference but a main dealer would be able to give you that information from the car's registration number.
Timing belts normally need changing every 3-5 years. Has this one been replaced recently?

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Thanks

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Originally Posted by I'm_cabbaged

Shouldnae laugh, but 😂

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To be honest, somewhere I can laugh about this after everything my family has been through recently. Ps: I am the Mom of the Weeman in my User name.

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Originally Posted by THEWEEMAN

To be honest, somewhere I can laugh about this after everything my family has been through recently. Ps: I am the Mom of the Weeman in my User name.

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Good advice from Lord Bunberry above.
I drive an old car (02) and it's a great wee runner. I've seen similar ones on Gumtree for about £500.
Rather than pay for a new timing belt, cam shaft and whatever else you need, might be better going for the afore mentioned option.

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Originally Posted by THEWEEMAN

To be honest, somewhere I can laugh about this after everything my family has been through recently. Ps: I am the Mom of the Weeman in my User name.

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To make it clear I wasn't laughing at your situation, it was at that bad man BH 👍