[johnnyroper]

Tried a search but nothing specific came up.

On the 1.4ma if the belt breaks are you looking at head off job or is it similar set up to the diesels where the rockers are sacrificial and tend to break rather than bend valves?

 

[haakon]

Tried a search but nothing specific came up.

On the 1.4ma if the belt breaks are you looking at head off job or is it similar set up to the diesels where the rockers are sacrificial and tend to break rather than bend valves?

No rockers as such - its cam on bucket for the exhaust and a rocker of sorts to the MA brick. I'd say its a head off for sure.

 

[johnnyroper]

Thanks for reply looks like I have a project on week off next week then

 

[haakon]

Bugger... Was it an overdue belt that let go? Or a failed water pump or tensioner?

 

[johnnyroper]

Quite possibly overdue a belt,not mine i am over cautious with belt changes. A friends car that has died sounds like belt but I haven’t taken a look yet to confirm. I am mentally preparing for what might lie ahead but hoping it’s something simple rather than a big strip down job. Had enough of them recently after having my bmw engine out and in pieces spread across the garage.

 

[haakon]

Quite possibly overdue a belt,not mine i am over cautious with belt changes. A friends car that has died sounds like belt but I haven’t taken a look yet to confirm. I am mentally preparing for what might lie ahead but hoping it’s something simple rather than a big strip down job. Had enough of them recently after having my bmw engine out and in pieces spread across the garage.

I feel your pain - my Megane looked this for nearly a year following covid related parts shipping delays and my breaking bones coming off my mountain bike! Not sure id be emotionally equipped for the another big car project!

 

[johnnyroper]

That is certainly well stripped down to get the lump out, bmw not quite as involved getting the engine out is not too difficult. I was hampered by the good old British weather and getting covid. Once engine was back in and running it was on to the rear diff that was a strip down aswell just to get drive shafts clear so I could lower the diff.

This was mine, never planned on having an n47 lump car but it was too good a deal to turn down. Clutch/DMF head off to decarbon and a precautionary timing chain kit.

 

[haakon]

A more straightforward engine pull, Megane is always a whole front off job...

But mine was more than an engine - i lost a nice low kms car id had since virtually new to a hailstorm, and got another one with a good body but stuffed mechanically and with a shagged interior. Stripped them both down to a bare shell and put one back together. It seemed like a good idea at the time... Everything changed, suspension, drive train, entire interior. Everything... You never really appreciated how many bits go into a car until you undo all of them Its cured me of stuffing around on cars for a while!!

 

[johnnyroper]

The hailstones you get over there must be the size of footballs to do that damage!!
I think that amount of work would have cured me of car tinkering aswell. I also didn’t realise there was much of a market for French cars over in oz,always assumed it was more Holden,pick ups and v8’s

I used to have the hatchback shape of that Megane model some years ago until the turbo decided to self combust on the motorway taking the engine out with it. In the time it took to get over to hard shoulder the contents of the sump expelled from the exhaust in a cloud of blue smoke. Luckily still under warranty so was repaired and swiftly moved on.

 

[haakon]

It was an impressive hailstorm. Thousands of cars were killed. This is the A pillar - id have to swing pretty damn hard with a cricket bat to reproduce that!!

We lost the Giulietta the same day...

 

[haakon]

In the 60s and 70s we've had a Peugeot and Renault factory in Melbourne. But the last 30-40 years has seen them relegated to oddities - makes them great used buys More popular than Alfas, but here Japanese and Korean cars rule the roads, most of the SUVs and 4WD utes unfortunately... Renault have stopped selling cars here now - just the Megane sport and their SUVs....

 

[johnnyroper]

That demonstrates the power of nature,like you say it would take some doing to damage the A pillar like that.
Sounds like the roads are full of Kia’s and Hyundai’s now then? We seem To have a lot of them aswell must be the 7 year warranty. Although to be fair they have come a long way I learnt to drive in an old Kia can’t remember model but older version of the picanto and it was a hateful little car. My old man has a Niro at present and the kit and build quality is worlds apart from the Kia of old. Not my cup of tea mind but I can see why people buy them.

 

[haakon]

And toyotas and everything else. Best selling car here is the Hilux. Ford Ranger third i think.... Lots of i30 and Mazda 3 and corrolla/camry/rav4 etc. And every SUV you can think of - BMW and Audi SUVs very popular among the under endowed.

Holden and Ford Oz thankfully dead and gone (to be fair their very last models were decent, but not what the market wanted anymore and coming after many decades of very very sub standard cars...).

 

[Robden]

Tried a search but nothing specific came up.

On the 1.4ma if the belt breaks are you looking at head off job or is it similar set up to the diesels where the rockers are sacrificial and tend to break rather than bend valves?

I know of two cars that had the belt break. One almost wrecked the engine. The other one, nothing. Just replaced the belt and all was well. Seems to be just the luck of the draw.
Good luck.

 

[johnnyroper]

I know of two cars that had the belt break. One almost wrecked the engine. The other one, nothing. Just replaced the belt and all was well. Seems to be just the luck of the draw.
Good luck.

I like the sound of replacing belt and all being well,my luck says I will be taking the head off...

 

[haakon]

Depends on the engine too... Toyotas tend to non interference, i dont know of any european engine that isn't an interference head. Renaults deliberately have thin valve stems, you usually get aways with a new set of valves and only lightly marked pistons.

Also depends if it was idling or running at high revs when the belt lets go...

The 1.4MA looks like a relatively straightforward engine to do, plenty of room around it.

 

[johnnyroper]

Going by my ma and doing belt and other maintenance the worst bit is probably removing the crazy amount of fixings holding undertray on. It certainly has good access and room around the engine

 

[cue2]

Depends on the engine too... Toyotas tend to non interference, i dont know of any european engine that isn't an interference head. Renaults deliberately have thin valve stems, you usually get aways with a new set of valves and only lightly marked pistons.

Also depends if it was idling or running at high revs when the belt lets go...

The 1.4MA looks like a relatively straightforward engine to do, plenty of room around it.

I thought the FIRE engine survived a belt snap without any internal damage?

 

[johnnyroper]

I thought the FIRE engine survived a belt snap without any internal damage?

I think that is just the non vvt 8 valve models,according to fiat forum anyway.

 

[armoore]

I thought the FIRE engine survived a belt snap without any internal damage?

The 8 valve Fire does as it’s not an interference engine. The one on the Fiat 500 750 L snapped as I was taking it off to change it. The one on the Punto snapped but belt, etc., changed and it started up fine.