Crank pulley failed - HUGE problem and eventually an engine rebuild

[Ozzy119]

This is completely understated as to the true drama it caused in real terms, but I was somehow very lucky it failed at a standstill and the engine was only idling.

But the resulting issues from here meant a full engine overhaul as cylinder two piston died.

No prior warming this was failing.

Anyone else seen this?

2010 D4 2.7 - 182K kms

[Bulletman]

That is not good...I originally thought it was the snapped oil pump housing..

that just seen the confidence in the 2.7 plummet even further ...

182k was the timing belt done recently ?

Bulletman

[scarry]

That is not good...I originally thought it was the snapped oil pump housing..

that just seen the confidence in the 2.7 plummet even further ...



issues with the D4 2.7 engine are very rare,they were modified from the D3.

Talk to any Indie,and they will agree.MAny say they have never seen a crank failure in the D4 2.7 either,unlike the D3 2.7 and 3.0l.

The 3.0L is actually more problematic than the 2.7 D4,although there are more of the 3.0l around.A search on here will confirm.

As for the OP,never seen anything like that,hopefully Dazza or JC will chime in.

[discorevy]

which side cam pulley ?, have they taken that side rocker cover off to see if the chain is intact ?
frequent oil changes?

[loanrangie]

which side cam pulley ?, have they taken that side rocker cover off to see if the chain is intact ?
frequent oil changes?

Chain failure was my first thought when i saw it.

[Ozzy119]

I don't recall which side. All belts, oil and more than usual service history in my car. It is highly maintained.

For the purists in the group I have added a few open heart surgery shots.

Not how the average person wants to see their car. Once the shock had settled I was pretty proud of the outback souvenirs gathered over the years though.

Note the small bearings on the camshaft clamps. Hoping they were all collected. Apparently the clamps on cylinder two (drivers side) all failed.

[josh.huber]

What went first is the real question, did the cam lock up and the belt was strong enough to break the pulley?
I wouldn't think a pulley would let go. The can may have seized and it was the weakest point?

At the end of the day the question doesn't matter the result is no good. Sorry to see your car like that. Unfortunately it's unseen which is not good for you or anyone else.

Have you got a photo of the piston? Did it get a valve strike?

[PerthDisco]

What went first is the real question, did the cam lock up and the belt was strong enough to break the pulley?
I wouldn't think a pulley would let go. The can may have seized and it was the weakest point?

At the end of the day the question doesn't matter the result is no good. Sorry to see your car like that. Unfortunately it's unseen which is not good for you or anyone else.

Have you got a photo of the piston? Did it get a valve strike?

Good point. It was impressive when the roof blew off at Chernobyl but a few things had happened prior.

[Ozzy119]

What went first is the real question, did the cam lock up and the belt was strong enough to break the pulley?
I wouldn't think a pulley would let go. The can may have seized and it was the weakest point?

?

The pulley went first. I didn't know at the time, all I realised was the car had stalled at a stationary part of rush hour traffic! (total PITA) It wouldn't restart either. Tow truck to home and then next day to the mechanic shop. He was very baffled. I saw a neat trick with a short wire and a fuse removed, which obviously bypassed the starter button so he could crank the engine over continuously and listen / look for issue. Other than a bad sound, no starting and no fault codes.

Later that day he said "you won't believe this, its the pulley". He had a few spare engines in the shop and so swopped over a used one. Turned the belt and it rotated the cam. So next day put a new belt on The car appeared fine. It lasted another 2,600km before next fault. Now it was suddenly shaking like an earthquake and I could only guess that one of the pistons was misfiring.

Managed to get it to the mechanic again. He was concerned this time ! I was thinking I might looking at a dead engine. Massive credit to the bloke, he was so thorough in working out what the heck had happened.

No piston damage. Had everything checked out.

But the big uncertainty in all the story is why, which we just couldn't figure out.

[Graeme]

Note the small bearings on the camshaft clamps. Hoping they were all collected. Apparently the clamps on cylinder two (drivers side) all failed.I suspect that the cam followers/valve lifters failed and that the needle rollers are from inside the failed followers. The followers may have been damaged/cracked when the pulley broke causing valves to hit the piston but survived for a while. If that's what's happened then you're lucky that the followers were the weak point.

Edit: This begs the question as to how many other followers including those on the other bank have been damaged that will eventually fail?

[josh.huber]

I can't believe the bottom was rotated without the top and didn't cause any major damage, that's cool!

Last job I was on I seen a guy wind over a Iveco truck engine with incorrect timing and the thing spat the rocker arm. In that engine the valves were almost vertical. So no need to bend the stem just find the weak point. Replaced the arm. Reset timing and it lived.

That goes well with what Graeme is saying to. I originally read the post as the pulley went at the same time as everything else.

You might get lucky again set of cam bearings and see what it does. Cool photos too.

[DazzaTD5]

This is completely understated as to the true drama it caused in real terms, but I was somehow very lucky it failed at a standstill and the engine was only idling.

But the resulting issues from here meant a full engine overhaul as cylinder two piston died.

No prior warming this was failing.

Anyone else seen this?

2010 D4 2.7 - 182K kms

No, I havent seen that one. I'd put that one down to 'oh well engines can have failures now and then".

A big note though, FORGET rebuilding it, get a Ford Territory engine, there are still some low mileage ones out there.

[Graeme]

If the vehicle is already running again then if more rockers fail then it will only mean running on 5 cylinders again, at which time all the other original rockers could be changed. No need to change camshaft bearings though.

[DazzaTD5]

If the vehicle is already running again then if more rockers fail then it will only mean running on 5 cylinders again, at which time all the other original rockers could be changed. No need to change camshaft bearings though.

Thats a fair comment, my gripe with repairs to these engines is I have removed a head (on an engine I had replaced) and found that one piston had a tiny mark from a valve giving it a kiss and the piston stopped short when compared to the others. So I would assume it had a slight bend in the conrod.

The OP is prolly a good example, their repairer had fixed it, yet it is now showing more issues further down the track, the end result being its a cost now added to what is most likely going to be an engine replacement anyway.