hi all. OK I'll keep this short as i can , 97 El gli , three weeks ago i noticed the car was using a bit of water but not leaking out. Went down to natrad and got a pressure test done and the guy said I've got an internal problem. after ripping the top end off i find a nice little crack in the head right beside #5 exhaust valve .OK got a exchange recod head at a cost of $550 and whacked it back on. At this point everything was fine,drove around for 2 days then i noticed it had developed a noise in the front of the motor. so checked every at the front (thinking water pump or pulley bearing)and nothing wrong,worked out noise coming for timing chain area. a day later while in the driveway i went to start the car i heard bang in the engine bay and the motor turned over for 2 or 3 seconds.
take a look and find the rocker cover is broken at front of the engine, ripped it off and find that the cam sprocket has come of the cam and the bolt is broken off in the cam and the rest of the bolt is missing (mmmm not good). went and got the cam fixed and picked up a new bolt, found the rest of the old bolt down in the timing cover and got it out without to much trouble.
so i put the cam back on, line up tdc mark and find out the cam sprocket has jumped three teeth, realign that and check everything, and reset the chain tensioner.
At this point went to start the car and it would not start so check everything again, line up tdc mark and find the dizzy is out , reset the dizzy hit the key and it went to start but it didn't.
With help i it started but would only start when the dizzy is fully advanced, so now i have another problem no matter were i set the dizzy it runs rough.

Sooooo my question is is it possible that I've done some damage to the head when the cam let go ?

Chances are, when the aux gear retainers came loose, and jammed the gear into the timing cover, you may have kissed valves to pistons.


Remove the cover and inspect all valves.
Or inject compressed air into each cylinder to find which one is failing.(with the obvious precautions of a rotating crank)

i would say you may have bent valves from where the cam gear has come off,
so the outcome would be that the cam has stoped and crank and pistons have kept going to where the pistons have met the valves...

picking up a compression tester tomorrow and see what that will tell me .... here's hoping i haven't bent valve's

You'll be a luicky man to not have bent any.

if it is bent valve would that mean damaged valve guides ?
also how much compression are these motor meant to have

Good luck dude, but I suspect it's ALL OVER RED ROVER for that engine.

Gab

hope not it's only done 190,000

i think worse case is new valves, it didnt let go at high rpm so pistons should be ok..

as for compression, should be around the 150 - 180psi on each cyl. you will no if a cyl has a bent valve, it will have pretty much no comp on that cyl..

so got compression tester and have done the test and it's bad news. #2 & 3 have no comp what so ever, looks like i have done the valves (sh*%t f@$kin c^!t ). about to start pullin the motor out for another to take it's place and strip this (pos) one down and have a look at the damage.

Probably the best option to take. Cam bolts don't snap for no reason, I think you'll find further damage when you take the timing cover off.