Alfa Pages

[Evs]

I’m after some advice, and where else would I look!!!
Not long ago, my engine failed and I assumed that one of the cam belts had broken!
However, after stripping the front end of my car off, I finally managed to get the belt covers off and to my surprise both belts were fine! What had actually happened was that on the drivers side, the lower idler had broken off and therefore the belt lost its tension! Now I can see that the belt has carried on turning for quite some time as it has melted an outline of its path onto the plastic cover! I initially assumed that the belt would have been slipping and damage would have been done to the valves etc, as if the belt had broken! But I can see that where the timing has been set up before they have put red marks on the cogs and the marks on the drivers side appear to match exactly with the red marks on the passenger side! This is either a massive coincidence or I’ve been very lucky and the timing has actually not been affected! What do you lot think?? Do I struggle to remove the head cover to inspect the valves etc, or do I fit a new idler and see if she starts up! When it happened there was quite a lot of noise so I’m thinking that more damage has been done than I can see, or do you think that the noise would be coming from the broken idler being thrown around by the belt!
I’ll be so happy if it turns out that I don’t have to take the head apart!!
Any thoughts are more than welcome!!
Cheers!

[RFlower]

I would replace both idlers (the other one might be ready to break) and probably both belts, unless there is absolutely no damage to them, check the valve timing is correct - by the book , not someone else's marks, then turn engine over by hand, gently, with plugs removed.

If no resistance felt (apart from valves operating) I guess starting would do no further damage, but be ready to stop it in a hurry. You won't see much of the valves by removing valve cover, anyway.

You don't say whether you have hydraulic lifters, if so you can't just remove just the valve cover. If normal lifters you probably have to remove the cover anyway, to see the timing marks.
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Dick Flower, Nr. Carcassonne. '94 Trofeo 1.4 ie (F), '93 Imola 1.3/1.4 ie (now for breaking) (F), '91 1.7 ie (GB)(spare car), '86 Sprint 1.5 QV (F). '87 VW Syncro camper (F), '73 NSU Ro80 (F), '99 Fiat Seicento (F)