Sounds like bad news:

[rossnunn]

Yesterday:
first off we were on the spalding bypass in the mighty van (LDV Pilot) when she started to wonder. First we thought it was just wind but then noticed the trees wern't blowing & it was getting worse, like it was on ice, you had to constently correct the steering. Not beeing very happy with it (you wouldn't) we pulled over to find that all 5 wheel nuts on the nearside rear wheel were only on by about a turn, turn & a half!
Not having anything to do them up we did them up by hand & crawled into the next town, by the time we got there they were nearly off again. A quck snoop around the shops we found & wheel brace & done them up properly.

The van had been knocking for about 3 weeks before, turns out it was the wheel moving around the hub, we had checked the axle & tyres for bulges but didn't even give the nuts a thought! Scary thing is had the wheel come off, what are the chances the van would have kept upright & on the road!?! I could be either laying in a hospital right now or still in the van in a field somewhere

THEN!

When we get home I need to reshuffle the cars on the drive so they all go out in the right order again, jump in the old Xantia, click wizzzz. bugger. wizz wizz. So it looks like the cambelt has boken, major bummer!

[AndersDK]

Easy now

Stood overnight - battery a bit on the weak side - cold part of the year. Try start : wizzzzzzzzzz
Could as well be the starter that wont engage and then the driven gear is
wizzzzzzzing against the flywheel.

- as I really doubt the starter would crank the engine with a broken cambelt.

[rossnunn]

righty ho, had the spanners out & removed all but 1 of the the cambet cover bolts and took a look inside, I can't see where its broken & the belt seems to still be under tension, I had a dude just touch the key and kept a eye on everything. Both cams are turning ok as is the ancillary belt.
The engine sounds like there is no compression if that makes sense, similar to not having any spark plugs in??

Ideas?

[Peter.N.]

Sounds strange, but could be that the belt has jumped a few teeth, although if it feels tensioned that doesn't seem likely, unless of course one of the sprockets has turned on its shaft.

[rossnunn]

either way it sounds expensive!

[citronut]

firstly i thought LDVs allways drove like that ha ha ha,as far as your cam belt goes i have just fixed a customers BX 1.4 TU petrol,the cam belt was as tight as it should be but it had striped a section of toothys from the belt about 4 to 6 innches,and it had bent all 8 valves
regards malcolm

[PowerLee]

Easy now
as I really doubt the starter would crank the engine with a broken cambelt.

You will find the engine turns over a lot quicker with a broken cambelt Been there, done that, got the T shirt

An engine spinning over with a broken cambelt has a distinctive sound your ear will pick out easily next time you come across a non starting engine.

[rossnunn]

firstly i thought LDVs allways drove like that ha ha ha,as far as your cam belt goes i have just fixed a customers BX 1.4 TU petrol,the cam belt was as tight as it should be but it had striped a section of toothys from the belt about 4 to 6 innches,and it had bent all 8 valves
regards malcolm

Would the cam(s) etc still go round? As the Xantia's do??

[rossnunn]

right, we've just had another look.

Everything seems to be fine. The belt is in one piece & all the pullys are going rotating as normal.
The engine is cranking but it sounds like there is no compression - the engine is spinning too fast.
Now I'm confused!! lol

[citronut]

yes they can somtimes
regards malcolm

[fastandfurryous]

next thing to check is if all the timing marks line up.

As for you wheel loose on the ldv... you'd have probably kept control of it. I knew someone who lost a wheel from a van before, and managed to keep it upright. In his case it was an incorrectly staked bearing nut that came undone... scary!

Worth investing in some of those little yellow pointers you see on trucks these days... well worth it and a damn good idea.

[rossnunn]

Why would the timing be out, the car has not been under load (other than the starter) unless the belt has slipped but that's unlikely with the dension its under.
The car started fine in the morning when I moved it, then that evening I went to move it back & it was like it???

[zzf00l]

Easy now

Stood overnight - battery a bit on the weak side - cold part of the year. Try start : wizzzzzzzzzz
Could as well be the starter that wont engage and then the driven gear is
wizzzzzzzing against the flywheel.

- as I really doubt the starter would crank the engine with a broken cambelt.

Oh yes it will!

[AndersDK]

Hmmm...

If the starter can crank the engine with a broken/offset cambelt - then there must be some serious damage to at least a couple of valves. As they must have been "pushed out" of the pistons way first turn.
I would have thought some serious ticking sounds would follow that easy crank spinning.

The fastest way determining if the still working cambelt has jumped is simply to insert the timing dowels. They will never fit if the belt is out of timing. And that will be the conclusive answer. Period.

[rossnunn]

aaah good tip. Top tip!

My next question is where the timing marks are & how they should align (I know it for the TU but not the 16v) but that would do it.
If all is ok, my next plan was to remove the rocker cover & see if there is anything obvious there (I really really don't want to take the head off! )
I happened to mention my woes to a guy at work & he rekoned the camshaft could have snapped! lol A I'd ahve thought it was too thick to snap & B I'd have heared it for sure!.

To add to my woes the mighty vans clutch seems to be near the end of its life & I think is probably only good for another couple of weeks!