Loss of idle, poor running and a nasty noise - Land Rover S3

[metroman]

Hullo all,

I've got an issue with my Land Rover.

Its a 1983 Series 3 109 with a 14J diesel (2.5 block with the injection pump still in the old 2.25 position and a cam belt instead of a chain).

Last night after a 20 mile drive I was pulling into my friends driveway when it stalled.

On restarting the engine would not idle on its own without holding the accelerator and it was running rough. The engine was also making a nasty metallic rattling sound as well as having a noticeably different and louder exhaust note.

I checked the engine mounts, exhaust and disconnected the brake pump to try to find the source of the noise. I also checked the rockers in case one had broken or come loose.

Unable to find anything I took it for a gentle run around the block. Under load the running seemed also normal and the exhaust note sounded better but it was down on power.

My suspicion is that the tensioner on the cam belt has failed, making the rattling sound, and that the belt has jumped a tooth putting the timing out which has hurt the running.

Is there anything else that I should check before doing a cam belt change that could cause these sorts of issues? I have not driven the car since for fear of a complete belt failure.

Thanks

James

[deaddave72]

there is a small possibility that a hot spot, precombustion chamber, has either come apart or dropped. As you have already surmised, it could be a cam belt issue , this would be my first port of call. I would also first drop the heater plugs out and rotate the engine by hand to see if there is a distinctive noise from one cylinder that would indicate that the head needs to come off, you could also do the same for the injectors to have a look down and see if the hot spots are there. If it were myself, i would pull the head off as a matter of course as the noise sounded mechanical, just to be safe.