Morning everyone.

Got a problem with my Westfield, which has a fairly standard 2.0 pinto. At this point I should say I have basically no experience of car internals, I’ve been wading about armed with a technical mind and a Hayes manual.

At the weekend the cambelt snapped, luckily was just pulling out of the garage doing about 1500rpm. Following Hayes to a tee I have changed the belt and set the timing. The engine seems fine upon manual rotation, there are no funny noises so am presuming there is no damage. However it won’t start. All I get is a clicking noise coming from the starter motor. I took the starter motor off, checked that it was rotating freely and that all the connections were clean, no apparent problems. The pinion doesn’t look worn either.

Could anyone please help? I’m at a loss…

Thanks, Tony

Also, anyone know of the best place around York to get Dellorto carbs tuned?

You could try bump starting it - that will tell you if the engine is OK?

The clicking I would imagine is a fault with the starter (or a wire left off), but I am no expert in this area.

HTH

Well first the good news, IIRC on a standard 2.0 Pinto the valves can't hit the pistons so a cam belt failure isn't terminal. If the engine isn't turning over on start up I would suspect either the starter has packed up, the solenoid or relay, or just the battery has given up (IMHO they give you trouble once or twice then give up).

Sounds like either the battery has only enough power to engage the starter but not to turn it. That could be weak battery and/or electrical problem

Check fuses, check starter isn't worn.

Can you take the starter out and see if it works electrically fine? i.e. trying to engage and start to spin.

Ditto on the Pinto being kind on cam belt failures.

If the starter clicks when you turn the ignition, it souds like the solenoid is activating but the starter 'dog' isn't engaging - happed to me once. Either try and scrounge a starter off a mate or go down the scrappy where you should pick one up for £10-£15

Can you turn the engine over easily when the plugs are out? With a socket on the crank nut, that is. If the engine is easy to turn over then it's something to do with the starter.

Likely suspects are: dirty/loose battery connections; dirty/loose engine earth strap; tired battery.

If all those check out OK then take the starter off, clamp it in a workmate and connect a known good battery to it with jump leads. Don't do this without clamping down the starter, as it will fling itself across the garage if it spins!

David

Ditto Dave jenkins reply - sounds suspiciously like you have disturbed the engine earth strap.....

Cheers for the quick response everyone! Will check the wiring when I get home tonight. Will also bring some jump leads, it has been a few weeks since I drove it last, might solve the problem.

Thanks again, Tony

I also go with the earth strap theory - especially if the throttle cable starts to melt when you try to start the bugger

I know for a fact my 2 litre pinto will bend valves if the belt snaps, but thats because its got a high lift cam in it. If its a std cam i dont think there is a problem there.

Would ditto other peoples remarks though. Check the earth strap and the battery voltage under load...

David