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Consequences of cam gear failure?

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1980malibuman

New Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2007
Messages
46
My 1987 Turbo T wouldn't start and then turned over faster. After some advice from the some knowledgeable Turbo Buick members, and some teardown, we discovered that the cam gear had many stripped nylon teeth. I'm in the process of trying to figure out what other damage may have happened by turning over my engine prior to the removal of the timing cover/oil pump? Is there any chance that the valves may have contacted the pistons? Do these 3.8 Turbo engines have zero clearance heads? I have purchased all of the parts to do the repair, but have these concerns. Thanks. :confused:
 
If it turns over faster then the valves are bent.
 
Well it's turning over faster than previously, but it happened two years ago and now I'm trying to get my act together with the car. So these are zero clearance heads after all? It is interesting that a fellow local 1987 GN owner who is a GM technician, came over and listened to the engine being cranked over and never mentioned that possibility. Is this info available on line somewhere? I appreciate your quick reply, and want to verify this info. Thanks.
 
Only way to be absolutely sure is to pull the heads. If you're trying to avoid removing the heads you can do a compression check. Little to no cylinder pressure means the valves aren't sealing and they're broken or bent.
 
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