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[Kevin Wood]

1.8 is okay if cambelt goes, how do I know

.. and 1.3 Pinto is barely powerful enough to move its' own weight let alone the car as well. Box of swan vestas and a can of petrol.

[Viral_Jim]

I believe this was the lump in my escort way back when. Mated to a 4spd manual and lugging around a 3 door estate. Didn't even have a radio until I fitted one 

Upgraded to a 1.6 5 speeder I took out of a very rusty donor when the 1.3 dipped under 100 miles to the pint of engine oil 

[YZ250]

When a Pinto cam belt broke what you did was dependent on the capacity:


2.0l - fit a new belt and drive away(I did one at the side of the road when the AA patrol lent me some tools)
……….

Yep, my 2.0 belt snapped when I was flat out down the M40. Got it towed home and as it was a non-interference engine I was out and about in it that same evening. 

[Nick W]

1.8 is okay if cambelt goes, how do I know

.. and 1.3 Pinto is barely powerful enough to move its' own weight let alone the car as well. Box of swan vestas and a can of petrol.

which is why they weren't sold here. Instead, you could buy a mk3 Capri, mk5 Cortina - and I believe an early Sierra, but I've never seen one - with a 1300 crossflow, although virtually nobody did.


Much the same applies to a 2.0l Cologne(which we also didn't get) that does a number of things better than a 2.0l Pinto. Unfortunately those are all things you don't want: drink fuel; weight the front of the car down; has more, serious failure modes; costs more to maintain.


1.8 Pintos are barely more poweful than 1.6s, are fractionally more economical(due to a particularly crap carb), and I've only ever seen them in Sierras.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

My mates Dad had a brand new 1.3 Mk4 Cortina in the late 70,s.
Most of the time when the engine was switched of it would run on pinking like hell for all it was worth, for a very long time.
I reckon you could have went indoors and had a cup of tea and it would still be doing it when you came back out.
The usual way of stopping the the thing was  clutch down, foot on the brake, put it in gear then dump the clutch and stall it.
Countless returns to the supplying Ford dealer made no difference at all.
An absolute piece of crap of an engine.

[Andy B]

....
which is why they weren't sold here. Instead, you could buy a mk3 Capri, mk5 Cortina - and I believe an early Sierra, but I've never seen one - with a 1300 crossflow, although virtually nobody did. ....

the 1300 Sierra was a Pinto .....    Never seen one though 

I do remember that from the time but Wiki confirms it  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Sierra

[countrywoman]

We had a farmer with an old MK3 Cortina, yellow but mostly brown. It was a "taxi" special with 1100 crossflow, now that was gutless !

[ronnyd]

Had a 2.0l Pinto in my Mk3 Granny. Actually managed to pull a tin tent with it. Admittedly, it was only a 2 berth. 

[Kevin Wood]

....
which is why they weren't sold here. Instead, you could buy a mk3 Capri, mk5 Cortina - and I believe an early Sierra, but I've never seen one - with a 1300 crossflow, although virtually nobody did. ....

the 1300 Sierra was a Pinto .....    Never seen one though 

I do remember that from the time but Wiki confirms it  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Sierra

Pretty sure I had a colleague with a 1.3 pinto in a Sierra. Not sure I have ever seen a crossflow in one. Later small engined variants got the CVH.

[countrywoman]

I had a mk3 transit with the 2.0 city spec engine, would hardly pull 5th empty. Soon sorted that with a twin plenum 2.8 V6, now that towed well!

[Doctor Gollum]

....
which is why they weren't sold here. Instead, you could buy a mk3 Capri, mk5 Cortina - and I believe an early Sierra, but I've never seen one - with a 1300 crossflow, although virtually nobody did. ....

the 1300 Sierra was a Pinto .....    Never seen one though 

I do remember that from the time but Wiki confirms it  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Sierra

Pretty sure I had a colleague with a 1.3 pinto in a Sierra. Not sure I have ever seen a crossflow in one. Later small engined variants got the CVH.

The facelift 1.6 and 1.8 were CVH iirc.

Dad had a B reg 1.6 Emax powered one. Whilst it didn't set the world on fire, it could cruise at 80. Did nearly 3,000 miles in it on L plates one summer and passed my test in it.

[JamesV6CDX]

Both Astra's are now 8 years old.

Mrs AA's has done 17k.

Mine has done 23k.

Should I get the cam belts changed?

I recall from one of your other posts, that these engines are the 1.4 variant, in both of your Astras?

If so, I am 99.9999% sure they won't have cambelts, but rather, a timing chain setup. Which, at those mileages, won't need disturbing yet.

Best bet if that's the case, is just to make sure the oil and all filters are regularly changed (more often than the recommended intervals, in my humble opinion)

[Auto Addict]

Both Astra's are now 8 years old.

Mrs AA's has done 17k.

Mine has done 23k.

Should I get the cam belts changed?

I recall from one of your other posts, that these engines are the 1.4 variant, in both of your Astras?

If so, I am 99.9999% sure they won't have cambelts, but rather, a timing chain setup. Which, at those mileages, won't need disturbing yet.

Best bet if that's the case, is just to make sure the oil and all filters are regularly changed (more often than the recommended intervals, in my humble opinion)

Thanks James.