I’ve had this Microcar M.Go sitting around for a while now. Timing belt broke. When I opened it up, I found out it had taken out three of the four top valves. Not the kind of fix I was hoping for, but I figured, hey — I’ve done harder stuff on this farm.
So I replaced the valves, made sure the timing belt was in the correct position — at least as far as I could tell. The top shaft had a mark, but the bottom one didn’t, so I had to do it the hard way. Took things apart and pieced it back together with the best info I could find.
Once it was reassembled, a friend of mine — actually the previous owner — came over to help. We tested everything:
- ✅ Spark
- ✅ Fuel
- ✅ Compression
Still… nothing. Just cranked and cranked, but wouldn’t start.
We both gave up that evening. He shrugged and said he had no idea either.
🤔 The Diesel Twist
For those wondering — yeah, it’s a diesel engine (Lombardini). And apparently, that makes everything trickier.
No clear mark for the bottom pulley, barely any space to get tools behind it, and no way to be totally sure I was on top dead center. Still, I gave it a go.
Moved it one tooth in one direction… nothing.
Moved it one tooth the other way… and it bent two more valves. 🤦♂️
So now I’m back to ordering new valves again. Parts aren’t exactly easy to come by either. This car isn’t standard — can’t just walk into a shop and grab what I need.
🧠 Lessons Learned
- Always manually turn the engine before starting it. I should’ve known this. I feel dumb for not doing it.
- Finding TDC on these engines is a pain.
- Sometimes, you have to break things twice before they’re finally fixed (hopefully not three times).
📦 What’s Next
Now it’s a waiting game. Gotta track down the new valves and get this thing back together (again). Hopefully next time I’ll get it right — and maybe this old car will live to drive another day.
Until then, this is Part 1 of the Microcar saga. Stay tuned.
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