I suffered valve damage on a 3.0 V6 24V for a reason beyond the two common issues that George listed. There was slippage of the crank drive with the locking key. I attribute the problem to insufficient crank nut torque following a belt change. The crankshaft timing belt drive was worn on the keyway and required replacement. Some valve piston contact was heard prior to a new timing belt and t-belt drive.
Anyway, two cylinders are a bit low on compression due to very minor bent valves. The engine idles a bit rough, yet, seemingly provides full power. The car easily passes emissions. So, it makes sense to be an optimist. Reposition the cams and check compression. The template is really neat. I recall finding, at TDC, the cam marks on a 12V engine are exactly 18 cm apart. Ken Stevenson Dallas, Texas -- to be removed from alfa, see http://www.digest.net/bin/digest-subs.cgi or email "unsubscribe alfa" to [email protected]
