Author Topic: cambelt!  (Read 3320 times)

Offline jammac

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cambelt!
« on: 18 May 2007, 15:33 »
whos changed their cambelt and tensioner then????

Ive bought the bits for my 8v from VW and will be doing it within the next month or so. has anyone got any tips, suggestions or warnings i may need to know??? ive heard its a piece of piss but have never done it before on any car. Its not going in a garage to have it done as theyve been quoting £200+ (including parts) and id rather gain the experiance myself.  :cool:

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Offline Simon8v91

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Re: cambelt!
« Reply #1 on: 18 May 2007, 15:48 »
Yep its quite easy.  Things to look out for:

1) Make sure you mark up the relative position of the pulleys before you remove the belt.  Use tipex to make things really obvious.

2) You may need an impact driver to remove the crank pulley(s) allen bolts.

3) Make sure you torque up the tensioner & pulley bolts properly on reassembly.

4) Tensioning the cam belt can have the effect of moving the cam timing out by one tooth.  Check your marks after you tension.

5) Use rubjonny's tuning guide for checking the ignition timing afterwards.

Good luck  :smiley:


Edited: crank instead of pas in 2)  :rolleyes: sorry for the poor description
« Last Edit: 30 May 2007, 21:30 by Simon8v91 »

Offline Gambit

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Re: cambelt!
« Reply #2 on: 18 May 2007, 16:03 »
Check your marks after you tension then
Re Check your marks after you tension

check check n recheck i cant emphasis enough.

Offline E405

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Re: cambelt!
« Reply #3 on: 19 May 2007, 08:00 »

Don't put the tensioner on the wrong way round like I did yesterday!  :embarassed:

lucky noticed a second or two after starting the car (whats that screeching sound???) before I completely shagged my timing belt :laugh:

Offline gteyes

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Re: cambelt!
« Reply #4 on: 19 May 2007, 09:43 »
and before u fit it  all back together turn the engine over by hand to make sure you don't hit valves (2 tuns of crankshaft) after doing this and all your marks line up and the tension is good you then know u can't do any damage :grin: :laugh:

Offline jammac

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Re: cambelt!
« Reply #5 on: 21 May 2007, 16:22 »
kool! thanks for the advice guys!

Ive posted loadsa questions on here recently and have done nothing to my car! had to sell my old car 1st to get the £Â£Ã‚£ sorted and am now revising for an exam in a couple of weeks. once thats out the way im gonna get stuck in!   :laugh:

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Offline Simon8v91

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Re: cambelt!
« Reply #6 on: 21 May 2007, 16:31 »
turn the engine over by hand to make sure you don't hit valves

I maybe wrong about this.....

But I thought the 8v was a non interference engine, ie, the pistons can't hit the valves.  That said best not to get it wrong  :smiley:

A 16v is an interference design so be very careful.

Offline jettagolf

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Re: cambelt!
« Reply #7 on: 22 May 2007, 00:09 »
I did in a belt on a early 8v k jet. The belt stripped its teeth on the bottom pully :sad: about 5 miles from where i bought it, instead of taking it back i towed it home crying.next day my dad appered with a belt (i think it was from a diesel) we put it on and 20 min later it started first turn never had a problem the 3 months i ran it just make sure you line all the markings up correctly and there wont be a problem it can be done in under a half hour as long as there are no problems. :smiley:

Offline rubjonny

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Re: cambelt!
« Reply #8 on: 30 May 2007, 16:23 »
Simon is correct, in theory the 8v lumps are non-interferance, but a heavily skimmed head and/or high lift cam can make it so :grin:

Its still good practice to turn the engine over a few times before you start, not only to check for valve contact but also so you can re-check the belt tension and your timing marks :)

Also a couple of other things:
1. Dont need to remove the PAS pulley simon ;)
2. A gear puller helps to remove stuck crank pulley(s), some pulleys also have threads in, you can thread the crank pulley bolts into these to slowly force the pulley off.
3. Sometimes you need to remove the waterpump pulley, sometimes not.  It seems on 90 spec cars you don't :)  Waterpump pliers and a friend make short work of em tho.
4. The dizzy will spin freely with the belt loosened, this caught me out on my 1st head swap :)
5. Remember to turn the tensioner the right way, you need to twist it clockwise, otherwise the lower belt cover wont go on. (yep I've done that too :grin:)
6. An easy way to tigten the tensioner without a tool, fit an allen key into one of the holes in the tensioner and brace it against your 15mm socket.
7. I have an easy method for lining up the crank & cam marks as well as setting the correct tension:
Fit the belt & tensioner loosley, lining up the marks
Next use a spanner on the cam pulley bolt to turn the cam slowly counter clockwise, untill the belt can just be twisted 90 degrees by hand.
If the cam & crank marks dont line up, move the belt a tooth then try again
When the marks line up tighten up the tensioner and turn the engine over a few times, then recheck tension.
Hello my name is John and I'm a dub addict.

Offline Simon8v91

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Re: cambelt!
« Reply #9 on: 30 May 2007, 17:30 »
Simon is correct

John, you've made my day  :grin: especially after yesterdays pm discussion!  :cool:

1. Dont need to remove the PAS pulley simon ;)

OK you know what I mean  :smiley: what do you call it crank v-belt pulley?  :tongue:  :laugh: