Timing belt changing tips for 2.0 hdi

[Raul]

Hi

Any last tips before my attempt to change the timing belt on the 2.0 hdi? I found some helpful tips from the old threads:

1) Tensioner bolt should be renewed with an OEM unit or it could snap.
2) Water pump should be OEM or it could start to leak.
3) I read from frenchcarforum that those electric heaters on the coolant houses could cause trouble while bleeding the coolant system. If there is air trapped then they could even start to smoke and later they will start to leak. So it is better to remove fuses while bleeding.
The flywheel locking tools goes exactly where? Do I need to remove the bottom flywheel cover ? I do not mean the timing hole which is behind the starter motor but the tool for holding the crank when undoing or tightening the crankshaft pulley bolt.

[Art b]

You may need to remove the top engine mount ,
as to get access to some of the cover screws ,
the engine needs lifting, then dropping..
Did on my 1.9d

I slacked two of the flywheel bolts,
and put a bar across them ,
to hold the flywheel still

[polar]

1) Remove the starter motor as easier to find locking point.
2) the pulley bolt will be lock tight in and even an impact gun can fail to get them loose - a little heat on the bolt will melt the lock tight and it will come undone.
3) a good quality water pump is fine.
4) a good quality cambelt kit will be fine.
5) the bottom is keyed on some and it is adjustable you need to wedge in a screwdriver to hold it in place.
6) if you have never done one before dont attempt without a manual - even mechanics use manuals, thats what they are there for.

[Raul]

I have a haynes manual. I am going to read it many times before attempting to change the cambelt. I have a question about thread locking. I am going to use locktite on tensioner and idler pulley bolt and maybe on the water pump bolts also. With idler it is easy because you can tighten the bolt right away but what about tensioner. It needs to be tightened and untightened several times during the tensioning and therefore does not it cause problems with thread locking? Is it still effective after so many tightenings and untightenings?

[polar]

I have a haynes manual. I am going to read it many times before attempting to change the cambelt. I have a question about thread locking. I am going to use locktite on tensioner and idler pulley bolt and maybe on the water pump also. With idler it is easy because you can tighten the bolt right away but what about tensioner. It needs to be tightened and untightened several times during the tensioning and therefore does not it cause problems with thread locking? Is it still effective after so many tightenings and untightenings?

I think the tensioner bolt comes with locktight on it and when the engine gets hot it melts and locks it in place but ive never put any locktight on any bolt or water pump and ive never had any problems so i would not worry too much.

[Raul]

I read haynes and it says that it is necessary to remove also the bottom engine mount/link to the subframe. Is it really necessary?

[geoff]

I read haynes and it says that it is necessary to remove also the bottom engine mount/link to the subframe. Is it really necessary?

I've done cam belts on a 1.9D and a 1.6 Hdi and I recall Haynes says the same thing for those engines too.

However I've never removed the bottom engine mount on either engine and have experienced no difficulty.

I simply place my hydraulic jack ( a good sized one for Land Rovers ) under the sump and raise / lower the engine as required using that. Obviously you need to exercise some caution and not lift / lower an excessive amount.

I've also never replaced tensioning bolts etc when doing a timing belt or pump, I do place a very small drop of loctite on the crank bolt ( very small ! ) but have put back without on occasion without issue.

Haynes is a touch confusing on timing belts as they cover several engines and of course there are several versions of cam sprockets etc so you need to pick the bones of the version you have.

It is worth using a highlighter pen to " highlight " the pertinent information and also page markers so you can find the page needed easily and quickly, saves stress when doing the job - stress when doing a job for the first time makes for a recipe of mistakes and often a crisis of confidence. Check and double check when doing the job and take your time is my motto !

Remember, nobody ever asks how long it took you to do something all they'll ever say is " who did this top job "

Also when removing the belt covers etc make a note on paper where the screws / nuts go for easy refit - I use a sheet of cardboard and draw the outlines and stick the screws / nuts to the cardboard with sticky tape.

Do the same with the timing belt - draw the belt and how it routes itself over the rollers / take a photograph.

Again with the alternator belt - loads of people have trouble fitting these.

Have fun.

[GraemeT]

Have a google on using Loctite and so on when refitting steel bolts into alloy castings - it may actually multiply the torque you are applying such that you risk stripping the threads (figure bandied around is that you should reduce torque by 25% if using Loctite)

I've always just torqued up all the bolts as per the manual and not used locking fluid.

Not sure if over torquing by 25% would actuallk kill the threads - more likely to happen if you cross thread at the start (so get the bolts spun in by hand before attaching sockets/spanners etc as it is dead easy to cross thread if you try starting them with a tool)

Enjoy

[geoff]

The thing with Loctite is to use the correct product for the job you are doing.

All their locking products are basically the same with just differing curing strengths.

Some decades ago ( many ) we had in work a rep from Loctite demonstrating their products so we did some tests with the differing strength liquid lockers on an M10 bolt and nut.

With the lower strength stuff we could undo the nut with a good grunt on the socket which was probably around 50% more effort than without using the locker.
Using the high strength loctite the nut was impossible to remove and the high tensile bolt sheared before the Loctite yielded.

The only way to get a strong Loctite locking fluid to release without damage is to use heat which we did as a test using an oxy set so as I say take care to use the low strength product and even then just use a drop of it and don't use the " Hai karate " method of splashing it all over.

Correct torque - well unless you have a decent torque wrench available the method of tightening is the time honoured one of the " educated guess " which is actually surprising accurate if you regularly swing a spanner.

[Raul]

A little update. I wanted to use OEM parts but the water pump price was silly high so I decided to use aftermarket kit. They ordered INA kit. I still wait for some special tools which I ordered to help with the job - a locking kit for diesels and a belt tension measuring tool. My plan is to measure the tension of the old belt and to use this value as a reference to the new belt. I also need to find who sells the low strength loctite. I am going to use a little amount of it on the tensioner bolt. I am going to make a little tap cutting grooves to the sides and bottom end to the same size bolt as the tensioner bolt to clean the tensioner bolt hole. I will do the same with crank pulley bolt hole. If those holes are not cleaned from old loctite residue then correct torqueing might be problematic.