Timing belt (200Tdi)

[TheBeastie]

Hi

Quick question for you guys if you have a moment.

I think I should replace the timing belt on The Beastie. The previous owner said he had done it but the more I think of it the more I recall that everything else he said when he sold it to me was a load of cr*p. True it has run fairly well for the last six months but it is beginning to nag at me, and I seem to think it would be better to act before I regret ignoring it.

I have just been on the Paddocks site. They sell a genuine timing belt at about £28 and another at about £10. Part of me feels this might be a false economy but I do not know. Any views? Interestingly their timing belt kit includes the cheap one so perhaps it is OK.

I have read through quite a few posts and it seems the Difflock tool kit is the way to go, so that is another £100 or so. If I get the tool kit, the timing belt and the various seals included in the kit, is there anything else I will need - other than a long weekend and lots of coffee!

Thanks and best wishes

Malcy

[western]

gasket for timing case front cover -- ERR1553

dust seal -- ETC4154

injection pump pulley cover gasket -- ERR635

I always use a Dayco timing belt, I think Gates is the other version.

make sure you use the 'narrow' slot in the flywheel outer rim, the other slot is much wider.

[SRB60]

I fit Dayco timing belts. I also always fit a crank shaft front oil seal (ERR 6490).

Good luck you should get it done in a weekend.

[Les Henson]

Ask what make the timing belt is. Dayco make L/R timing belts anyway, so the quality would be pretty-much the same. If you buy gen, then you are mostly paying for the name on the box. Gates are good quality belts as well. Anything else I wouldn't consider except in an emergency and then I would replace it again long before the recommended interval. Change the tensioner as well as the gaskets/crank front oil seal/ timing cover dust seal.

Les.

[GBMUD]

You can get away with not using special tools as long as the front pulley/damper comes off easily. You need a 9mm drill bit for the fuel pump pulley location, can align the flywheel once using a drill bit to check alignment and it should stay put (once the belt is fitted, check that everything still lines up before rotating the engine!).

Chris

[JST]

also need some coolant for topping back up

long extension for the front pulley bolt/impact gun makes life easier but not essential

[Gromit]

also you might need a new gasket for the water pump, if the old one hasn't been off in a while.

I didn't use any special alignment tools. As said, a 9mm bit for the FIP and a socket and drill bit to lock the flywheel. You can do it by eye anyway.

Cam lines up to a mark on the inside of the timing chest.

[western]

water pump gasket is ERC5655

[TheBeastie]

Thanks guys

In addition to looking at the "how to do it" posts I now am building the "need to get" list. From your suggestions it looks like the following:

Timing belt kit from Paddocks - consists of Dayco timing belt (ETC8550), tensioner (ERR2530), front cover gasket (ERR1553 and water pump gasket (ERC5655).

In addition to this I need to get a crank shaft front oil seal (ERR6490), a dust seal (ETC4154) and an injection pump pulley cover gasket (ERR635). It looks like Beam Ends for these.

For materials I need more anti-freeze to replace what gets lost when I drain the cooling system - last time I managed to get bottom hose off it all went everywhere!!

As far as tools go I have a pretty standard toolkit, and have drill bits that will do for the locking part, but it would seem that I need to get a 3/4" 30mm socket, a 3/4" long extension and a 3/4" breaker bar, plus a spanner for the viscous fan (DiffLock) and also possibly the timing belt kit from Difflock in case the pulley is playing hard to get. What about torque wrenches - I have a Halfords 3/8" torque wrench which was the only one that gave the rather more delicate torque readings.

Getting to be quite a shopping list, but all in a good cause!!

Sorry if this all seems a bit anal but if I am going to try to do it over a weekend I need to try and assemble everything first of all since if I find I cannot go any further without some tool I don't have then I am scuppered for the following week.

If I have missed anything a prompt would be really helpful. Perhaps when they are doing the really useful "how to do it" posts they could also include the shopping list and unusual tools needed to help muppets like me!

Thanks and best wishes

Malcy

[Gromit]

Hi Malcy,

When draining the coolant, you don't need to drain the whole lot, just pull the lower hose off the water pump. Expect a good few litres to jump out in completely the opposite direction to where your bucket is positioned. The whole system holds about 12 litres.

You won't need the injection pump cover gasket as you don't need to remove the cover. It's part of the timing cover, which you'll be removing.

You probably don't need the dust cover either, as I think that's in the timing cover too and doesn't normally need to be changed. Well, I didn't

I don't know what is in the difflock kit, but I just used a normal puller to remove the crank. I had to fashion another puller from a piece of steel bar and a few bolts to pull the toothed crank and cam pulleys off to get at the oil seal behind them.

If you're doing oil seals, you might as well do the camshaft seal too.

Be careful removing the timing cover. It's alloy, so don't do too much prying to get it off. Take your time and work gently around it with a small screwdriver if it's stuck. Similarly, don't try and pry the crank pulley off the crank using the timing cover, you'll break it.

Take note of what's in the timing chest when the cover is removed. If it's oil, then do the crank and cam seals. If it's diesel, you'll need to do the seal behind the fuel injection pump pulley.

You'll need a dial type torque wrench with a 1/2" square drive to tension the belt. You use this to hold on the correct tension on the belt while you tighten the tensioner. Then turn the crank 2 times and re-tension. A clicky torque wrench doesn't work for this. Anyway, a dial type is not too expensive.

Don't overtighten the bolts holding on the timing cover and water pump - they can strip.

For a full description, see Les' posts in the tech archive.

HTH

[TheBeastie]

OK

Timing belt kit has been ordered and the extra seals/gaskets to be ordered shortly. I am now looking in detail at the tools I need. I have no tool fabrication skills/experience so felt getting a kit was essential. The Difflock one is about £100 but I see a recommendation for a crankshaft pulley locking tool (DF475)and not sure if I am likely to need this. I suppose I don't mind buying it if I will get stuck without it but this is getting an expensive hobby!

Any thoughts?

Thanks and best wishes

Malcy

[simonb]

OK

Timing belt kit has been ordered and the extra seals/gaskets to be ordered shortly. I am now looking in detail at the tools I need. I have no tool fabrication skills/experience so felt getting a kit was essential. The Difflock one is about £100 but I see a recommendation for a crankshaft pulley locking tool (DF475)and not sure if I am likely to need this. I suppose I don't mind buying it if I will get stuck without it but this is getting an expensive hobby!

Any thoughts?

Thanks and best wishes

Malcy

If thats the big long handled thing that bolts to the crank pulley then its defo worth it Saves alot of hassle undoing and just importantly making sure the crank pulley nut is f**** tight when you refit it. If its not it will wreck the nose of the crank. See the other threads on here about the difficulty of stopping the engine turning to get that nut undone! A breaker bar jammed against the chassis and a flick of the starter is ok to get it undone, but that method won't work for doing it back up again. With the tool you can wedge it against the chassis rail and use a long bar/breaker to tighten the nut. For the 300Tdi IIRC, its torque to a certain setiing then a further 90 degrees. I guess a 200 is similar.

If its the other tool which fits in the bellhousing and locates in the flywheel slot, you can make that using a wading plug drilled through the centre and a suitable bar/drill. Details in Haynes manual. This is really only a timing aid, not a locking tool although some places call it the later.

[Gromit]

When tightening my nut , I stuck it in gear, put lots of loctite on it, and used a breaker bar with a scaffold pole over it. Standing on the wing, I just hung off it till it moved no more.

No problems since.