300 tdi timing belt Tension

[splutter]

I read a thread under Land Rover Technical Archive 300TDI cambelt kit and very good it was too with very good pictures.

One thing bothered me a bit was the torque setting of the cambelt as described in the artical " tension the belt at 21.77 Nm "

Quote (Timing belts are not at all like fan belts, they don't need to be stretched any more than is sufficient to prevent them vibrating or coming off the sprockets. A belt that is too tight will howl and fail prematurely, a belt that's too slack is going to vibrate and either fail prematurely or come off one of the sprockets) AND QUITE CORRECT but correct me if I'm wrong but was the quoted torque to be applied to the tensioning bracket not originally quoted by Land Rover to be 15NM.

Then in a later Land Rover service bulletin amended this tension to a new lower figure of 11NM.

I might be the one who's wrong but would someone check as a belt that's too tight will not only howl but will probably try to walk.

We can all make mistakes and if it's me thats wrong well I apologise in advance.

Regards Splut

[Orange]

The figure in the Haynes Manual is 15Nm and I have always worked to that without any issues.

You can stop the 'walking' of the belt off of the crank gear by buying one of the later type that has a retainer ring around the outside...

I have done mine and 2 others using this method and no complaints so far...

[splutter]

The figure in the Haynes Manual is 15Nm and I have always worked to that without any issues.

You can stop the 'walking' of the belt off of the crank gear by buying one of the later type that has a retainer ring around the outside...

I have done mine and 2 others using this method and no complaints so far...

I thought I'd read somewhere it was 11 NM so if you say it's 15NM it's not that much more (8 lb/ft to 11 lb/ft) certainly not as much as 21NM (15.5 lb/ft)

I've just done mine and set the belt at 10lb/ft and the crank gear has the later type retaining ring on the outside so it should be OK.

Thanks for the confirmation.

Next job might be a new clutch plate as she's got a slight rattle on start up, but OK it the clutch is depressed, will need to decide either engine out or gearbox out

probably engine out as I've only 2 hands and a good gantry and chain hoist.

Regards Splut

[Tuskenraider]

Slight hijack but on the same topic. On thats same thread it gives a method to undo the crank bolt without the special tool but on doing it up it just states the torque. How do you do it up so tight without locking the flywheel? Is it safe to put it in gear and allow the torque to go through the box?

[splutter]

Slight hijack but on the same topic. On thats same thread it gives a method to undo the crank bolt without the special tool but on doing it up it just states the torque. How do you do it up so tight without locking the flywheel? Is it safe to put it in gear and allow the torque to go through the box?

Don't try locking the flywheel from underneath with a piece of round bar or 9mm drill bit or anything else as it will just bend or break under the strain.

If you put it in gear and have someone in the vehicle with the brakes on it will probably slip the clutch plate when you tighten the nut up.

You need to hold the front pully with a special tool, ( pictured thats if it worked) then tighten the 27mm nut up with 1/2 " totque wrench to 60lb/ft ( 80mn) then change to 3/4 drive socket set , place socket on the bolt , mark it with tipex or paint at 9 o'clock on the clock face and then tighten it up till the tipex mark comes round to 12 o'clock.....I just did one today and you may need a 5 or 6ft bit of thick wall round tubing to give that bit of extra leverage...It workes for me.

hope this helps ........Splut.

[Tuskenraider]

Yer I knew about the special tool just seems strange the guide shows a way of cracking the bolt off without having to use the tool but there isnt a way of doing it up without it

By the time I buy the tool and a 3/4 knuckle bar and socket I might as well get someone else to do it lol.

Oh well, thanks for the reply.

[splutter]

Yer I knew about the special tool just seems strange the guide shows a way of cracking the bolt off without having to use the tool but there isnt a way of doing it up without it

By the time I buy the tool and a 3/4 knuckle bar and socket I might as well get someone else to do it lol.

Oh well, thanks for the reply.

Believe me there is no safe way of doing it up.

If you have the radiator out and you have plenty of room then you could use a 1/2" air impact wrench which might take it up to 100lb/ft

3/4 wil obviously take it up a bit more.

The danger is that the front pully nuts have a tendancy to work loose unless ther are torqued to the right setting / if you are anywhere near my location give me a shout and you can borrow holding spanner.

Put it into a garage and expect a bil for £400 + and then you might get some little git that forgot to tighten something

Thats why I do all my own work.....You know what they say ( if you want a job doing right do it yourself)

[Orange]

If you've taken the pulley off and have it on the bench, find yourself a piece of 5mm flat plate and make your own tool with the correct bolt pattern and a handle long enough to tuck on the chassis rail....

That's how I do it...

The only problem is finding the right bolts to attach it with made out of anything other than chocolate!