Timing Belt options?

[Mutley]

Hi guys, as the title says.

I have a 300tdi Defender (1995) and i want/need to renew the timing belt (pretty sure it's over due).

Now I know the genuine kits come at a goodly cost, but if i remember correctly Dayco are oem or better?...

and if that is the case which/what kit is best as there are a fair few on FleeBay that would be a 1/3 of the price......

or am I best to bite the bullet and get genuine, also some on the Bay are stating modified kits for the 300tdi. Do i go with

one of these or again is genuine the best option?........Or do you guys know an even better option ie where to purchase

and which is the best timing kit to get?..... Really don't want to be doing this job again for some years to come!

Thanks for any input Cheers Mutley

[Tanuki]

Dayco and Gates belts are OK.

Important thing though is to check that you have the correct belt-guide/tensioner kit. There was a service-bulletin because the tensioners/guides were wrong and allowed the belt to ride up against the flanges of the pulleys - eroding the edges of the belts and causing premature failure.

Engines that have had the official 'fix' already done by a LR agent can be identified by a yellow dot on the cambelt-case:

http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=81753

In the last half-decade I've seen 2 or 3 engines where this has *not* been marked. If in doubt, assume it has not been done - in which case you need a full belt/tensioner/guides-kit.

That's cheap compared with the cost of being towed off the hard-shoulder and replacing a fistful of valves/guides/pushrods.

[Mutley]

Ok so i'm a bit dim, but as these so called modified kits come with x3 pullys/tensioners and that i cant see any Yellow paint, am i as well just getting the modified kit?......

Even if the motor has been done surely i will change it with new parts from the kit, and if it's not been done i will use the kit so it is modified???

Pluss I'am guessing with these kits the belt will be Dayco but tensioners and pulleys wont be oem spec, so do i scrub the kit idea and try to get individual parts to oem spec?

Like i said i'm dim!....... What am i missing???

[tweetyduck]

I've got the kit a few times and they always come with a Dayco belt. The pullys and stuff have been fine in both kits. I always buy the full kit as you then have it all in front of you when you do the change. You might as well swap the lot even if its been done before.

Get a crank pully o ring extra as you can damage them if you change the pully. Other than that some thread lock for the bolts. Its also worth getting the bell housing timing lock gadget from Sealey.

STC4096L was the one for my 300tdi. I got it from Island4x4 in Kent.

The SEALEY tool I got was wrong as the pin is too big for the slot so make sure you get the correct one if there are indeed different sizes.

[jbs]

As of late all I've tended to use is genuine L/R belts and tensioners etc. as much as I know dayco are supplying belts for all sorts of L/R and other vehicles I tend to trust the genuine kit over pattern parts-paranoia on my part perhaps but at least I know it's the right one for my vehicle and it's up to the task of doing what It's supposed to do, I've gone this way for all sorts now too-Yes I know there are some very good makes of aftermarket parts available but for me fitting the part once is good economy and sense as I used to use a parts company over Guildford way and was forever replacing stuff from there and now I can have great confidence in what I'm fitting to my 90, I will only fit bearmach or allmakes as a last resort these days and certainly nothing out of a blue box I may as well throw my money away using that tut

Most of the genuine stuff I buy I get from e-bay at a reduced cost-normally...

John