ouch I hurt - this timing belt job sucks

[bojangles]

is it normal that the 3 V-belts will not come off by just releasing the adjustment.. even in the loosest position I could not get the old belts off and for sure the new ones would not go on. I had to remove the crankshaft and water pump pullies to get them off…Sure is a pain to get back together.

At Least my timing belt is on, and the green dot cam sprockets.. .

Some BOZO in California felt is was enough to just fill the coolant with water.. and everything is rusted .. Spent all day under the car undoing every hose I can reach and flushing out crap..

Oh ya and there is no freaking way to get the radiator drain plug undone.. it is not accessible with my tools.

I think the factory guys play games when they do up hose clamps too.. some were pointed in the most ridiculous direction.

should have it all together tomorrow.... need to get some BMW dealer coolant..

Bruce S4s

[lotusse89]

bojangles said:

is it normal that the 3 V-belts will not come off by just releasing the adjustment.. even in the loosest position I could not get the old belts off and for sure the new ones would not go on. I had to remove the crankshaft and water pump pullies to get them off…Sure is a pain to get back together. At Least my timing belt is on, and the green dot cam sprockets.. . Some BOZO in California felt is was enough to just fill the coolant with water.. and everything is rusted .. Spent all day under the car undoing every hose I can reach and flushing out crap.. Oh ya and there is no freaking way to get the radiator drain plug undone.. it is not accessible with my tools. I think the factory guys play games when they do up hose clamps too.. some were pointed in the most ridiculous direction. should have it all together tomorrow.... need to get some BMW dealer coolant.. Bruce S4s

You can use any Dexcool compatible coolant. I use the orange stuff, halvoline I think.

The radiator drain plug is behind the front radiator tray, we usually either cut a hole or remove a lower hose.

Becareful when you put those hose clamps back on. The clamp for the main inlet to the waterpump can be very close to the timing belt and waterpump belt.

The v-belts should come off easily, though the AC belt is tight. I usually remove the pulley or the tensioner to get that one off.

Travis
Vulcan Grey 89SE
www.lotuscolorado.com/vulcangrey/

[bojangles]

I see the drain plug... it is just not acessible..
and i suppose i could cut.. need to gather more tools

The lower hose is even harder to get at than the drain plug..
i'll just flushed with water and will refill with 100%coolant.. not much else i can do.. i drained about 4 litres of water... so there should be space for 4 litres of 100% coolant..

anyway I double checked the belts and the adjustment and there is just no way to get the AC or PS belt off.

It is water under the bridge now. since it is all back together.. sure hope the tension is good after I run it a bit.. says 60 on cricket gauge now ...

[Autocross7]

You can remove the air plug from the top of the radiator by the drivers (Federal cars) wheel and then... I know this sounds a bit crazy but its a trick I got from a Ferrari owner and it works -

...With the car running, continue to fill the cooling system from the header tank. The crappy stuff will wash out the open air plug, This allows the radiator to fill and dump from the top.

...Once the stuff running out looks pretty clean, stop filling the header tank and shut off the car.

...Then (crazy part) draw off some water from the radiator at the air plug hole and poor in some CLR. Also poor some CLR into the header tank and let it sit for about an hour.

... then flush the crap out the same way as before. You will be amazed at the rusty looking crap that comes out. CLR is a bit green and rusty looking at this point, so when the water looks clear you should be good again. The stuf from the header tank will clear out the pipes and such. The stuff will not harm aluminum...

... the fill with 100% and go!

Drive topless!!!
Cameron

[Esprit2]

bojangles said:

anyway I double checked the belts and the adjustment and there is just no way to get the AC or PS belt off. sure hope the tension is good after I run it a bit.. says 60 on cricket gauge now ...

Did you replace the V-belts? When you plan to replace them anyway, just cut the belts to remove them.

The A/C belt is snug and you have to walk it off. The other belts should lift on and off easily. Has the original PS belt been replaced by one a tad bit too short?

Is the timing belt 60 Krikit when cold and at TDC? If so, it's too tight. Have you started the engine yet? If the belt whines, it's too tight.

Spec is 95 Burroughs which is ~52 Krikit (cold engine at TDC). I usually set a new belt a bit tight at 100 Burroughs / 55 Krikit, but not over that. IMHO, anything over 105 / 58 is too tight and should be adjusted. 60 Krikit will be about 109 Burroughs.

Set the tension with the crank at some position other than TDC, and it will be different when properly measured at TDC.

The tension goes up as the engine warms up. A correct belt tension of 95 Burroughs cold will be about 125 with the engine at full operating temp.

I suggest you back down on the tension a bit. If you start the engine anyway, listen to the belt. If it whines, it's telling you something. Heed it's message and re-tension the belt.

The eccentric tensioner is a pain. Just breathe on the wrench tighening the eccentric and the tension changes a lot. If you do get it where you want it, then it will certainly change when the pinch nut is tightened.

Good luck,
Tim Engel
Lotus Owners Oftha North

[Dr.Hess]

When I put my Bosh alternator on, the belt was a bit tight and wouldn't go over the pulley. The next bigger belt was too loose. I walked it on (put belt over alternator pulley, as much as you can get on the crank, turn motor with socket on crank until belt is on.) Off is always easy, as was suggested.

For the tensioner, I took a combination wrench from my "junk tools" bucket and ground down the box end until it was about 1/8" thick and used that to hold the tensioner in place while I tightened the nut.

Dr.Hess

[bojangles]

I had the tension at about 55 at the timing position. with cold engine. I turned it a few times by hand via the wheel and tranny in 5th..
Then I connected the battery and cranked it around several time.. ( plugs out ) the tension dropped a little to somewhere between 50 and 55 (although as an engineer I know that these numbers are meaningless - the scale is marked in increments of 10 and that is the best you can read from that instrument- pick the closest mark)

ANyway when i went to put the crank pulley on, i saw the belt had waled a little (1mm) off the side of the sprocket. I put the sprocket on (f-ing Vbelts) and just tightened the bolt.. this pushed the belt sideways and the tension went up - naturally..
I seem to be able to fit a 19 and 17 mm wrench in there fairly easily with the alternator off. Maybe ill run it a bit and see before i get too worried.

My old belt was reading about 45 on the Krikit gauge.
10 years old (26000 miles)and looks to be in perfect condition. There are no cracks or any concerns that i can see with the old belt.

[scoule]

Esprit2 said:

Is the timing belt 60 Krikit when cold and at TDC? If so, it's too tight. Have you started the engine yet? If the belt whines, it's too tight. Spec is 95 Burroughs which is ~52 Krikit (cold engine at TDC). I usually set a new belt a bit tight at 100 Burroughs / 55 Krikit, but not over that. IMHO, anything over 105 / 58 is too tight and should be adjusted. 60 Krikit will be about 109 Burroughs.

I normally aim for 50/55 with a new belt, but even at that setting there is often a whine. On speaking to a couple of specialists in the UK (SJ Sportscars & Sportomotive), they've both said that a slight whine is normal when tensioned at 95 boroughs. In fact, when Sportomotive changed my cam-belt many years ago, I thought it was too tight because of the whine, took it back and they checked it with both of their boroughs gauges and it was correct. They said they could loosen it slightly to get rid of the whine but at my risk!

The other thing I've pondered and with a philosophical hat on is that I guess the belt is producing noise at almost any tension, it just depends if it is in our audible range!?