Timing belt advice

"Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell." (oppisitelock) 09/20/2015 at 11:58 • Filed to: None

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Just checked the belt on our saxo and it has advanced outwards on the cam gear and has about an inch of play either way between the cam and crank. It looks old too. I’m thinking that’s pretty bad since I’m pretty sure they’re not meant to have a whole lot of play?

AndyG_UK > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/20/2015 at 12:07

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Your right it’s not, can you change it yourself cos I’m sure the cost to get it done will be more than an old Saxo is worth!

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > AndyG_UK 09/20/2015 at 12:10

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I could but I'd rather not. It's my dads car and I'm trying to convince him to get rid while it still runs.

whoarder is tellurium > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/20/2015 at 12:15

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If you hand-crank the engine to TDC (top dead center) do the cams line up on the factory timing marks? (You might need a service manual)

Either way, misalignment and excessive play is bad. This is especially dangerous on a modern interference engine. Any one of the tensioners or idler pulleys might be failing. Or the tensioner itself. (along with the belt)

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > whoarder is tellurium 09/20/2015 at 12:18

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I’ll have to check for timing marks and see. It’s SOHC so I’ll have to compare crank and cam.

It is interference so if it does go the car is scrap.

KirkyV > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/20/2015 at 14:46

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Sounds like it’s on the way out. I just had a poke around on Saxperience, and to get the belt changed at a decent mechanic on an 8V VTR it’d be £120, apparently. I imagine it’s the same for the 8V 1.1.

That said, they are supposed to be a really easy job, as cambelts go, though I probably wouldn’t be willing to change one on someone else’s car, no matter how easy.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > KirkyV 09/20/2015 at 14:55

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It’s such a bad car even putting £120 into it seems like a waste. I wouldn’t attempt it myself just because I don’t want to put the time into it. It’s a shame but with how much is wrong with this car it probably isn’t worth saving. Not for us anyway.

traitor joe > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/20/2015 at 15:10

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For an SOHC, you will typically have a single-tensioner setup like you can see here:

If yours is like this and there is an uninterrupted line between the crank sprocket and timing sprocket, then the crank pulley gives the belt tension when running. These setups will often feel loose, and the tensioner is only there to take up slack. That is normal and nothing to worry about. People very often think this is a problem, when it is not.

Secondly, all engines have a guide that keeps the timing belt from coming off the end of the sprockets. It is often located in the timing cover, so where the belt is with the cover off might not be representative of what the engine actually looks like running.

Unless you have cracks in the timing belt and it looks visibly worn, I wouldn’t bother replacing it. Especially since it sounds like another part of your engine is about to give up the ghost.

Justino6969 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 09/21/2015 at 18:45

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Good luck. I changed the timing belt/water pump on my mk4 Jetta this weekend. Took me 9 hours in total, mostly because of the lack of room. Definitely change it yourself, though, if you can. Any slack is bad and can cause complete engine failure.