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Old 26th July 2021, 17:36   #1
Costa Fortuna
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Default KV6 2.0 Cambelt Renewal Thoughts

Hello one and all, just a quick missive regarding my first dalliance with doing the above. After having been quoted around about £800 I thought I would (simply, ha) do the job myself, especially as those top chaps at DiscountMGRover Spares as well as supplying the bits rent out the special tools to do the job.
Getting the parts and tools were the easy bit but there were some glitches right from the off.
First one was the setting of the crank in the "safe" mode which of course wasn't on my Cowley 2000 flavour - it was the notch and arrow arrangement. The latter aligned, I set about placing the flywheel locking tool in the hole nearest the crankcase - no joy whatsoever. The locking pin hole was actually at the second aperture from the crankcase - maybe this was because the car had a new DMF and clutch about 2 years ago - luckily I have one of those cameras that you can inspect cylinder bores etc, they are worth their weight in gold sometimes.
No other huge issues but as a veteran of many cambelt changes over the years I am fairly sure that it wasn't timed quite right from the factory (should have stated that the car was on its original belts having travelled 88k) - it still had ROVER written on them. Incidentally the teeth were in very good condition, just a light crazing on the reverse. Using the special tools is definitely recommended though. One or two other points - the AC compressor only has to have the two bolts removed that fasten it to the big aluminium cover and the upper inlet manifold to rocker cover bolts are not a problem with a quarter drive with a uj.
Lastly there was a note in with the cambelt tensioner saying how to set it up. Basically one is supposed to preload it before pulling the pin on the tensioner rod - I'll be honest and confess to assembling the tensioner to the block and being concerned that the pressure on the belt was on the high side as it was - also in my defence I had read somewhere that the 8mm socket bolt should not be disturbed. So I carried on but then had second thoughts but by then I had bolted the aluminium cover back on the engine. Handily Rover supplied a small rubber insert which when removed and aforesaid camera utilised showed that the pin hole in the tensioner casing and the rod were perfectly aligned - this was after the obligatory two full revolutions of the crank. So I achieved what the instructions said without, er, following the instructions.
One thing I did which I found useful was to place the belt on the camwheels, extend the spreader until the setting tool nicely fitted and then cable tie the spreader to the setting tool so the whole thing became an assembly - much easier to get on those pesky cam notches. The hydramount helpfully decided to call it a day whilst the engine wasn't leaning on it so a new one was sourced from the same fellas who supplied the cambelt kit - should say here that they were around £80 cheaper for the same OE spec item than a certain high profile Lincolnshire supplier.
I consider myself lucky to have found this car thanks to Phil on this forum - It's had a clutch and flywheel as noted so doing the cambelts should put the big spends in the past - it has had the rear of the offside sill welded (by the Braille Institute) but seems solid elsewhere. It's only a two litre but certainly seems to pull very well from 3k onward. Billy bicycle spanner hasn't been near it - everything is as factory. Strangely the nearside rear shock had completely seized which made for an uncomfortable 160 mile drive home but I changed that the next day.
The Atlantic Blue and 17" alloys is a good combo and the car has presence which is nice.
So now I have two of the things and much as I like my 1.8t, prefacelift and pre Project Drive sets my Cowley machine apart.
Obviously this diatribe isn't intended for the many on here who do these belts in their sleep, KV6 veterans, but perhaps for someone who is handy with the spanners and considering doing it themselves.
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Old 26th July 2021, 19:10   #2
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Good job 👍
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Old 26th July 2021, 20:10   #3
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the 8mm socket bolt should at least have been checked by yourself for tightness and position before fitting the front plate back on. i usually adjust in situ to clear the casting on the side as it pivots then nip up tight . a smudge of threadlock helps as belts and braces on the thread beforehand . there are members on here who have had near misses with this as they have assumed it was positioned correctly and already tightened to spec. unfortunately neither were the case ...
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Old 27th July 2021, 10:17   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Costa Fortuna View Post
... the car was on its original belts having travelled 88k) - it still had ROVER written on them. Incidentally the teeth were in very good condition, just a light crazing on the reverse.
I hope everyone is noting that Tim's belts were about 20 years old.
Yet more evidence that replacement every six years is unnecessary.

Tim; what were the tensioner and idler pulley bearings like on your car? Mine were rather rough (at just 2,000 miles more than yours) posing a greater risk of failure than the belts themselves.

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Old 27th July 2021, 18:01   #5
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I did check the tightness of the 8mm socket bolt on the cambelt tensioner for obvious reasons.
The tensioner and idler on the drive belt require a mention which I should have put in my original post. The bearings in both were noisy - the tensioner bearing I repacked with grease after carefully removing the seal with a pick. Inside it was just dry but not rough and new grease perked it up a treat so I resealed it. The idler was too far gone - it was very noisy and rough so I pressed out the bearing from the wheel and went to my local bearing factor. Got a new one and pressed it back in.
The other item that decided enough was enough was the T piece in the cam cover breather pipe arrangement - it just shattered virtually by just looking at it so I got a pair of pliers and gently squeezed the pipe ends, shook out the brittle broken bits, got a 10mm T piece for £2.69 which I fitted after gently heating the pipes with a flame enough to make a push fit.
Pleased to say the work carried out above saved me around £100 if not more.
The PAS pump is OK but the alternator drive end bearing is slightly noisy if I put my stethoscope on it - so have another one arriving soon which I will refurb - when that's done all the front end rotating stuff will have been checked out.
As said a point about my old cambelts - the cam to cam looked like they were fitted last year and the main belt showed hardly any tooth wear at all - no lifting, cracking or unevenness, just faint crazing on the reverse. The ROVER emblem and part number etc still very legible. There was no sign of any fasteners being touched - everything was as factory. So refreshing after all these years since April 2000. There are no oil leaks anywhere - the engine is just dusty.
An interesting point - the nearside of the car has a painted coachline just above the chrome mouldings - the offside hasn't. When I did the belt gig I did notice a slight dusting of over spray on the inner wing but the finish is superb, as good as factory - shame they couldn't find a coach painter to finish the job.
Two immediate jobs to do - drivers door lock actuator has failed and the same door has a duff check strap - will be sorted in a week or so.
The serpent alloys are shod with really naff budget rubber and they don't do the car any favours so they will be getting the push when funds allow.
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Old 27th July 2021, 18:10   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SD1too View Post
I hope everyone is noting that Tim's belts were about 20 years old.
Yet more evidence that replacement every six years is unnecessary.

Tim; what were the tensioner and idler pulley bearings like on your car? Mine were rather rough (at just 2,000 miles more than yours) posing a greater risk of failure than the belts themselves.

Simon
will you stand over someones engine after you have explicitly told them that they shouldnt bother changing the belt? (which has been my concern regarding all of your 'proof' - I speak from experience that belts can last, way beyond time and distance, but never would I recommend saving the time and money, as you have done in the past on others' cars).

I do wonder though, how many weeks it took the OP to change his belts though?
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Old 27th July 2021, 18:13   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Costa Fortuna View Post
Obviously this diatribe isn't intended for the many on here who do these belts in their sleep, KV6 veterans, but perhaps for someone who is handy with the spanners and considering doing it themselves.
'Fair play on ya' for taking the bull by the horns and doing it yourself. I am not sure I would have the patience, thankfully mine is a diesel, so dont have to test it with a timing belt change.
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Old 27th July 2021, 19:32   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SD1too View Post
I hope everyone is noting that Tim's belts were about 20 years old.
Yet more evidence that replacement every six years is unnecessary.

Tim; what were the tensioner and idler pulley bearings like on your car? Mine were rather rough (at just 2,000 miles more than yours) posing a greater risk of failure than the belts themselves.

Simon
Simon, stop preaching this nonsense.

Just because a belt 'looks ok' doesn't mean it wont give up anytime soon if it is past it's renewal intervals, if you want to run the gauntlet with your own car then that's fine as it is at your cost if things go pear shaped.

Please don't advise members that its all well and good to ignore MGR's service schedules.
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Old 27th July 2021, 22:21   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clf View Post
will you stand over someones engine after you have explicitly told them that they shouldnt bother changing the belt? (which has been my concern regarding all of your 'proof' - I speak from experience that belts can last, way beyond time and distance, but never would I recommend saving the time and money, as you have done in the past on others' cars).

I do wonder though, how many weeks it took the OP to change his belts though?
I took the car off the road within 48hrs of buying it and doing it in my spare time off and on about ten days start to finish (amassing parts and getting the tool hire organised included). I hope that has answered your (rather strange) question.
Yes, my belts looked in great shape but in no way am I expressing an opinion on change intervals - it was merely an observation, no more than that.
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Old 28th July 2021, 04:40   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Costa Fortuna View Post
I took the car off the road within 48hrs of buying it and doing it in my spare time off and on about ten days start to finish (amassing parts and getting the tool hire organised included). I hope that has answered your (rather strange) question.
Yes, my belts looked in great shape but in no way am I expressing an opinion on change intervals - it was merely an observation, no more than that.
"rather strange"
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