405 D Cambelt

Will shortly be embarking on my first cambelt change.
405 1.9D non-tubo, non-A/C, non PAS (yipee!)

Question..
Having read the Haynes manual, I still can`t see why you have to remove the
crankshaft pulley. Is it necessary?
Would rather avoid the this bit if possible, knowing what sods they can be.

On another note. My clutch has become very heavy, although plenty left on
it. Anything I can do to `freshen it up` a tad ?

Thanks very much for any info.
Cheers, H.

 

You need to remove the covers, and you can't get the bottom one off
with the pulley in place. To get it off can be a sod, yes. You could
try a local garage and ask them to loosen the bolt with their power
tools, then do it up just enough to get you home (not too long a
journey!!).
Or, what I do if I have to do one at home, is use a 22mm socket and
long bar. Jack up the O/S and remove the wheel, and under wing trim.
Put the socket on the bolt and connect the bar to the socket so it
hangs down. If you then turn the bar clockwise you come up against the
lower suspension arm. Put the bar straight down again and get someone
to flick the ignition while you CAREFULLY push against the socket with
the PALM of your hand. You may need to do this a few times to loosen
the bolt, and will only work if it is not too tight. I suggest you
immobilise the engine from starting by disconnecting the pump
solenoid!
Only do the second way if you feel confident. Otherwise go for the
garage suggestion

Heavy clutch? Could be the cable, the clutch itself or the bushes the
release arm runs in. Or a combination of any or all. None of which is
a freshen up solution I'm afraid.

 

Replacing my clutch cable freshened it up for all of a week until it turned
into lead again.

 

Thanks Nigel and Chimp,
Nigel, been thinking about your extension bar approach. I can feel in my
waters that this nut isn`t going to come quietly, so tell me if this is
possible.
With the bar running parallel to the ground, could you not stick a small
bottle
jack underneath the end of the bar and push the bar up using the weight of
the
car/engine to force the nut off ?. Or alternatively, with the bottle jack
holding
the bar parallel, just lower the car off its jack to turn the nut ? Is this
possible
with the available room ?

Cheers, H.

 

Never tried that, but I would have thought if you can't "shock" it off
then you wouldn't be able to get it off with a jack. It may be safer
to try this way--jack up the offside and take the wheel off and the
trim panel. Put the socket and bar on the bolt. Have someone sit in
the car, put it in first gear and hard down on the footbrake. Then
pull hard on the extension bar to turn it anti-clockwise. But in my
mind this is less effective than "shocking" it off. Once the nut has
started to undo then it will be quite easy to get off in the normal
manner. It's just that initial force required to get it going.

 

I used this method, but it was tight for a long way. They put some form of
locktite on the thread.
I used a 2 foot length of iron water pipe over the bar on my socket set, and
heaved.
I was in a sense lucky, as I had ventilated discs, and it is possible to put
a large screwdriver into the vent holes in the disc and allow that to rest
against the calliper.
In my opinion, you are better off using fifth gear than first.
Brian.

 

Thanks for that Nigel,
Two more (possibly final) questions.....
Regarding the sequence of fitting the three timing bolts and flywheel rod. I
have
read it is awkward to engage the flywheel rod. Is it not easier to fit the
pump and
cam bolts first, then fit the crank rod ?
I`m going to use your method of using the starter to remove the crankshaft
pulley bolt.
Is preventing the motor from firing just a matter of removing the stop
solenoid wire?
Cheers, H.

 

The timing rods--yes get the cam and pump holes in line as close as
possible, then fit the crank rod through the hole behind the starter
and turn the engine over on the crank pulley bolt one way then the
other till the crank rod locates in the flywheel hole. Then fit the
other three bolts. When you have fitted the new belt and tensioned it
(automatic on these engines) remove all the bolts/rod and turn the
engine over to get to the timing position again. Insert the crank rod,
the cam bolt and just one of the pump bolts. Then loosen the tensioner
bolts and do them up again. This makes sure all the tension is taken
up correctly. Then remove all the bolts/rod and carry on refitting all
parts.
Yes removing the stop solenoid wire will prevent it from firing.

 

Thank you kindly.
H.

 

And I would also say please don't be tempted to remove the crank
pulley bolt with the timing pin in the flywheel. If the bolt is that
tight all you will do is bend the timing pin, and I have heard once
someone doing that and breaking away part of the engine block around
the timing hole!!!

 

If it doesn`t come off with the starter, then I`ll try lowering the car onto
the spanner.
Actually, I was wondering if there was an easy way to disable the glowplugs,
to allow
max power to the starter ? Maybe unpluging the input to the glowplug relay
beside the battery
box would suffice ?
H.

 

I can vouch for the starter motor trick! Worked a treat.