A cry for help from Midlanders... snapped cambelt!

Hi all

I was driving home this afternoon in my 200 TDi which I've had for around 6 weeks purely as an off road toy. As we were tootling along (about 50mph), the engine stopped, just after a crack from the front end. I pulled over immediately and tried to crank - no look. AA man came and towed it home, after looking under oil cap as i cranked it, the cam isn't turning, so cambelt has snapped.

I am mildly mechanically minded, but cambelts and timing are beyond my knowledge. The mrs is doing her nut and is insisting it'll get sold if i can't fix it myself - no expense garage bills allowed.

So, is there anyone near me (Loughborough) who fancies showing me the ropes with stripping it to pieces and seeing what is knackered and just how terminal it is? Of course I will cross your palm with beer tokens, I just can't afford a massive garage bill to put it right until I know what's gone and what's not.

I am going to attempt a strip down tomorrow, but not confident about how far i'll get.

All-in-all a bad day, I need a beer.

If i was closer mate i would help u, but its a trek for me, i hope you find some kind soul who will give you a hand, its not really a bad job and you could just buy a haynes manual and give it a go - with the help and advice you would get on forums its definately doable.

Leeds, flippin eck that is a trek. Cheers for the response. I already have a Haynes, so plan to at least strip it myself. Then see how I go and what's bent from there.

The only snag is i've never done one before, so was hoping on the off chance someone nearby would be free to cast an eye over it. You don't get if ya don't ask.

If anyone is near me then feel free to PM me and i'll text/ call straight away.

I'm even further away i'm afraid, up in Durham. Have faith in yourself and you will be able to it. And i'm sure the offer of beer tokens will get you some help. Try starting a new thread with HELP! Offer of beer tokens for assistance

going to be changing me belt soon so maybe one of us can learn from the others mistakes!!

I'm sure you'll have no probs doing it yerself these discos seem quite straight forward once you get your head round them, plus there's plenty of help and advice on here

This may be of help to you; 200TDi timing belt replacement

Cheers for the link. Car is now pretty much in bits!! Just gotta get the bits and refit. Looks like i've just bent a few push rods and need to replace the idler pulley with the belt.

Good luck with the stripdown / rebuild. Sorry, too far away to help but I may be able to give a little advice. ( Oh dear, I just read it through and its a bit of a ramble. Must be getting old!)
So, my old 200tdi snapped a belt a while ago, just idling in a car park. It was under "warranty" from a garage in North Kent ( who insisted the belt had been done recently, but it obviously hadnt). Seemed like he was one of those old style 2nd hand dealers that can lie naturally! Since gone bust, thankfully, but probably trading under a new name in Gillingham Kent somewhere......
Anyway. They sent it to a so called 4X4 specialist in Strood who allegedly changed the belt, valves and pushrods etc and skimmed the head......

Well, they didnt, they just changed the belt, and when one of the tappet adjusters broke a couple of weeks later, I had to repair it all myself.
Belt was fine, so I didnt touch that. The head was easy to get off, unfortunately, but when I got it pressure tested ( and I suggest you get yours done) there were so many hairline cracks in the head itself, they wouldnt do it and suggested I either reassemble it as it is and sell it or get a new head..
So, new head time! I could live with myself if I used the old head and sold it to someone
So, I had bent pushrods and valves and a couple of bent rockers and two broken tappet adjusters. I changed them all and got it all back together with new gaskets and new head bolts and it started first time

Upshot is, its a really easy diy job, everything is big, with big nuts and bolts. I didnt change the belt, cos they actually did a good job of it ( and used a Gates belt and new pulleys) but I guess it wouldnt have taken too much longer to do the belt kit as well.

The only extra tools I had to get was a valve spring compressor and a dial type torque guage (which you will need).

I am sure someone will be along soon with an offer of help, but dont worry about doing it yourself.

I kept my 200 for another year, MOT'd it and sold it and it was still going strong.

Allan

Do you really need a dial torque wrench to set the tensioner ir would I get away with a standard handle/preset type? Thanks