frog hopper

Well-Known Member
Hi guys and gals, it is coming up to time for me to change the timing belt on me 200Tdi 90.
I have never done this before and am a little nervous about just how much I can get wrong while doing it, I also don't have a timing pin kit.
I am sure I have read somewhere about a method of changing by cutting half the old belt off, placing the new on as far as it will go, and then cutting the remainder of the old belt off and fully locating the new belt.
Is this a feasable idea? it seems to me that it might be a work around instead of buying a timing pin kit which I shall never use again.
 
i would just buy the kit and be done with it

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2pc-Pin-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
less than a £10

If you follow the process should be alright. it is a b~~g#r to get the belt back on

have to kinda work it round best you can there are several utube vids on the subject

Just make sure u have it locked correctly and when u have finished and everything is tight turn it over by hand a good couple of times right round to check nothing hits then check belt tension again
 
Hi guys and gals, it is coming up to time for me to change the timing belt on me 200Tdi 90.
I have never done this before and am a little nervous about just how much I can get wrong while doing it, I also don't have a timing pin kit.
I am sure I have read somewhere about a method of changing by cutting half the old belt off, placing the new on as far as it will go, and then cutting the remainder of the old belt off and fully locating the new belt.
Is this a feasable idea? it seems to me that it might be a work around instead of buying a timing pin kit which I shall never use again.


You cannot use that time honoured bodge on the tdi as you cannot get nice access to the belt with a knife
Timing pin kit is 23 quid, it is always handy to have for checking/adjusting pump timing.
You can make you own timing pins, the top one is just a drill bit, the lower one is a 1/4 bsp air line fitted with the hole drilled to 5mm, fit this to the drain hole and push the pin (5mm drill bit) into the flywheel slot, rotate crank as far as it will go one way, mark crank at the front, then rotate as far as it will go the other way and again mark crank, smack between the two marks is the correct place, pita I know but free to make.
You could also do the same with a glow plug out using a probe.

There are two potential pitfalls,1 is undoing the crank bolt, 2 is the three bolts around the water galley above the alternator/next to the water pump, the rest is pretty simple stuff, getting the belt back on can sometimes be an arse!

Top tip is to draw a pic of the timing chest on a sheet of cardboard, mark all the bolts holes and punch them through with a screwdriver, then place the bolts in the holes as you remove them, dont think oh I will remember where they go as you wont trust me!

Anyway enough rambling from me on that boring subject!
 
Old boy kind of skips over the belt fitting fun, cuts short just as it gets annoying!

If you are prepared to watch all the TF videos he covers all aspects, especially if you watch the snapped belt video. The bit that’s missing for me is the risk of snapping the casing bolts etc. I’d like to see the ancillaries removed
 
Thanks all of you for the comments, I'll have a scratch about in my odds and sods fittings box, probably have 1/4 bsp fittings, if not I'll order the timing pin kit.
It will probably be a few months before I actually get round to having a go at it, just wanted to line up me ducks in plenty of time.:):):):)
 
Hi guys and gals, it is coming up to time for me to change the timing belt on me 200Tdi 90.
I have never done this before and am a little nervous about just how much I can get wrong while doing it, I also don't have a timing pin kit.
I am sure I have read somewhere about a method of changing by cutting half the old belt off, placing the new on as far as it will go, and then cutting the remainder of the old belt off and fully locating the new belt.
Is this a feasable idea? it seems to me that it might be a work around instead of buying a timing pin kit which I shall never use again.
Buy the kit - it is like £20 on ebay and will always hold resale value - it also lets you do other things like take the FIP off without disturbing the timing. Look at it this way, how much are you going to save on labour, probably at least £100 so buy the kit.

Don't slice the belt and try and pull half off and slide on the new one, that doesn't really work because you are going to change the idler and tensioner.

I actually think it has become a bit mythical the timing belt change as this big scary job. On one of these engines it is apprentice mechanic stuff.

Get the kit, lock up the system, undo the tensioner and whip off the belt. People talk about cam's slipping and what not, have you ever tried to turn a camshaft by hand? Slippage isn't happening, FYI the FIP takes a fair bit of force to turn too, you are not just left with free spinning sprockets that are trying to spin away at the slightest touch.

If you want, add your own tipex marks on all faces as a belts and braces.

Get the new gear on, slide over the new belt and keep taught over all the important stuff, FIP, cam and crank, keep the slack at the tensioner.

Then take up the slack, check all marks. tension it using the correct tool, a dial torque wrench, don't do what some muppets do and use a standard torque wrench because as soon as they click the torque comes off as it has reached and clicked at torque. You need to use a read-off type, I use one like this:

ken5551120k.jpg

Then torque up the retaining nut.

Turn the engine over twice by hand - check all the marks are still in line then check the retaining nut is tight then give it a short trail start.

It will be fine.
 
If you are prepared to watch all the TF videos he covers all aspects, especially if you watch the snapped belt video. The bit that’s missing for me is the risk of snapping the casing bolts etc. I’d like to see the ancillaries removed

His videos are OK, but I don't like the TF videos, he is not that great at articulating to those who don't understand the full picture, Mike at Britannica Restorations on YT is far clearer and far more knowledgeable.
 
His videos are OK, but I don't like the TF videos, he is not that great at articulating to those who don't understand the full picture, Mike at Britannica Restorations on YT is far clearer and far more knowledgeable.
Video?
 
His videos are OK, but I don't like the TF videos, he is not that great at articulating to those who don't understand the full picture, Mike at Britannica Restorations on YT is far clearer and far more knowledgeable.

I have often though that about TF vids (and now will not watch them) as a mech I get what he is saying, but do think what if you are not a mech then it must seem like gobbidly gook!
Lots of mechs are the same they will babble out the instructions in what they think is a clear and easy to understand way, when in fact it is almost akin to another language.
 
I have often though that about TF vids (and now will not watch them) as a mech I get what he is saying, but do think what if you are not a mech then it must seem like gobbidly gook!
Lots of mechs are the same they will babble out the instructions in what they think is a clear and easy to understand way, when in fact it is almost akin to another language.

That is it, you assume your talking at the same level as the listener.

I've been delivering training on Teams all this week and it was not until about 2 days in I realised some of my fairly technical training was well above the heads of those I was training. By Wednesday I had had to add in several additional sections to deal with this; I think they are still confused though!
 
[QUOTE="lynall,
Lots of mechs are the same they will babble out the instructions in what they think is a clear and easy to understand way, when in fact it is almost akin to another language.[/QUOTE]


Sounds just like my kids when I ask them how to do something on this computer on wot i is writting.:rolleyes::)
 
That is it, you assume your talking at the same level as the listener.

I've been delivering training on Teams all this week and it was not until about 2 days in I realised some of my fairly technical training was well above the heads of those I was training. By Wednesday I had had to add in several additional sections to deal with this; I think they are still confused though!

The important thing as the trainer is that you spotted it and then amended and modified your training schedule and learning program to meet the students needs.

I have assessed lots of trainers and it is all too common to see them bash on, without any regard for the students learning just got my program going to deliver it.

But there are trainers and there are trainers.

So well done for spotting it and i agree Mike at Brit Restorations gets it down as lower level as he can so many people understand it.

Good luck with the belt @frog hopper
 
If you are prepared to watch all the TF videos he covers all aspects, especially if you watch the snapped belt video. The bit that’s missing for me is the risk of snapping the casing bolts etc. I’d like to see the ancillaries removed

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The last time I did my timing belt [ 200tdi ] the bolt on the top end of the water pump snapped near the head even though on the previous change it had gone back with copper slip on it.:(

Not wanting to remove the timing chest to get at the shank to renew it and as it was the only one there was a problem with I carefully drilled into the end of the bolt and then tapped the hole for a cap screw. Bit of a bodge I know but been like that for two and a half years with no leaks.:) Tottot.
 

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