hiya,

whilst under the bonnet today had a look around and doing basic checks and was wondering as my freelander has got about 175,000 on the clock about how hard it is to replace the 2 x ancillary belts please as i cant see any reference to them being changed in my service history

I see it also comes with an automatic belt pre tesioner and is it advisable to also replace this at the same time

are you able to get them off without the special tool or can you make something up

Had a look on the rave cd and it looks a right pig but just didnt know if anyone has done theirs yet please.

Also noticed some oil around the camshaft cover, nipped the bolts down but i can see me replacing the gasket.

Had a quick look on the rave and by the looks of it the inlet manifold, pipes etc have to come off and if i may ask some advice please whilst thats off would you recommend doing anything else whilst doing the camshaft gasket cover please. ie glow plugs etc.

just pre planning for when i do a full service later on this year

As always thanks guys.

gary

It is an awkward job. The undertray has to be dropped and the rh wheelarch panel removed. You can cut the old belt off. IIRC the aux belt change should be done at 95k. The tensioner is not replaced. You have to use an open end (24?) spanner to rotate the tensioner to allow fitment of the new belt. The tensioner is very strong. I ended up using a bottle jack on the end of a tube over the spanner because I couldn't physically hold the spanner in position.

Allan

Hi as AllanI said it is an awkward job. I managed to do mine without removing the r/h wheel arch cover but it was an absolute pig. I would not recommend my way but once the belts are off fitting is nice and easy. Just make sure you have a picture of the belt routing.

thanks about that, i imagine it will take me a day to do it and sounds like i better get my son on the end of the spanner, will find a pic of how the belts go and will also take a picture before i remove them.

i was going to change both belts whilst it was apart

thanks as always for the great heads up

gary

gstuart said:

thanks about that, i imagine it will take me a day to do it and sounds like i better get my son on the end of the spanner, will find a pic of how the belts go and will also take a picture before i remove them.

i was going to change both belts whilst it was apart

thanks as always for the great heads up

gary

Click to expand...

Wish I had a Son, my two Daughters couldn't care less, but of course both are no longer at home

It won't take a day, but it is an evil job. You definitely need a 24mm spanner, and access to that tensioner is very limited. I had to remove the side splash panel and tried it initially with the undertray still in place: mistake - take it off!

Make a good note of the route of the big serpentine belt (the outer one) as it's not as intuitive as you'd think. Especially when you're swearing at it when you can't force the tensioner out enough... That's definitely the worst bit.

Good luck.

i must admit my son james who is 20 still lives at home has been a really good would have really stuggled without him since me stuffing up my mobility, get very angrey not being able to do the things i use to.

but it is what it is and just deal with it, as after seeing the army top gear guys the other day i have noting to moan about- its the strength side or heavy objects that james helps me with, but i dont get away with it lightly as he takes the p*** out of me all the time.

now my daughter thats a different story, she's married now :hysterically_laughi:hysterically_laughi


defently going to get pictures before i even go near the belts.

was just thinking about replacing and getting new bolts for the tensioner as sure and sure the bolts will be rounded off, but will take a look at it before i take them off

at least i have a far better idea of what im facing :frusty::frusty:

other wise the car gets it- :violent::violent:

Good point - chances are that if the tensioner has been undone before then the bolt will be slightly rounded off as it's a VERY easy thing to do.