I changed my cambelt yesterday, using Robin Hood's excellent DVD as a guide, and a Cam Locking kit rented from Vauxspares. All went well, although it took me over 5 hours in total, including: a few minor interuptions, having to pop out and source a replacement aux belt, and trying to figure out how to remove the rear vacuum hoses off the intake plenum.
One thing missing from the DVD is how to remove the intake plenum, I know it sounds straight forward, but I wasn't familiar with the stainless steel clips on the rear vacuum hoses. Not wanting to break the plastic tubes, I experimented with a few different methods until I finally worked out how to twist it apart (sideways) I wonder if there's a tool for this type of clip.
One difference between the earlier engine in the DVD and my late model engine, is that there is only one cam timing adjuster - between the two banks. The second idler - below the right-hand bank, is not adjustable on mine. In practice this wasn't an issue, as the right-hand bank came up on the mark (I'm not sure why the engineers felt the right hand bank adjustment wasn't necessary), although I did have to use the full travel on the middle adjuster to accurately set the left-hand bank.
Which leads me onto a point much debated here, and on the other forum. For those who haven't yet done it, the kit isn't just a cam locking kit, but is also used to time, or degree in, the camshafts to the crank (it really ought to be called a Locking and Timing kit) - as our host on the DVD mentions, one of the only production engines to require this. Beware of anyone who says you don't need the locking (and timing kit), knowing how important camshaft timings are, you could seriously degrade the performance of your engine just using a hit and miss approach.
One other thing I think may have been overlooked in the DVD is the tensioner locking nut torque - I guessed it at 20NM. Can anyone verify this?
I took the oportunity to degum the throttle body using a can of carburettor cleaner, refastened the intake stainless clips with a pair of sidecutters, finished it all off, and it fired up first time (phew!)
It all runs fine, and seems to idle smoother (probably all the gunk I removed from the throttle body), but I was surprised to hear a little rattle when the engine accelerated slightly (just off idle) particularly as it sounds as though it's coming from somewhere around the tensioner area. I immediately started to wonder if I'd left something loose, unlikely though as one of the reasons it took me so long was that I'd double checked every step along the way; every bolt tension, tensioner adjustment, cam timing etc.
It seems to me that the noise is so slight that it may have been there earlier and I just hadn't noticed, or that the tensioner is slightly noisy when new. Has anyone else who's done this job heard this noise?
This rattling sound aside, I'm very pleased with the job, and recommend it to anyone with a reasonable working knowledge of cars.
Get the DVD, get the locking/timing Kit, and buy a full cambelt replacement kit.
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Topic: V6 Cambelt change procedure (Read 3115 times)