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[Mikeyj]

Hi all,

My Omega has done 49000 miles and i'm unsure if its had a cambelt in it, i've asked the previous owner whose had the car for the past 9 years but he doesn't know.
All advice welcome.

Regards
me

[tunnie]

Every 4 years or 40k which ever is first. Also on 4 pots, water pump is cambelt driven, this must be changed as well.

For peace of mind and DIY bill of around £100, it's worth doing 

[TheBoy]

Given the previous owner doesn't know (or refuses to say he never did it), assume it hasn't been done.

Quite an easy task on the 2.2, only specialist tool needed is a £5 cam lock wedge.

[plym ian]

About an hour to do to

[grahamff]

Hi,
Not too sure if this is the right way to enter a post but I'm quite unfamiliar with the routine. In any event I am in the process of changing the cam belt on my 2003 2.6 following alternator failure and a trip home courtesy of the AA. Having already decided to change the belt (129,000 miles and no idea when or if the belt has been changed before), I purchased the OOF dvd on the subject some while ago (an excellent and down-to-earth treatise of the procedure complete with domestic noises off and occasional low-flying aircraft) and also a cambelt kit as recommended. Now, this was purchased online from an outfit purporting to deal exclusively in Vauxhall parts, so despite the fact that the cambelt kit was manufactured by SKF (a name usually commensurate with quality) and that all the component parts appeared to be identical with those described in the dvd, I was not unduly concerned. The new tensioner base plate was identically marked ('6B') as the original. All went well until it came to the actual fitting of the belt. New alternator, water pump and tensioner fitted OK although I felt that a course in gynaecology would be appropriate where fitting the alternator top bolt is concerned. The belt was marked as per the dvd so I started to thread it (cams locked as described using the same Laser kit) ensuring that the double line was lined up with marks on the crankshaft. Fine. Following the dvd and threading the belt over the left hand side was successful with the marks lining up with the TDC indicators on the cams. Then woe. There is no way. I repeat, no way that the marks on the belt will now line up with the TDC marks on cams 3 & 4. They are about an inch short. No matter what I do, I cannot improve on this. I have checked the belt length against the original and it matches. As far as I can see, the marks on the original belt appear to be further apart than on the new one. Also, the new belt appear to be slightly thinner and less robust than the original. It looks like I either have the wrong belt or something is wrong with the markings. I can make the belt fit but am reluctant to do so owing to the importance of getting the tensions right. By the way, neither my original nor new lower idler rollers have a tension adjustment, unlike that in the dvd. Am I missing something here or should I cut my losses and obtain a new belt?

With appreciation for any sympathy or abuse as appropriate,

Grahamff

[JamesV6CDX]

Sounds to me like you're using the white marks on the belt designed for '01' backplates. Does your belt have any other coloured marks?

[dbug]

Hi,
Not too sure if this is the right way to enter a post but I'm quite unfamiliar with the routine. In any event I am in the process of changing the cam belt on my 2003 2.6 following alternator failure and a trip home courtesy of the AA. Having already decided to change the belt (129,000 miles and no idea when or if the belt has been changed before), I purchased the OOF dvd on the subject some while ago (an excellent and down-to-earth treatise of the procedure complete with domestic noises off and occasional low-flying aircraft) and also a cambelt kit as recommended. Now, this was purchased online from an outfit purporting to deal exclusively in Vauxhall parts, so despite the fact that the cambelt kit was manufactured by SKF (a name usually commensurate with quality) and that all the component parts appeared to be identical with those described in the dvd, I was not unduly concerned. The new tensioner base plate was identically marked ('6B') as the original. All went well until it came to the actual fitting of the belt. New alternator, water pump and tensioner fitted OK although I felt that a course in gynaecology would be appropriate where fitting the alternator top bolt is concerned. The belt was marked as per the dvd so I started to thread it (cams locked as described using the same Laser kit) ensuring that the double line was lined up with marks on the crankshaft. Fine. Following the dvd and threading the belt over the left hand side was successful with the marks lining up with the TDC indicators on the cams. Then woe. There is no way. I repeat, no way that the marks on the belt will now line up with the TDC marks on cams 3 & 4. They are about an inch short. No matter what I do, I cannot improve on this. I have checked the belt length against the original and it matches. As far as I can see, the marks on the original belt appear to be further apart than on the new one. Also, the new belt appear to be slightly thinner and less robust than the original. It looks like I either have the wrong belt or something is wrong with the markings. I can make the belt fit but am reluctant to do so owing to the importance of getting the tensions right. By the way, neither my original nor new lower idler rollers have a tension adjustment, unlike that in the dvd. Am I missing something here or should I cut my losses and obtain a new belt?

With appreciation for any sympathy or abuse as appropriate,

Grahamff

Adjustable lower idler roller only on 2.5 & 3.0 Lit V6s - 2.6 & 3.2 have a non adjustable lower roller

[terry paget]

Welcome to the forum, and congratulations on your entertaining and articulate post.
Some belts have lines on and some don't. Some have green and white lines on to cater for different models. All that matters is getting the belt on so that all the sprockets and the bottom pulley are aligned with the markers. New unstretched belts can be tricky to get on the last pulley. It all makes it more satisfying when you eventually get in right.
SKF kits are good. Recently JamesV6CDX, professional on this forum, suffered mysterious noises after fitting a new belt to his car, and he has fitted hundreds. Other members chipped in, and it transpired that other members have suffered similarly with other makes of kit, but never with SKF kits. The matter is still unresolved.

[mickyboy123]

hi, this probaly not much help, but just had my cambelt and water pump changed by a vauxhall dearler frosts, and they used an skf cam belt kit. part no. vkma 05228. that was on my 2.2. cost me an arm an leg tho £384 but that was including air con service.

[05omegav6]

Ignore the top marks, (Vauxhall belts don't have any), and try fitting it from right to left

I struggled with mine for many of the same reasons.

Fit it round the crank pulley, with the wedge to hold it.
Then past the right hand idler.
Tight over Cams 3 then 4.
Ensure that the top pulley is set as per the dvd.
Run the belt round it to Cam 2. You'll know it's right when you cannot rotate the top pulley all the way round. The adjuster, ie expect about 45° of adjustment on it rather than 360°.
Fit it over Cam 2 then 1 and down to the tensioner pulley.
Then continue as per the dvd.

Hope that helps, Al
 
PS where in the New Forest are you?

[vnslkd]

Hi,
Not too sure if this is the right way to enter a post but I'm quite unfamiliar with the routine. In any event I am in the process of changing the cam belt on my 2003 2.6 following alternator failure and a trip home courtesy of the AA. Having already decided to change the belt (129,000 miles and no idea when or if the belt has been changed before), I purchased the OOF dvd on the subject some while ago (an excellent and down-to-earth treatise of the procedure complete with domestic noises off and occasional low-flying aircraft) and also a cambelt kit as recommended. Now, this was purchased online from an outfit purporting to deal exclusively in Vauxhall parts, so despite the fact that the cambelt kit was manufactured by SKF (a name usually commensurate with quality) and that all the component parts appeared to be identical with those described in the dvd, I was not unduly concerned. The new tensioner base plate was identically marked ('6B') as the original. All went well until it came to the actual fitting of the belt. New alternator, water pump and tensioner fitted OK although I felt that a course in gynaecology would be appropriate where fitting the alternator top bolt is concerned. The belt was marked as per the dvd so I started to thread it (cams locked as described using the same Laser kit) ensuring that the double line was lined up with marks on the crankshaft. Fine. Following the dvd and threading the belt over the left hand side was successful with the marks lining up with the TDC indicators on the cams. Then woe. There is no way. I repeat, no way that the marks on the belt will now line up with the TDC marks on cams 3 & 4. They are about an inch short. No matter what I do, I cannot improve on this. I have checked the belt length against the original and it matches. As far as I can see, the marks on the original belt appear to be further apart than on the new one. Also, the new belt appear to be slightly thinner and less robust than the original. It looks like I either have the wrong belt or something is wrong with the markings. I can make the belt fit but am reluctant to do so owing to the importance of getting the tensions right. By the way, neither my original nor new lower idler rollers have a tension adjustment, unlike that in the dvd. Am I missing something here or should I cut my losses and obtain a new belt?

With appreciation for any sympathy or abuse as appropriate,

Grahamff

Had the same thing with my skf kit: http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=121297.msg1559669#msg1559669

If you want some peace of mind (as I did, doing the cambelt for the first time on v6 ), there's the alternate pitch pacing here: http://www.dayco.com.au/pageBANK/documents/t00014.pdf