Bloody hate diesel engines!!

[Kitch]

So finally attempted the cambelt on the estate yesterday. All seemed to go well, until I started it when I quickly realised I've cocked the pump timing up.
The timing holes are totally different to what Autodata told me, but I did find them all and locked it. But the access is so crap it was a fight to get the belt on and I reckon the crank might be one tooth out from the cam/pump. Would one tooth make a really dramatic difference? Because right now it's pinking, clanking and throwing smoke everywhere. Can't hold an idle either!

Next time I see someone with a diesel say a 16v is a difficult engine to work on, I'm going to hit them The XUD is ALOT harder to do a cambelt on for sure.

[rutter123]

had the same prob when i done the cambelt last time on the tzdt, 1 tooth out on the pump, it did clatter a lot but luckily no damage done, i found i had to turn the pump sprocket about half a tooth to get it to line up with the belt having to remove the locking bolts from the pump to attain this, i think anticlockwise?? but would check this first, did u lock all 3 crank,pump,cam?

[citsncycles]

I found the biggest issue I had wasn'tthe pump timing, it was getting down to the tensioner bolts! Although there's more dismantling to get to them, I found the belts on the GS easier to do. Guess I'll be able to compare to the 8v 19 petrol soon too!

[Oilyspanner]

I usually end up taking the timing pin out of the pump and rotating it a tooth clockwise then putting the pin back in, this gets all of the slack out of the front run of the belt, done loads of em
My least favourite one is 8valve GTI. though some Renault diesels are pretty nasty too.

[BX Bandit]

Work from the crankshaft, to the water pump, round the tensioner to the camshaft and then the pump sprocket. Keep the tension in the belt working in the above direction. Once fitted You should rotate the engine at least once and check for alignment before attempting to start. You shouldn't have problems, the biggy is the camshaft and crank being out.

P.s. xud is easier

[citsncycles]

If you really want a BX that's easy to work on, get a 14!

[Kitch]

I locked all the pulleys, but I reckon the issue could be that there was some slack at the crank sprocket which was taken up when I rotated the engine by hand.
Annoying thing is I have to strip the whole thing down to reset it, crank pulley and all. I'll try Oilyspanner's technique. Real bummer too - I needed the estate today!

[Tinkley]

A 14!. The old 150C lump was NOT easy to do tappet adjustment. With that 10° from horizontal lay over it made plug accesss OK but interesting. The later one (TU) is OK so is my 1.6. Of course there was no cambelt on the 150C.....

[Kitch]

Work from the crankshaft, to the water pump, round the tensioner to the camshaft and then the pump sprocket. Keep the tension in the belt working in the above direction. Once fitted You should rotate the engine at least once and check for alignment before attempting to start. You shouldn't have problems, the biggy is the camshaft and crank being out.

P.s. xud is easier

Not sure which is out, but the cam and pump were locked by the bolts I put in. The crank is the iffy one, as you lock it blind anyway. In my head the only thing that can be out is the crank, but in relation to the cam and pump I didn't know how much of an impact it would have. On a petrol car, it'll still run, just lumpily!

And no, a 16v is definitely easier! Might not look it, but it's much more logical in design.

[Kitch]

If you really want a BX that's easy to work on, get a 14!

Bloody right. I could do a cambelt on a Saxo in about 45mins, so in a BX engine bay it'd be bliss

I can see me going for another BX 14 one day. They're just brilliant!

[Defender110]

though some Renault diesels are pretty nasty too.

Yes Cit/pugs are a doddle compared to some of the Renaults, why they can't use self tensioning idlers like everyone else I don't know!

[mat_fenwick]

Never actually done the cambelt on a petrol BX, but done the 1.4, XU 8v & 16v in a 205 and would agree that the 1.4 is the easiest. Would go along with the Renault comments too!

From experience the XUD will sound rough being pump and cam one tooth out from the crank, but not actually cause any contact. I've done one engine where it only seemed to run right being half a tooth out (I got it wrong first time!) from where the timing pins suggested correct timing should be. That had had the head skimmed several times, so wondered whether that had affected the untensioned run between crank and cam?

Still like the idea of a hot 1.4 BX, that engine is just so willing!

[Paul296]

The main problem I have with the XUD engine is that after I've put on my overalls, my latex gloves and got a mountain of tools out of the shed, is that I open the bonnet and leaning purposefully on the wings stare into the engine bay and think, Paul, you know absolutely f*** all about mending cars. What the hell do you think you're doing? Then I take it over to Barry or Shaun and they fix it for me.

[kiwi]

A 14!. The old 150C lump was NOT easy to do tappet adjustment. With that 10° from horizontal lay over it made plug accesss OK but interesting. The later one (TU) is OK so is my 1.6. Of course there was no cambelt on the 150C.....

Its a shame you could not pick up on the sarcasm in the earlier post

[kiwi]

Never actually done the cambelt on a petrol BX,

Oh great you inspired such confidence in me when you told me in the past on this very forum doing a cambelt is so easy.

I am thinking (note the thinking part ) of doing the cambelt on my 19TRS.

I might just do what Paul did and get the gargae to do it for me