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MG MGF Technical - DIY cambelt !!!

How many of you have changed your own cambelts. If I follow instructions to the letter and get a flywheel lock and camshaft lock - is there anything that could go potentially wrong.

Bearing in mind the tight working area - is it achievable to do on a drive ?

Any horror stories out there which could help others ?

Also, is it worth changing the water pump or leave it alone if it's working. I'm assuming I'd have to drain the cooling system to do this (potential dreaded refill issues).

Any advice appreciated.

P.S. She's ten years old and has already had one cambelt done at 5 years by M Saturn.
Damien Thorn

P.S.

How easy is the flywheel lock to fit and is it crucial ? Someone mentioned I'd have to drop the suspension to get to it :-o
Damien Thorn

The question should be Do you have the experiece to do it ?? I would not let many DIYers touch my lawnmower.
You need to buy a Workshop Manual, read it and make your own decision.
Geoff F.
Geoff Farthing

I enjoyed doing it and the workshop manual is absolutely a must. It gives a very detailed describtion. Also tells you where all these hidden bolts are, fi to take off the covers. I did not use a flywheel lock but instead used the 4rth gear plus handbreak as tough as I could. The torque of the flywheelnut is a true bastard 205Nm really takes a deep breath and a long lever but doable. On the drive could be ok if it is not rainy. Alternately you have to be up and underneath. The bolts that hold the engine support are bastards too. Steel bolts in aluminium!and their angle is not too easy to reach.
For the new belt I found it easy to use some plastic widges to keep the belt in its place when I changed my position from up to underneath. See picture.
I changed the waterpump since I was so close there. I bought the radiator bleed nipple from Mike Satur which is really a great device. First time when I bled, I opened the standard plastic bolt and when juice came out, I closed it. With the Mike Satur nipple, I attached a transparent hose to it and then I noticed that air bubbles were coming out together with juice. And only after quite some juice which I captured in a bottle, all the air was out. So, strongly recommed this nipple. I also put in the Brown and Gammons low level alarm. Wonderfull to hear the peep/peep everytime on starting. Be very precise when putting the cambelt in its place and check and check again the position of the camwheels. Same for the cambelt tensioner. Re do this as long as it takes to posion this thing correctly and do not loose your patience. Good luck, Huib

Huib Bruijstens

I've done mine twice now on the drive, once with HG :) and once without. There's nothing too difficult about it but as above, reading and following the manual is a must.

Before you start you need to know if you have a manual or automatic tensioner and which belt width your car has. If you have a VVC, then there is the second belt on rear of the engine to do too.

Make sure you get the tensioning right and when the belt is on, give the engine a few turns manually with the plugs out, making sure it is turning freely and that the alignment marks all return to their correct places.

A decent impact gun (windy or electric) is very handy for loosening the crankshaft pulley nut without locking the engine.

A few more tips in my HG replacement guide pdf, page 6 removal and page 12 replacement http://www.timguydesign.f2s.com/pics/MG-HG-Replacement.pdf but read in the context of not doing the full head job.

Paul's video taken doing the job with the engine out of the car will give you a good overview. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4217575705633360863#
I think this is on a Rover 200 so ignore the power steering pump.
Tim Guy

This thread was discussed between 31/08/2010 and 01/09/2010

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