Project Domes shonky autos - Car that lived by the sea in Scotland in rust shocker*

[dome]

Not a lot else to report, the sidelights went out on the way home from work but a well placed kick to the dash brought them back on.

I've pulled the battery out of it to charge, I plan to have a prod around the electrics to see if there's anything obvious. 

[loserone]

In view of its good behaviour I treated it to a quick wash at the local Tesco drive through. 

 

Did you, like me, feel bad spending nearly as much on a car wash as in buying* the car in the first place?

[rantingYoof]

Wow, it's even getting repaired* like a Goona now as well.

 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[Supernaut]

You need to update your sig, Yoof.

 

It's no longer 20 miles north of Aberdeen.

[dome]

Did you, like me, feel bad spending nearly as much on a car wash as in buying* the car in the first place?

 

It cost 2/3 the purchase price of the car to wash it!

 

Took the Clio to work today which rewarded me with a dead injector-it had been giving me a warning and occasionally dropped onto 3 but always came back. Not now though

 

Time to get it into the garage and start pulling it apart for timing belt aswell as all the other issues I think. Need to bring Mason back to life first so i can get it off the driveway.

[dome]

Mason and I wafted through from Fife to Glasgow this evening in a most pleasant manor, with the crotch vent providing fine service.

 

I'm currently in a local hostelry availing myself of a liquid refreshment or two. Shortly I shall drop the Lexus keys on the bar and await the ladies of Clarkston storming me in adoration.

 

Hic.

[rantingYoof]

You need to update your sig, Yoof.

 

It's no longer 20 miles north of Aberdeen.

 

You're quite right. I think it deserves special mention.

[dome]

Loving the new sig rantingyoof...

 

Not much to report on the fleet front. As the Locost will have to live outside whilst I pull the Clio to bits I'm putting that off til the windy weather passes so it doesn't get (it's cover) blown away outside. That and my car fixing mojo is low at this time of year-I've hardly seen the Lexus in daylight...

 

Mason has been treated to a full tank of petrol (gulp) and has been wafting me to work and back most pleasantly.

I removed the pollen filter today-it was pretty manky but I've seen worse. There's an occasional thump from underneath when I lift off-I'll have a look underneath at some point.

 

It is on 3 Avon ZV5 tyres with a P6000 ditchfinder on the front LHS and a wrong sized spare-I may invest in another ZV5 so I can go round right hand corners without everything to the left of the car being in imminent danger.

 

The 330d has been racking up the miles between Fife and Ayrshire this month and continues to impress by just being A Good Car. As long as I don't have to do any work on it, when it usually becomes A Pain In The Ass. Servicing was straightforward though to be fair, apart from the air filter which is a bit of a faff.

[dome]

New Avon ZV5 ordered for the Lexus, a whopping 7.4x the purchase* price of the car!

[dome]

I could put it off no longer. 

 

The Clio was bought cheap knowing it needed a timing belt. I was fully aware of how much of an arse these were to do so it was with some trepidation I started yesterday.

 

 

 

Over 2 hours later and with the use of a grinder..

 

 

 

the fucking bumper was off. Arse

 

Progress was a bit better after that.

 

The timing belt itself looked OK, the aux belt was goosed though and there's a bit of noise off what I think is the dephaser.

 

 

I got as far as inserting the timing tools to lock things up ready to remove the belt but it seems that it's currently timed up wrong. I can get the crank locking tool in or the cam locking tool in, just not at the same time...

 

I gave up and tarted up some of the underbonnet parts and left it for the evening

 

 

Off back out to carry on, wish me luck...

 

 

 

[SiC]

Massive kudos in doing this. This is apparently one of those god awful jobs. So much so, Renault dealers £400 cambelt change offer does not cover RenaultSport models.

[spartacus]

A real cliffhanger, oh the suspense!

Good luck, they're a real pain as you're finding out. It'll be worth it though.

[Tickman]

I think there is a Father Ted 'I've fecked the car' moment in at least one of those pictures!

 

I am just glad it is you and not me!

 

Good luck, no doubt it will be dead easy in the end and you can start doing them for pocket cash!

(some of that last statement may not happen)

[dome]

Lunch break...

 

So, as I left it last night I was ready to put the timing tools in and remove the belt however I couldn't get the crank locking tool and the cam tool in at the same time.

 

First job today was to sort that out.

 

I removed No.4 spark plus(at the flywheel end on these) and, ignoring the cams for now, found TDC and inserted the locking tool

 

 

With the two caps removed from the camshaft ends you can see the off centre grooves the tool slots into. 

 

 

However, with the crank locked here's the problem I had

 

 

At this point I undid the timing belt tensioner and carefully turned over the cams until the timing tool locked in, then removed the old belt.

 

Then, onto the crank pulley.

 

Top tip kids if you need to get some leverage on a bolt but need to use a load of extensions on your ratchet to reach it...

 

 

Crank pulley came off easily

 

 

Here's how much access you have.

 

 

Next it was time to get the dephaser pulley off. The special tool bolts up to hold everything in place.

 

 

First off with the oil seal and then the main bolt. Surprisingly this came off fairly easily. 

 

Next was the water pump. First, remove the pulley. Easy enough to do with a screwdriver to lock it. However, in case you were in any doubt about how tight it was then have a look at this.

 

 

Yep, not enough space to get the pulley out. Eventually got it by jacking it up/down and swearing a lot.

 

 

The water pump itself was a little fiddly but not too bad. What I didn't expect though was to have to take the best part of an hour to scrape the gasket off the mating surface. 

 

 

That brings us up to speed.

 

A collection of goodies awaits fitting

 

 

And the inlet manifold has been tarted up a bit to chill me out inbetween swearing at the engine. Shiny

 

 

Now, some lunch and an episode of Roadkill then back into it!

[dome]

Massive kudos in doing this. This is apparently one of those god awful jobs. So much so, Renault dealers £400 cambelt change offer does not cover RenaultSport models.

 

The kit alone costs over £300 from Renault, some specialists will do it for £400-£500 but where's the fun in that?

 

I think there is a Father Ted 'I've fecked the car' moment in at least one of those pictures!

 

I am just glad it is you and not me!

 

Good luck, no doubt it will be dead easy in the end and you can start doing them for pocket cash!

(some of that last statement may not happen)

 

I wouldn't go that far. Although, the hardest part so far has been getting the fucking bumper off. But I've not put it back together yet...

[Supernaut]

Weird.

 

I distinctly remember, back in 2009-2010 or so, helping a friend do a timing belt on a 1.6 16v Scenic. It had the same problem. The locking tool didn't go into both cams, as one was slightly off.

 

 

 

Massive respect to you for doing this though! I'm jealous of your workspace. You saw the space I (don't) have to work with when you picked up Mason.

[nacho man]

Yeah big up for doing this, mine is due next year, its defo getting farmed out. There are loads of stories online of garages not timing these up right and causing chaos, might not have been timed up perfect last time it was done.

 

I bought a load of old mags with a few bits about 182's but mainly trophys, if you want I can send them on to you for to have a gander and then send them back when your done, as I am amassing a collection of trophy stuff, you know, because geek. 

[Geep]

Weird.

 

I distinctly remember, back in 2009-2010 or so, helping a friend do a timing belt on a 1.6 16v Scenic. It had the same problem. The locking tool didn't go into both cams, as one was slightly off.

 

 

 

Massive respect to you for doing this though! I'm jealous of your workspace. You saw the space I (don't) have to work with when you picked up Mason.

 

Likely because cam belt was done in the past without locking tools. This one, like most modern engines have floating pulleys. That is the cam and crank pulleys are not keyed, just free to rotate on shaft when loosened. The idea is to get more accurate timing. Lock the cam and crank where they are meant to be, with cam belt pulleys loose, when belt is fitted and tensioned, then tighten up cam pulleys and any difference in belt manufacture will be taken care of. No more half a tooth out scenario's.

 

Once all tightened up (hold pulleys to tighten not slots in cam, they break) rotate by hand then make sure cam and crank locking tools go in easily. If not, slacken off cam pulleys and fit tools, re-tighten pulleys and rotate then check again.

 

That's why locking tools are essential these days.

 

(Use new bolts/nuts and correct torque)

[Fabergé Greggs]

Have some remote internet props from me. It's happening. The internet dofs its cap.

[dome]

This post was supposed to be the one about how I timed it all up at first attempt and these are easy after all wasn't it?

 

Got the waterpump on and torqued up OK then swapped the dephaser and fitted the belt and new pulleys. 

 

 

Followed the procedure for setting tension, pulled out the timing tools and turned it over a few times and...

 

 

Terrible picture but it's out, by a bawhair. Arses. 

 

Did this several times but the result was the same. 

 

At this point it was fuck this shit o'clock so I retreated indoors for beer and pasta. I was hoping for tea and medals but not just yet...

[dome]

Weird.

 

I distinctly remember, back in 2009-2010 or so, helping a friend do a timing belt on a 1.6 16v Scenic. It had the same problem. The locking tool didn't go into both cams, as one was slightly off.

 

 

 

Massive respect to you for doing this though! I'm jealous of your workspace. You saw the space I (don't) have to work with when you picked up Mason.

 

My garage is barely big enough to get the Clio in! It does make a difference being able to just leave a job half complete to come back to it, as opposed to working outside which is a pain in the ass. No chance of getting Mason in there though...

 

Yeah big up for doing this, mine is due next year, its defo getting farmed out. There are loads of stories online of garages not timing these up right and causing chaos, might not have been timed up perfect last time it was done.

 

I bought a load of old mags with a few bits about 182's but mainly trophys, if you want I can send them on to you for to have a gander and then send them back when your done, as I am amassing a collection of trophy stuff, you know, because geek. 

 

I think I've probably read most of them! I've got the first 100 odd issues of Evo in the loft at my Dads!

 

Likely because cam belt was done in the past without locking tools. This one, like most modern engines have floating pulleys. That is the cam and crank pulleys are not keyed, just free to rotate on shaft when loosened. The idea is to get more accurate timing. Lock the cam and crank where they are meant to be, with cam belt pulleys loose, when belt is fitted and tensioned, then tighten up cam pulleys and any difference in belt manufacture will be taken care of. No more half a tooth out scenario's.

 

Once all tightened up (hold pulleys to tighten not slots in cam, they break) rotate by hand then make sure cam and crank locking tools go in easily. If not, slacken off cam pulleys and fit tools, re-tighten pulleys and rotate then check again.

 

That's why locking tools are essential these days.

 

(Use new bolts/nuts and correct torque)

 

It's been a long time since I did anything with floating pulleys-a 2 litre Mondeo was the last one, which was in some ways harder than this one as it was my first. This one is so frustrating as it's so close. A lot of folk would say fuck this, it's close enough and put it back together (It's closer to being correct than when i took it apart) but it would annoy me. 

[SiC]

I guess this is the issue that a lot of garages face who do them. According to Clio forum folklore, if you don't get them spot on you'll loose power*.

 

Is there a small amount of play in the cam's when the tool is in place? Or the tool has a slight amount of flex to it?

[bangernomics]

Proper tool? Could you borrow another to see if it's the same as yours?

[dome]

So, I gathered my thoughts and sat down and read the workshop manual. Again.

 

Back out and back on it. First time out same result. It is the tensioner on these that's responsible for fine tuning the timing so I had a brain fart. There's two marks on the tensioner you need to line up to get it set. Next attempt I tightened it just past the marks, span the engine over a few times and...

 

 

Gotcha ya fucker. The tool slotted straight in. Result!

 

Started sticking it back together, got the timing belt covers on.

 

 

and the fiddly little screw that you put the crank locking tool in

 

 

And then pressed in the camshaft timing cover seals

 

 

I then started getting ready to fit the aux belt.

 

New pulley on, not at all hard to access...

 

 

And there I stop as I'm off to the cinema then the pub. I think I've earned this...

 

 

 

[cort16]

I think you deserve a drink after that.

[SiC]

I think you deserve a drink medal after that.

FTFY

[Tickman]

Brilliant news.

[beko1987]

Excellent work! Go to the loo before you turn the key for the first time though, and rotate the engine by hand if you can a few turns!

[dome]

Thanks guys. I should add, the tensioner marks lined up spot on after I spun it over a few times so she's all good.

 

Fresh oil and filter in it and new spark plugs in too. Air filter already replaced with a Ramair panel jobbie.

 

Just ordered a top engine mount too as mines pumped-apparently a kangoo one fits and is half the price aswell as being stiffer. Result!

[Barry Cade]

Hats off to you Mr dome! The Clio belt is one of the worst to do, everything else should be a walk in the park after that. These renner engines don't like being even a little out,they tend to stall at junctions and hunt at idle unless they are spot on.

 

I have a kv6 belt needing done if you are bored..