It's surprising what you can get at a car boot sale these days. After spending some time at a place called Shellness my partner and I did some shopping at a car boot sale at a place called Leysdown. Anyway I bought 2 cambelts for £1. One box said it fitted a C15d so today I set about it.
09:30 and the jack hoisted the front right wheel, in goes the stand out comes the jack and under the the sump. Using 8mm bolts as locking pins and taking off the alternater pulley and belt, the 3 plastic covers, top right engine mount I jack up the engine to get better access to the cambelt.
If you don't use an engine hoist then it's unwise to try move the whole lump to the left cos it could fall to far over. I undid the tensioner pivot, loosened the lock bolt and kind of used 2 ratchets at the same time to wind off the tension in the belt and relock it again with another ratchet.
I had already put 8mm bolts into the flywheel, fuel pump wheel and another one into the camshaft wheel but I always dab two spats of Tipex onto the fuel pump wheel and belt, one onto the cam wheel and belt and one onto the crank wheel. The 2 rollers were not worn and the water pump was still tight, ish.
Off comes the belt then I just transfer the marks onto my new one and refit it. I used a clothes peg to hold the belt on the crank as I replaced the belt anti-clockwise. The tensioner is released then retightened. out come the bolts and I dont need to ratchet the engine over one turn cos I know the tipex marks cannot be wrong.
On goes bottom cover then the back cover and then the top cover. alternater pulley goes on and belt replaced to correct tension ish.
Had to lift engine up and down a few times with the jack cos access is tight.
Anyway by 11:45 i was done.
5pm Went for a drive to look out to sea and then a kocking sound had me baffled and with people walking by I didn't spend much time looking. I knew it could not be the cambelt cos it don't knock. nor the crank pulley wheel cos that would make a grinding sound if any when loose.
I got back in and drove a mile home keeping my head down but over bumps it was worse. Once home I looked under and found the downpipe had worked loose from the exhaust and was knocking on the anti-roll bar so that I fixed.
So for £1 I changed the belt in record time and it shouldn't need doing for another 40,000 miles or several years. The old one looked OK but this was the first change since 1999 and 20,000 miles.
I think the Citroen dealer in Torquay would charge about £75 hr and still take as long as me.
So as long as you understand a Haynes manual any competent DIY er can do it. However I did work as a commercial mechanic but on easier access lorry engines.
Save youself a fortune and do it yourself. just one thing though, the locking bolt that goes into the flywheel needs to have a handle on it cos the crank breather gets in the way plus you can push the bolt into the locating hole when turning the wheel by hand in 5th gear.
09:30 and the jack hoisted the front right wheel, in goes the stand out comes the jack and under the the sump. Using 8mm bolts as locking pins and taking off the alternater pulley and belt, the 3 plastic covers, top right engine mount I jack up the engine to get better access to the cambelt.
If you don't use an engine hoist then it's unwise to try move the whole lump to the left cos it could fall to far over. I undid the tensioner pivot, loosened the lock bolt and kind of used 2 ratchets at the same time to wind off the tension in the belt and relock it again with another ratchet.
I had already put 8mm bolts into the flywheel, fuel pump wheel and another one into the camshaft wheel but I always dab two spats of Tipex onto the fuel pump wheel and belt, one onto the cam wheel and belt and one onto the crank wheel. The 2 rollers were not worn and the water pump was still tight, ish.
Off comes the belt then I just transfer the marks onto my new one and refit it. I used a clothes peg to hold the belt on the crank as I replaced the belt anti-clockwise. The tensioner is released then retightened. out come the bolts and I dont need to ratchet the engine over one turn cos I know the tipex marks cannot be wrong.
On goes bottom cover then the back cover and then the top cover. alternater pulley goes on and belt replaced to correct tension ish.
Had to lift engine up and down a few times with the jack cos access is tight.
Anyway by 11:45 i was done.
5pm Went for a drive to look out to sea and then a kocking sound had me baffled and with people walking by I didn't spend much time looking. I knew it could not be the cambelt cos it don't knock. nor the crank pulley wheel cos that would make a grinding sound if any when loose.
I got back in and drove a mile home keeping my head down but over bumps it was worse. Once home I looked under and found the downpipe had worked loose from the exhaust and was knocking on the anti-roll bar so that I fixed.
So for £1 I changed the belt in record time and it shouldn't need doing for another 40,000 miles or several years. The old one looked OK but this was the first change since 1999 and 20,000 miles.
I think the Citroen dealer in Torquay would charge about £75 hr and still take as long as me.
So as long as you understand a Haynes manual any competent DIY er can do it. However I did work as a commercial mechanic but on easier access lorry engines.
Save youself a fortune and do it yourself. just one thing though, the locking bolt that goes into the flywheel needs to have a handle on it cos the crank breather gets in the way plus you can push the bolt into the locating hole when turning the wheel by hand in 5th gear.

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