Technical Timing belt replacement details...

[VEEDUBBED]

Alright people, I've just joined but i'm in dire need of advice concerning my '07 Fiat new 500 fitted with the 1.2 8v single cam engine with 28.000km's on the clock.
I decided to renew the timing belt and aux belt because of the years and not mileage.
Unfortunately the water pump is also leaking so i've bought everything needed. Now i've run into problems because I've already dismantled everything but i don't have the timing belt tensioning kit available.
I've timed up no.1 piston to tdc and removed the belt but my engine has a kind of vvt pulley attached to the camshaft sprocket, unlike the punto 1.2's engine that has a fixed pulley.
Basically i'm needing info on how to tension the belt on this version of 1200cc engine, do i have to loosen the sprocket bolt as with the punto or will the timing belt slack be taken up by this 'vvt' mechanism?
Is there a guide available like the excellent punto guide on this forum?
URGENT help required as the car is blocking off my garage!!
And thanks in advance.

 

[frupi]

I'm sorry to read your problems, I really am and I hope you get it sorted.

Your tale though firmly reminds me why my trusted independent garage will be doing the job when the time comes. I'd rather pay to have it done!

 

[T14086]

Of no help but I always use the 'tools' on these engines.

My advice would be to ask if anyone locally has the timing tools you could borrow for a small fee.

 

[VEEDUBBED]

Thanks anyway guys.
I've sorted it all out, changed the timing belt, water pump etc and all done without any special tools or timing belt kit pins and other stuff.
Here's a list of what to watch out for if you plan on diy'ing it yourself...
The engine mount is a bugger to remove thanks to the long bolts that hit the inner arch, jack up the engine with a scissor jack, block of wood and raise/lower as required.
The timing marks that 'should' be present on the flywheel are impossible to see thanks to a metal bracket holding a cooling pipe that's slap band in your line of site, the battery also impairs seeing any marks..I turned the engine to TDC on no.1 piston and marked all the ness. pulleys, no problems so far.
If your also changing the water pump beware, when they first built the engine the assembly line workers probably slapped on loads of black rtv sealant as was done to mine, a bitch to clean off and you have to remove the small metal bracket that's located in between the two timing belt covers bolted on to the head with 3 small 10mm bolts but in order to reach the 3rd bolt (obscured by the exhaust manifold and hidden by the heatshield) one has to first remove Lambda probe,then the CAT heat shield but seeing as one can't reach or even see the fu$$ing 5, 10mm bolts holding it onto the CAT, one has to then remove the front radiator fan, to create the necessary. room required to swing a 10mm spanner and after that going through that little game one can then finally remove the shield and unbolt that 3rd elusive bolt, after extracting the cooling fan from under the car..! Watch those 10mm bolts as they snap easily when removing them..Remember to put the heatshield back on BEFORE
re-fitting the cooling fan..
You need to remove the small metal bracket to enable the cleaning of the water pump hole in the block, otherwise sealant will remain attached and after 4/5 hours work you then discover that you new pump leaks..
Electrical connectors of the fan/resistor/senders etc are complete bastids to separate, i mean, who the christ designs these dam things?
Remember also that there are no timing marks anywhere, only a notch on the crank pulley that points to nothing on the belt cover, if your 500 has the variable valve timing pulley, like mine, there's nothing there either..so mark EVERYTHING BEFORE.
Take care as to which position the automatic timing belt tensioner is fitted, it can be put back in different positions but the small arrow and pointer won't move, take digi. camera photos before hand.
Lock the flywheel to undo/tighten down the crank pulley bolts by jamming a screw driver into clutch plate after removing small rubber bung.
WATCH OUT when tightening/replacing the spark plugs soooo conveniently located at the back of the cyl. head, VERY easy to cross thread the small plugs..apply copperease grease first.
When purchasing the new water pump, make sure the new version has superseded the original version fitted with a brittle plastic impeller, why do manufactures do this??
Can't think of much else, still an over fiddly job for such a simple engine though. If you really need the special tool kit, it costs around 100/120Euro off eBay but the entire job can be done just using your noddle and adapting tools.
I hope you find this list of bewares useful..Here's to another 5 years of motoring!
Ciao!