I have just changed my timing belt on my 2007 1.9 diesel after 60,000 mile and 6 years, I am a very steady driver, no undue accelerating and no speeding primarily because I would like this Multipla to last a few years yet. When I removed the old belt I was quite surprised at the excellent condition in fact it looked better than the slightly thinner replacement (A Continental part No.325771685) the only indication of wear was the tension pulley was well below it's recommended setting which could imply the belt had stretched a bit. There I was after reading some of the horror stories on the forum thinking the belt was in tatters and would break at any minute and cost me a fortune in repairs!! Having said that I will be changing this belt in 4 years or 40,000 miles.

From the broken belts I've seen (one of mine, Toyota Lucida and pictures), they just tend to break without any outward signs of their imminent destruction.
No fraying or stripped teeth, they just snap.

You will see some with damage, but that's usually from another source, such as a failed (seized) tensioner, or something dropping into the belt.

I'm sure the manufacturers err well on the side of caution with their recommended replacement intervals.

My '02 JTD had 85,000 miles on it when I bought it, and I've only just replaced the belt a couple of weeks ago, with just over 173,000 miles showing.
It too looked to be in good condition...

mbarrass said:

I have just changed my timing belt on my 2007 1.9 diesel after 60,000 mile and 6 years, I am a very steady driver, no undue accelerating and no speeding primarily because I would like this Multipla to last a few years yet. When I removed the old belt I was quite surprised at the excellent condition in fact it looked better than the slightly thinner replacement (A Continental part No.325771685) the only indication of wear was the tension pulley was well below it's recommended setting which could imply the belt had stretched a bit. There I was after reading some of the horror stories on the forum thinking the belt was in tatters and would break at any minute and cost me a fortune in repairs!! Having said that I will be changing this belt in 4 years or 40,000 miles.

Click to expand...

Yours should be changed at 72k or 5 years old which ever comes first. A continental belt is an aftermarket belt, like SKF and Gates are. Fiat use Dayco belts at the factory, so looks like the previous owner did an early belt change, may be miss read the horro stories on alfaowner.com with the Alfa 147 and 156.

Did you change the Aux belt and water pump at the same time, many forget to and bites them in the **** later on.

I am the only owner, the belt I have just put on is the continental? I will change the water pump and Aux belt in the spring, as I am now retired and have all the time in the world to tackle these jobs I have unfortunately restraints on my funding (skint) so it will get done sooner rather than later.
Thanks Malc

After 2 weeks the water pump seized, luckily I was in my drive and it was just a few seconds after starting the car. There was a faint squealing sound that very quickly built into screech of rubber on pulley I turned the engine off and the next day ordered a new pump and Aux belt from my local car parts shop (Parker bro of Toll Bar Doncaster) (very friendly and helpful). When you get a new water pump and feel how firm and solid the pulley is you realise how knackered yours was and should have been replaced the first time. The nice man at the shop said this is a common occurrence when a new timing belt is fitted and the tighter belt puts extra pressure on the water pump. The only problem I had with the fitting was the cam timing censor, I broke two A keys trying to get it off so I managed to fit the pump with it still in place, also the pump was a very tight fit and with an O ring the thickness of a pubic hair I advise a little silicon grease anyway everything is running fine. (for now):slayer:

However I have now got a screeching coming from the belts with a smell of what could be hot rubber when I cold start! For now if I restart the noise goes away but there is still a lingering smell. All the other pulleys seemed free turning and in perfect condition when the new belts went on? Any ideas any one? :bang:

Are you sure the auxiliary belt tensioner is ok? I had to put a new one on my JTD Multipla, the bearing was fine but the tensioning part was worn, causing the pulley to run squint

Re: Just changed the timing belt now somthings sticking

Something is sticking when I first start up also the squeal builds in volume. I only run for a few seconds for fear of damage, when I turn the engine off it stops suddenly. I took the wheel arch out yesterday to get a better view of the belts but when I started it everything was running smooth, I released the aux belt tensioner and all seemed fine. What I think it might be is the new water pump? Due to air locks when I fitted the pump it could have run dry at some time and maybe cooked the internal o ring I'm maybe? Anyway it's done it again this morning??

Does the issue go away or stay the same if you run the engine with the auxiliary belt removed??

I removed the aux belt and the timing belt cover this morning and nothing was sticking when I started it up, all runs smooth? No overheating, I am at a loss?

So if it's running smooth with the aux belt removed then you can rule out the timing belt and water pump.

Mine sometimes gives a screech on startup...Im pretty sure its the alternator being under high load just after startup tying to get all the amps back into the battery.

Try this....
Leave off the aux belt...start it a few times until the battery can just about start it(battery weakening)

Then pop back on the belt and start it and you may hear the screech indicating at least that its on the aux side.(and most likely on the altenator)

If it is the timing belt the only thing it could be is the water pump tensioner or idler as the everything else is toothed and shouldnt be rubbing.
Marty.

I hear what you are saying however somthing is not turning at all because when the engine is turned off it comes to a sudden stop.

Covers off so.... see whats going on.
Did you replace idler pulley?...maybe you got a dodgy one.
Marty.

Didn't change idler looked ok, spins free with no play on the bearings.

Any chance it was the casing??....My Jtd comes to a fairly abrupt stop so maybe youve just a heightened awareness?

If nothings rubbing now put back on the casings...run it...put back aux belt...run it..

Did you run it with the casings off to see how it all looked??

I imagine if something was tugging opn the timing belt then your tensioner would be bobbing all over the place.

I ran mine with the casings off and the tensioner was bobbing a small bit so dont be alarmed unless its quite erratic
Marty.

Hi Marty.
I have been outside for an hour just running it with aux belt off and covers off (all looks and sounds smooth) although I did alter the timing belt adjuster a little because I noticed I had tensioned it a touch over the recommended amount ie the little pointer was just above the hole, I have now put everything back on and it's as sweet as a nut to coin a phrase although that has been the case before. Do you know how to purge the radiator of air?

Yes there are bleed screws on the rad...pretty visible.
Also there is a bleed screw on one of the hoses as it goes in around the back of the engine(battery tray side)

Ideally you would want the stat to be in open position to do this effectively(get the engine good and hot)

Ive bled mine with the engine running.(dont remove the bleed screws completely)

If you want to be 100% certain you have the air out you would have to nearly blow into the filler bottle with the bleed nipples off and with the stat open...I have not needed to do this...nor do i think water pump losing prime is your problem either.

Marty.

Marty
The first time I had this problem was when I first changed my timing belt before the new pump was fitted I noticed the coolant level was below min so I topped up with some concentrate because I had on a previous occasion used water in an emergency it was the next day when the trouble started so that's when I put the new pump on all was well for a week until there was a sudden drop in the coolant after a short journey, I presumed a major air bubble had been dislodged so I topped up and the next morning "bingo" it happened again.There are no leaks as far as I can tell.
This is why I thought the internal 0 ring in the pump had run dry and had impeded the pulley.
So I will see what happens in the morning.

Are you sure there is no leak?
It took me 4 attempts to get the water pump to seal due to the crap o ring!