General 20v cambelt change

[jimb0]

well just changed my brother's cambelt and tensioner and yes what a job! it is possible to follow the guide but you need to undo driver side wishbone were it mounts onto subframe and totally disconnect gearbox mount ,while engine is supported on a trolly jack under sump(block of wood allso to spread weight) a bottle jack and wood under power steering pump/mount bracket and a trolly jack and wood under gearbox it is then possible with lowering bottle jack to tilt engine while raising gearbox slightly and raising sump jack engine pulls away from inner wing but to get that extra clearence use a crowbar against inner wing and the bracket that holds the tiebar at top rear driverside of engine and while your mate is straining his nuts off holding it there you can just get tensioner off,yippee:devil: hope this helps with the guide that fixitagaintomorrow has done ,by the way took me 10hrs took longer while i was working out how to move engine with out taking to much off .it does work gives you about 1.5 inches more then you need .good luck to who ever does it and yes the tea has to flow big time .hope this helps you guys/girls out there

 

[bridges]

The guide does not take into account the clearence required for the tensioner and idlers etc.

however
If you place a trolley jack under the sump using a block of wood and one under the gearbox use second jack under the gearbox, unbolt the gearbox mount, fully remove the engine mount next to the timing cover and then the top engine mount. Remove the waterbottle, obscuring the way and remove the timing belt covers. Also remove resonator air box as otherwise it prevents the engine moving over.

No need to touch wishbones or subframe

took 3.5 hrs taking my time, on my own by using a lever to push the engine over then chocking it with a block of wood, all to allow clearence for slipping the tensioner off its dowel. I also did the water pump and idler wheel.

So chuffed was I that I then did my HGt

 

[WestWalesGifts]

I am the brother of jimb0 who had his cambelt changed. The "top engine mount" is an engine steady bar or tiebar as my brove called it which is simply there to stabalise the engine's forward and backward movement.

It was the wishbone that prevented that last bit of movement that we needed to get the tensioner off. It also took ten hours because the car was outside covered in frost and we thought our fingers had dropped off about an hour into the job cause it was soooooo bl**dy cold!

All i have to do now is fit my new wishbones and get the front tracking done and i will eventually be able to drive the beastie!

 

[bridges]

My post was not meant to be a, I only took this long and you took that long
my apologies as re-reading my post it kind of reads that way.

I'm fairly competant at mechanics and had the luxary of a very warm day. I summarise all the engine supports as mounts lol, but yes technically it is an engine steady.

Removing it gave me that extra movement, as it allowed me to raise and lower the engine on the belt side without restriction I had just enough room to slide the tensioner off

good luck with getting your car all sorted

 

[WestWalesGifts]

no worries

I put one of the wishbones on today and found it was the wrong one!
I brought the longer ones, but when i took the old one off, the shorter ones are on it

Took for a spin up and down the drive with the new one on and its all over the place.

Had words with supplier and they are send the shorter ones out tomorrow

Oh, i read somewhere on the forum that somebody advised getting new hub nuts when replacing wishbones on the marea because you need to get them off!
The only thing i took off the hub was the wheel. Put on full lock and you can get to the pinch bolt and seperate with a chisel/screwdriver and hammer and a bit of gentle persuation