Technical T/A auxillary belt replacement

[Lounge lizard]

Earlier I replaced the auxillary belt along with the tensioner on our T/A, the intention was to change the idler too, but I discovered that would have required removal of the engine mount which would have turned it into a quite a mission...

It took me long enough as it was!

 

[The Panda Nut]

I have a Panda TA and the heads up on this job is worth having. Rember to leave plenty of time and be prepared and all that.

 

[Lounge lizard]

I will go back and replace the idler of course, but ended up running out of daylight and it's pretty nippy at the moment to be outside working on cars.

There is a how to guide on the Fiat/Alfa workshop website, but for the belt only...

Being a design engineer who has to consider the future servicing of the machines we design and build, I did curse who came up with that one!

 

[Lounge lizard]

To follow up, I have just replaced the idler pulley.

What a job!!

All the bits that allow access through the wheelarch needed to come off again to allow the belt to be de-tensioned.

Was hoping to do everything from the top, but no...

In a nutshell, the tube to the throttle body has to come off. Fiddly to access bolt on its bracket.

Nut on engine iso-mount loosened right off and 4 bolts that hołd alloy mount to head undone enough to allow that mount to be gently levered away from engine enough to extract the pulley...

 

[Lounge lizard]

I have since found this...



Good video (in Italian) which shows it being done on a Panda without the need to partially remove the engine mount...