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MG MGF Technical - cam belts change

Hi all

When do you change cam belts is that 60,000 miles 60,000 km
M L Dippenaar

60.000 miles or 100.000 km

or

5 years old

What ever comes first.

hth
Geert

and make sure that you do!

It's a trickey job to do yourself as you have to get the bottom pulley off and that ususally requires a air spanner as half of the car will be apart by then. Best to get somebody who knows how to do it to do it! Mine cost £100

Neil

Only two years to go before mine needs it's SECOND cam belt change! ;o)
Rob Bell

My crankshaft pulley nut came off without much of a protest - I removed the starter motor and jammed a flat spanner in the starter ring to lock the crank.
jt
John Thomas

In the process of changing the belts myself and would say it is a fairly awkward job due to poor access. Much more difficult than other cars I have done by my first attempt on a twin cam. The manual recommends unbolting the right hand engine mount but I had to remove the whole mount to get any resonable access and would not attempt tying to change the belt without doing so.

I would also suggest using all the locking tools recommended. I made one for the flywheel out of a couple of steel angle brackets. Draper does the one that locks the two front camshaft wheels together for a very resonable £2or3 stg. They also do a Rover timing kit petrol and diesel for around £15 that has a flywheel locking tool and various other bits. The reason I recommend all the locking tools is that the belt is a very tight fit even with the tensioner slackened off (a pig to get on infact).

The rear belt is much easier. You need to remove the exhaust pully to get the rear belt on and off. I have seen suggestions that you dont need to do this but Rovers method involves removing the pulley and I can not see any way you could do this without removing the pulley that would not damage the belt. Rover dont recommend you replace the M10 bolt but I would they are 55p each.

If you decide to replace all the pulley bolts at this time you have to make a third locking tool to hold the rear camshaft inlet pulley as this moves independently of the front pulley that is locked with the Draper job. You don't have this problem with the rear exhaust pulley.

For good measure I bought a new tensioner bolt £2
Paul Robertson

And don't forget to do the alt. belt too.
Richard P

Anyone can do mine in the Eastbourne or Gatwick area?

kind regards,

bryan
b benning

Paul, a bit late now I fear, but if you take out the tentioner adjustment bolt (the little one, not the central one) then you get much more movement in the tentioner, and it is _SO_ much easier to get the belt on!

Also the crank locking tool is not really needed if the engine is in the car, just put it in gear with the handbrake on hard, it won't go anywhere! for the 210Nm bolt get someone to push hard on the brake as well.
Will Munns

Thanks for the tip Will. I actually needed to take both tensioner bolts off, big and small to get the belt on and then replace them, small first then big.

As for the crank locking tool, it was less hassle making one up (quite handy with a welder) than asking my wife to come and stand on the brake but thanks again for the tip.
Paul Robertson

This thread was discussed between 04/02/2004 and 12/02/2004

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