:-)

 

better walking for a couple of days than having the belt go and end up with an engine swap to get on with

Definitely!!  Getting that tensioner right was such a pita - never having done one before.  The bottom tab on the U plate (the plate with the pointer) was bent proud so it wouldn't stay round that locating bolt (the one that stops it turning) - took me ages to figure that and then bend it in the right direction so it located properly. Maybe it had been dropped - but not by me.

Emergency!

 

Bottom cover seems to be causing the noise.  I ran the engine up to temp still with the airlock.

 

I didn't install the front lower bolt on the cambelt cover and now I have OIL LEAKING from around there.  Have I dislodged the sump by jacking or do those bottom cambelt bolts seal the engine up somehow?

need a pic to be sure but on my mk2 the cover bolt also holds on the oil pump cover 

Long bolt goes through the cover and into the block so leaving it off is not good.

Well done for finding the rub, you won't have dislodged the sump unless you used it to jack up the whole car (even then you'd distort it rather than dislodge it)

 

Edited 14 November, 20169 yr by Duffy

Cheers guys.  This is truly my hour of need so many thanks!

 

I'll try and be brief but I have trouble with that.

 

Cured the oil leak for now.  The old bottom cover was broken in the bottom left hand corner as you look at the belt end of the engine.  The corner was totally broken off so no corner hole and no bolt -  I don't know how long it's been like that but when I put a replacement cover on yesterday I took the one bolt I had from the bottom right hand corner and moved it to the bottom left hand corner (the one that was missing in the first place but without leaking so far).  So not realising the importance of the bolt I created a leak on the corner where I'd removed the bolt.

 

The point is the bolts that hold the cover on also (in part) hold a seal shut on the end of the engine where the crankshaft comes through.  I put the old cover back and the old bolt where it was originally and so far no oil leak.

 

Question is - have I properly broken an oil seal by running the engine without the bolt??  Is it a silicone seal that I could have broken or is it a cork or paper gasket that would re-seal??

 

Now I'm having trouble removing this air lock in the cooling.

 

Also the pointer for the cambelt tensioner is now slightly out of where it should be (on the slacker side).  Do I need to retension?

Edited 14 November, 20169 yr by cosaw
Corrections.

Scared to run the engine temp past 90 degrees on the dashboard dial.  Will the dial show accurately if there is not enough coolant in the engine?  For the thermostat to work should there be coolant in the engine block?  I can feel the top hose get hot when the thermostat opens but the radiator stays cold and then I loose my bottle and turn the engine off.

 

Think I'll let it cool completely now.

 

Feeling pretty low at the moment.

With a cold engine, remove the cap ( don't refit) and fill to max line with mixed coolant, start engine and hold @ 2000rpm ( waterpump doesn't do much to move the water below 2000rpm) with heater on full hot, until it reads 90 on gauge, allow to idle, top up to max if required, fit cap and run again @ 2000rpm for 5/10 mins then switch off and let engine cool, when cold top up if required. 

Thanks nige that's great.  I'll try and follow your instructions to the letter.  As ever I'm erring in on the side of caution as am worried about killing my engine.

 

I've currently got around 3.75 litres of mixed coolant in the engine and the haynes says it takes 5.6 so I'm a little concerned as nearly 2 litres short.

 

I don't understand why the heater needs to be on full heat - is that purely so you can tell if there is coolant in the heater matrix or does it somehow actually control flow to the matrix???

what nige said - plus i squeeze all the hoses i can reach (be carefull hot )  to try and get any trapped air moving

You need to make sure the heater matrix is full hence having it on full hot :)

 

Just for info the gauge will read 90c for an actual temp of 70~105c

also dont be worrying too much about the amounts youve tipped in , unless every pipe ,matrix etc has been out and tipped upside down it will have lots trapped inside it 

 

just keep a keen eye on the level and for water leaks for a week or two to be sure its right 

Thanks for all the great advice guys.  I thought I'd got it all out once the water pump came off!

Ok. Had enough for tonight.  Put the old bottom cover back on (which wasn't making a noise before) reassembled everything and now the old bottom cover seems to be fouling and making a noise also.

 

Will try bleeding the coolant tomorrow once I get the cover noise to go away again.

yeah sometimes best to walk away when youre struggling , will all be clearer next day

If both bottom covers are rubbing then something's not right.

 

What was the new one rubbing against?

 

Don't overthink the water/coolant issue, you never get it all out unless you tip everything upside down, just give it a chance to burp with the coolant cap off from cold and top it up afterwards. 

 

It'll be fine

 

:)

Couldn't actually tell what it was rubbing on but I think it might be the tensioner itself or the belt where it passes over the tensioner.  Both covers I have, show marks in this area and neither look new.  If you leave the top cover off and the top bolt off the bottom cover you can make the sound go away by prising the top of the bottom cover away from the engine a little.

 

The old belt (after 30 thousand miles and 5 years) was shiny on the sides of the actual teeth on the outside edge.  The inside edge (facing the engine) did not have this on the old belt and was like new.  Almost as though the old belt went through a rub period when it was new, either on the bottom pulley or the inside of the cover.  On both covers there is evidence of rubbing marks on the cover itself where the belt passes round the tensioner and the crank shaft sprocket at the front side of the engine.  There was some rubber dust in the old cover - maybe that's what came off the teeth of the old belt.

 

As said the pointer on the tensioner had moved out of the groove a bit into the slack side but it was almost bang on when I torqued it up with a wrench the other day (purely luck - I messed with it for hours).  Don't know if I'll need to re-tension??  Might put the old tensioner back to see if that cures the noise.  At the same time paint the suspect areas inside the cover with Tipex and see if it gets rubbed off.

 

This job is driving me crazy - think it might be my last dabble in modern car maintenance.

 

Edited 14 November, 20169 yr by cosaw
Corrections.

If you are satisfied that the belt is running centrally on all of the pullleys and it's tensioned properly then leave well alone

 

The covers are plastic and could they be distorted?

They are just covers however, I'd consider placing a single washer under one of the bolts, just enough to space the plastic cover off until the rubbing stops.  

 

Cheers.  And thanks for understanding my lengthy post.

 

Not 100% completely satisfied with tension but I really don't want to touch the tensioner again.  As I say it was as good as bang on when torqued  (and turned the engine by hand) and that bolt won't shift as I used a brand new torque wrench and bolt to 20 NM.  Now the pointer has moved up indicating slackening - maybe that's supposed to happen?  Maybe I could try turning the engine over by hand again to see what happens to the pointer.

 

I was thinking distortion too. I washed em both in soapy water but but don't think that could have done it.  Was thinking of a spacer over the tensioner nut end but too risky if it shifts.  One between the top cover bolt and the engine might do the trick though or some other non moveable method of spacing.  That being said I could put washers under the bottom bolts too and see what happens (more weather to get in of course).

 

Thanks again for all your help.

Edited 14 November, 20169 yr by cosaw
Corrections.

Followed your instructions Nige and engine came to temp and fan worked, all hoses hot, coolant level stable.  Many thanks!!

 

Quick questions.

 

Do I need to keep removing the sparkplugs when I want to turn the engine over by hand.  Haynes says to wait till engine cold before removing spark plugs but I don't get why?  Is it just so you don't burn yourself??

 

The pointer on the tensioner is now passed the notch (before I've turned the engine over).  Last time I looked it was before the notch.  WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?  Seen people tensioning on youtube and it seem to go a ton easier than what I'm doing.

 

Also is the crankshaft pulley bolt a normal ring spanner or is it actually a triple square that I could damage?

Edited 15 November, 20169 yr by cosaw

if you can turn the engine with the plugs in the carry on....taking them out just makes it easier

 

its a normal 12 point spanner /socket 

Cheers steveo.  Feeling  a little more optimistic today.  So far: coolant system working.  Oil leak stopped.  Lower cover still creating noise but can't see anywhere the belt should foul.  If anything it's where the middle of the bolt on the tensioner touches the lower cover that's causing the extra noise - maybe just vibration rather than the rotating part touching.  I will check for a change in smell again but everything is normal while the lower cover is pulled slightly away.

 

As to the pointer on the tensioner - if I crank over by hand it moves a little but when I come back to the timing marks it comes back to the same point.  It's not quite central in the notch.  It's in the notch but off centre a little (higher up in the notch which I think means it's on the slack side).

 

ADDITION - really not sure which way in the notch is more or less tension now I think about it and play with the old tensioner.?!

 

Wondering whether to retension or just leave it and get back on the road to see how she runs.  It was such a pain in the A** to get even this close.

Edited 15 November, 20169 yr by cosaw
Corrections.

cant help on the tensioner , never owned a car with that style 

No worries.  Thanks for all your help as usual.  Would be lost without the people on this forum!

maybe some photos would help