What's the go with changing timing belts on these things? Are new bearings and tensioners required? Or will doing the belt and water pump (leaking) be sufficient?
What's the go with changing timing belts on these things? Are new bearings and tensioners required? Or will doing the belt and water pump (leaking) be sufficient?
the tensioner and idler collapse on astras all the time. replace it all.
If the idlers are still plastic replace them. They tend to fly apart. And when the belt comes off they bend valves and it's expensive.
Originally Posted by RVK 355
The timing kits seem on the expensive side. Aftermarket kits have metal idlers?
Oh and idle speed is usually throttle body/idle motor passage. Spray some carby cleaner in there and see how it goes. Don't wipe or try to open the throttle just spray it and run the engine
New belt kit every 60k (belt/idlers/tensioner)
New water pump every 100k
Order from autovaux.co.uk so you don't get holdentax added to the price
ECU every 120k
mang mang mang
And then burn the car to the ground in a pre-emptive strike.
Fucking this. Fucken Euro Holdens are the biggest pieces of shit ever.
If you do the belt be prepared to swear at ridiculous torx fasteners and a poxy stupid retarded tensioner.
what's the go with the tensioner? Does it require a special tool?
No special tool, it is just a root around. Instructions will be in the timing belt kit. Turn it here, turn it there. Wind the engine over. Check the pointer. Start again. Etc, etc.
you will be lucky if the coils and ecu dont shit the bed before it needs a timing belt.
Add Ignition barrel , window regulators, air cond compressor and heater core to the sub 100k service as well.
just replaced the rear window regulator!!
dont forget the power steering pump
Yep, forgot that one, sorry.
Bloody things... Done heaps of them, belts snap and get jammed uo and crack the oil pump housing..
CL valiant sedan 245 3 speed
VH dodge utility 215 3 speed, project/ trailer puller
74 chrysler lancer LA sedan, 2.6 EFI turbo, 230kw
chrysler galant sedan, daily
chrysler galant coupe- long term project
mitsubishi starion turbo, cutties, front lip, scrapes and smashes on everything
I had one. Did 114,000km with a bit of noise but nothing broken. Then everything broke including the transmission.
"The trouble with quotes from the internet, is you can never tell if they're genuine."
- Abraham Lincoln
I'm in the trade so I know the euro Vectras and Astras are peices of crap!
I guess replace everything every pulley then!
What causes the idle speed to go up and down during idle? TPS?
Mum had one of these
Hella unreliable. Two gearboxes by 11,000km amongst various elec issues.
Yeah I think one idler is metal and so is the tensioner in a gates kit. Good memory lol I did one on Tuesday. No special tool required just an Allen key to turn the tensioner and watch the little 'gauge' at the top with the pointer thingy.
Also be really careful with the cam angle sensor. Wiring gets brittle where it passes through the cover. If you bend the loom too much it cracks, shorts out and throws a code
I've done 150k on my vectra. Apart from a timing kit and water pump, I've only replaced the crank and cam sensors and rebuilt the cam sensor wiring. No big deal. I get my parts from overseas for half price and use a mechanic that doesn't rip me off.
Am I just lucky.... Who knows
They can be tricky but in reality a piece of piss. Make sure you have a whole set of male/female torx bits.
- Pull airbox/AFM out
- Support engine with a jack and block of timber
- Remove engine mount (6 bolts)
- Remove RHF wheel and plastic liner that covers the balancer
- Loosen belt tensioner and remove serpentine belt (15mm spanner)
- Talk shit on PF
- Remove balancer (E18 female torx bit + rattle gun)
- Remove drive belt tensioner
- Remove top timing cover (3 bolts)
- Remove lower timing cover (1 bolt and bunch of clips)
- Remove cam sensor (2 bolts)
- Gasp in awe of how bad the pulley setup is and curse because you didnt order a water pump and the one on the car is leaking. At this point you wonder wtf is the go with all the fucking stupid torx bits.
- Rotate cam/crank until cam gears line up. Intake cam should have a mark at 3 oclock and exhaust cam at 9 oclock. If they do then confirm crank mark. If you cant handle this bit get the car on a tow truck and to a mechanic because youll end up with 2 piece valves and vented pistons.
- Remove belt
- Replace ALL idler pulleys and tensioner pulley and water pump. Fucking hooray. Water pump is held on by stupid allen key bolts instead of torx. 4mm from memory x 3 bolts for pump.
- Insert instructions for replacing cam/crank seals. I CBF'd explaining.
- Put belt back on. Youll likely need a second peprson to help.
- Once youre confident its lined up use an alley key to tighten the tensioner. The tensioner has a metal pointer and a "v" cutout to indicate belt tension.Apply pressure until pointer is in thr middle of the V. Check timing marks again. Wind engine over 2 full turns then check again. If you cant get this detail right refer to the step for lining the marks up.
- Once youre confident its good then re assemble everything.
If youre lucky the car will run smooth, most likely with a check engine light from a previous electrical issue and 3 broken window regs.
Last edited by Terribleone; 14-04-12 at 08:50 AM.
^^^^ spot on.
9 years at holden dealerships, and i had to do a million of these, and do cyl heads after the belts broke.......all the time.
Terribleone is right about the water pump as well. If you are really lucky you will have to use an air chisel to break it up to get it out because the corrosion is so bad. I have done this.
hahaha ive done this too......3 hours just to get the pump out of the housing, in bout 25 pieces
Ive done about 30 astra timing belts, I dont actually mind doing them!!
they are easy as, echo the comments about the waterpump though. ive spent hours chipping them out before. the only other drama ive seen is stripping the tensioner bolt head, really shallow torx shit.
Yeah I came across my first stuck pump a couple years ago, ended up drilling a series of small holes around the middle of it in the recessed casting sections, smashing the impeller out then using a large prybar to get the thing out. Since then every second one is stuck in.
I dont mind doing them though.
Ive done plenty to. All on the same car!
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote