replacing the timing belt and sundry items

[johnnyc]

dear all,

i need some advice.

when replacing the timing belt what parts do you require in order to do the job properly.

. apart from the obvious like the belt itself, my internet trolling points to items such as the timing belt bearing, detentioner kit and sometimes the water pump. i dont know if mine is stuffed or not and am waiting on advice from mechanic.

there also seems to be a lot of chat on various sites about a "mechanical tentioner". I am not a mechanic so dont have any idea how that item fits into the scheme of things, nor do I know if it is better or worse than what was originally installed in the motor.

i am keen to get an idea of what is required with this job so I can at least have some sort of mildly intelligent conversation with the mechanic and have some idea of what he is saying to me.

any input would be greatly appreciated. I have looked at sourcing bits from the US/UK as I have found some suppliers in australia pretty slack in responding to queries.

thanks,

john

[wankski]

hey mate,

what car is it? AFAIK the 164 already has the mechanical tensioner... trhe reason for this is the 75/90 tensioner is a hydraulic unit, which if leaks, does so all over the belt... smart eh?

opinion is divided over what is best, some feel they can rebuild the hydro unit well and loctite to keep sealed, some perfer to block teh port and fit the 164 mech tensioner... your call!

The belt ought be changed with idler and tensioner. I would just replace the pump, it's not too expensive and the reason for this is it runs of the main cam belt, so if it stuffs itself completely it can let go of the belt.... its not worth the risk... especially if you don;t know the history of all the pulleys and pumps....

i'd just go w/ US/UK suppliers myself... Aus prices are very high in comparison...

[johnnyc]

wanski,

thanks for the response  . the car is an 1989 75 3.0.I am assuming it didnt come with the mechanical tensioner when originally built. from what you have said it must be the oil fed tensioner, the thing pisses oil. i have ordered a shit load of seal as well.

i was tossing up whether to do the water pump at the same time as the belt etc but seeing your comment I am inclined to do that as well.

whats the go with cam belts etc??? 

cheers

[stustustu123]

Hang on - I've never seen a water pump on an Arese V6 that is driven by the cambelt.  It's driven by an ancillary belt but you do need to remove the cambelt if you want to change water pumps so if there is any play in the water pump shaft, change the pump before you fit the new cam belt.

As for the new mechanical tensioners - have a look in the 164 section of www.alfabb.com - Alfisto Steve is an absolute wealth of info regarding the pros/cons of each type of tensioner unit.  He's posted some good guides as to cambelt maintenance and tensioner r&r.  Plus there is a good PDF template someone has made to help you lineup camshaft timing when fitting your new belt.  Makes the job quite easy!!

[wankski]

Hang on - I've never seen a water pump on an Arese V6 that is driven by the cambelt.  It's driven by an ancillary belt but you do need to remove the cambelt if you want to change water pumps so if there is any play in the water pump shaft, change the pump before you fit the new cam belt.

d'oh. I've conflated it with the 4cly design.... my bad.... yet another example of how the alfa v6 timing belt system is better than the fiat 4....

[johnnyc]

thanks for the responses.