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Having got the new cam belt, water pump, filters etc, everything needed to do a cam belt change and a service i decided today is the day to do it. Sat here now, its snowing and i got exactly nowhere after 5 hours work!!

I followed EvilTwin's write up in the knowledge base, which is brilliant by the way but i ran into a serious serious problem. The bottom pulley bolt wont come undone!!
Tried an air gun, tried wedging a breaker bar and flicking the key, tried everything and i am an experienced mechanic and was an AA man for 17 years too.
All i acheived was to undo it about 3/4 to 1 turn, it still wasnt loose, tried everything and then gave up. Problem was it also didnt want to do back up!! In the end i left the wheelarch liner off, put the wheel back on, turned the car round as my driveway slopes downwards slightly and bounced it backwards with the bar on the floor to get the bolt to do back up, then refitted everything else. That was when the snow started.

So i am planning to start again tomorrow but im off down to my mates garage first thing to use his air gun, its a lot more powerful than mine, then retighten it and drive home to start again. No room in his place to do it, he's got a lot of work in at the mo. I assume that whoever did it up last time used a whole pot of threadlock on it as ive neer had one that didnt loosed up once it was freed off.

So, that was my day, started bad, got worse, snowed, now sat here wondering if the wife will be able to get home tonight or if i will need to order a tateaway instead.

Hope your day was better.

Mick.

Welcome in Mick!
What a bastard eh? I've not tackled the cambelt on mine yet but it'll be due sooner or later. Hope it's nothing like that!!

The bolt is treated with a thread locking compound like you find on the brake caliper bolts etc, so cometimes it clogs up the threads as you get it moving.I found I had to work the bolt back and forth for a while and gradually worked it out by doing this. A soaking of wd overnight now its on the move will obviously also help when you go back at it.
Al

I pretty much lifted my tubby up with the breaker bar while trying to undo its crankshaft pulley bolt... Those things are in HARD

Rattle guns wont undo a properly done up crank pulley bolt, the way i do them that works every time, is to use a 24 inch long extension onto the socket, 3 foot breaker bar on the extension, v groove axle stand setup at exactly the same height as the crank bolt, rest the extension bar on the axle stand and stand on the breaker bar handle, my 15 stone weight undoes them every time without trouble !, get a helper to put the car in gear and press hard on the break pedal whilst you are doing it and it should all be over in about 5 minutes

I'm doing mine tomorrow if the snow holds off as i am fitting new water pump, cam belt, tensioners and aux belt

Also, dont forget to replace the aux belt as if they split or snap, there is a good chance it will wind up under the cam belt and make it jump a few teeth taking out a rocker or 2 or even a valve which is major work

Cheers Legoless, i will try that,i had a feeling it might be the case but to be honest i had lost my rag by the end.
Cant do it tomorrow either now, a foot of snow on the drive and the car will fit in the garage but doesnt leave room to work down the side of it.
So tomorrow is oil+filter, fuel filter, glow plugs and a trip into work to drop some kit off. Nice 60 mile round trip to check i did everything right!!
Thanks for the welcomes and support,i dont feel so bad about failing miserably now i know others have had the same problems.

A quick question,mines a 90hp job, what sort of MPG should i get from it, i use it mainly on motorways and although i try to keep it at 60/65 i often find myself doing 75ish?

TopDonkey,good one, i normally do the trolley jack or an axle stand at the right height too, normally works but not today!! Aux belt looks almost new. I dont have any history for this, hence the belt etc being done now. Its on 91k so overdue.

Cheers

Mick.

The HDi belt is every 96K or 5 years.

Are you sure you need to change the glow plugs? they never ever become a problem and you could be at risk of snapping one in the head??

Try the key turning job again, with a little WD40 squirted down the thread it will easily undo, i've never had a failure even when they are tight like yours.I use this method for all tight crank bolts, whatever the car.

jasper5 wrote:Try the key turning job again, with a little WD40 squirted down the thread it will easily undo, i've never had a failure even when they are tight like yours.I use this method for all tight crank bolts, whatever the car.

That sort of started to work. It loosened the bolt off the 3/4 to 1 turn. Then it sounded like the starter was slipping on the flywheel so i stopped. Thinking back it may have been the bolt screeching as it came loose.
I dosed it with WD before i retightened it so once the snow goes i will try again.

Welly: Not certain about all the glow plugs, i took one out and it looks original, well burnt and very slow to heat on the bench so i thought i would do them to save a job later. They have all been WD'd too in readiness. Thanks for the info on the belt, that gives me a little bit of time in hand.
The belt change mileage varies so much across t'internet but i will trust the info here as everyone seems to know what they are talking about.

Thanks again,

Mick.

The screeching is common with a tight one, it's the threads cutting through the locktite.It will come undone, sometimes i've had to turn it until it started the engine to remove the bolt.

My wife used to get 50mpg from our 90 HDi (motorway driving).

My 90 HDI is giving me an average consumption of 54mpg based on 50/50 motorway and urban,
but i have to admit hypermiling is one of my pet hobbies at the moment so i will say my driving is styled to suit, easy acceleration and easy braking.
Before I started trying for high mpg i was getting average of about 48 combined.

HTH

Dan

Guys, thanks for the MPG info and also for the squealing idea Jasper5. Im back on duty tomorrow so the belt and water pump will have to waitaweek.

So today, car tucked into the garage, air filter dead easy. Fuel filter dead easy. Glow plugs dead easy!! Although the 2 offside ones looked in much better condition than the nearside 2 for some reason. Oil drained dead easy, sump plug back in dead easy. Oil filter, what a bastard!!! Didnt want to come off, screwdrivered it in the end which i hate doing as its messy.

Anyway, all serviced now, actually seems to be doing more MPG on the display already too. 120 mile round trip tomorrow for work so i will see if its made any difference.

Just in case it helps anyone these are the prices i paid for parts and where from.

Guttman fuel filter Eurocarparts £6.26
Eurofil air filter " £3.50
Mann oil filter " £3.83
Denso glow plugs " £8.57 each
5W40 synth oil Halfords £27.49 with trade card

Cheers

Mick.