Crankshaft pulley and timing belt failure..

[Malc]

Be warned!!
Any smell of burning rubber or excessive crankshaft pulley noise or complete lack of power steering etc stop immediately and have your Pug carted or towed to a safe haven!
I decided to drive to mine when the pulley failed with subsequent destruction of the timing belt and much gnashing of teeth thinking what the consequential damage would be ie bent valve stems and/or bust pistons etc etc.
My local mechanic confirmed the same and estimated as much as Euros 1000 to get it fixed. The old gel isn't worth that and with a bit of reading discovered the rocker arms are a small safety feature and can give way before bent valve stems.
Although this is not my order of doing the job I'll make it as simple as possible without photographs as there is enough information on the net already.
I don't know if the crankshaft pulley can be removed without an impact wrench as my mechanic doing me a big favour had already removed mine now in three separate pieces.
Ignoring all the strip down Haynes recommends I took off the rocker box cover and with a magnet probed around and soon extracted debris from at least two rocker arms.
Removed the camshaft pulley and camshaft and cleared up further rocker debris counting two rocker arms completely kaput and at the same time measured each valve in turn to see they were all the same length.
Doing everything piecemeal and before going to the expense of a new pulley I had the old one welded together to use after putting everything back using this excellent video as a reference.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k66VwGX4uGk
After replacing new rocker arms redid camshaft/pulley/rocker box cover etc and with new timing belt and old welded crankshaft pulley minus auxilliary belt disconnected the camshaft sensor and turned the engine with a well charged battery and starter motor to listen for any nasty clicking sounds.
All was fine and as soon as I replaced the camshaft sensor the old gel fired first time and sounded as sweet as a nut.
Remove old pulley and replace timing belt covers then new crankshaft pulley, auxiliary belt etc etc.
Job done for a fifth of the professional estimate.
nb Will be replacing the old gel when MOT due in May so didn't bother with a water pump change.

[Captain Jack]

That safety feature is essentially a car saver! Good job!

[Welly]

Sounds like that instead of replacing the 'dampened' two-part pulley you've welded it into a one-piece? I'm not sure what effect that will have on the Aux Belt and vibrations?

Sounds like a good economical repair overall though.

[steve_earwig]

Relax Welly

Remove old pulley and replace timing belt covers then new crankshaft pulley, auxiliary belt etc etc.

Nicely done sir, I like the cheap as chips approach to make sure the engine was still worth forking out on.

[Welly]

Oh I see, good idea, the proper pulleys are about £130.00 so a sensible approach.

[Malc]

Capt Jack & Welly... Thanks yr kind replies and believe me at 75 yrs old there's a lot more to the saga than my posting but by making it look simple it may encourage others to have a go. Best wishes.

[Welly]

75 and repairing engines? Hat's off to you Sir!

I'm guessing you didn't spend your career in Banking though.

[GingerMagic]

Indeed, much admiration for tackling this job yourself.....

The weakened rockers is a great thing on the Hdi, can save a small fortune if the timing belt goes belly up ( as you found out ) but as long as people are aware of the feature and not quoting for worst case scenario..

Good result.

[Malc]

...I'm guessing you didn't spend your career in Banking though.

Nothing so mundane as banking Welly but in truth it was either that or say goodbye to a great car and accept E150 from the local scrappy.
GingerMagic...I was encouraged even more when I read on another forum that some guy lost twelve rocker arms and when replaced his Pug was back on the road.
The timing belt change video was a big help though one thing I found unnecessary was where it shows all the plumbing (fuel filter etc) and starter motor removed to locate the flywheel TDC locking hole. Without disconnecting any plumbing or wiring I removed the starter motor using the plumbing to support it and located the locking hole by feel.
The only drawback I can see for the diy person is the crankshaft pulley bolt torque which I did by having the car in gear, foot brake hard down and both the flywheel and camshaft TDC locking pins in place and even then I had to use an extension bar on the torque wrench. Not for the faint-hearted!

[Malc]

Nicely done sir, I like the cheap as chips approach to make sure the engine was still worth forking out on.

Thanks Steve.

[Doggy]

Well done getting it going again at reasonable cost.

I have been fortunate enough to have had the aux drive belt come off an HDi 90 on two occasions, without it getting tangled in the timing belt.

Both times I switched off as soon as possible and was able to remove the belt, or at least tie it out of the way before getting home without power steering or a charging system, (luckily not too far and in daylight).

I only mention this in the hope someone else may avoid more serious consequences.