Going to try and change the drive belt today weather permitting, and grease the idler and tensioner pulleys. Is it a straightforward slacken the adjuster off, remove and grease? Or is there more to it than that? Is it a straight forwards job? Anything to watch out for/beware of? I've checked a few posts on the subject but there did not seem to be a full start to finish guide.
Cheers,
Arty

 

Straight forward Arty. Take the tension off, remove belt, do what you have to do and refit using the reverse procedure.

Simples.

 

Lovely, thanks for the quick reply Jim. Just wanted to make sure there were no hidden surprises in store when I loosened the tensioner heh heh . You know what these things are like.........
Cheers,

Arty

 

I found it easiest to slip the belt off the pully that doesn't have a lip on it. I think it may have been the tensioner pully. Same on installation. A long handled wrench or breaker bar will give you leverage and make it easier.
Have fun!

 

Thanks Mike66, weather is putting the job off, its raining and I cannot put the car in the garage. Good tip though will use it when I start.

Cheers,
Arty

 

Well despite all the rain today, just before 7pm I managed to change the drive belt, and was ably assisted by wifey, and I must say not a moment to soon as we finished in the rain! I think it was a close call for the belt too, another few miles and it could have snapped.
I have to say I am very fortunate as I always have an assistant available in my better half, who is always willing to lend a hand. Not many can say that!
For anyone else who is about to change the belt, I had to use a 15mm ring spanner to take the tension of the belt. I thought the bolt would have loosened and revealed the spindle so I could grease it. Do you have to remove the whole tensioner to do that?
Cheers everyone,
Arty

 

Job well done - that belt is indeed ready to give up the ghost. Any idea if it was the original factory belt?

 

Arty, I believe that pully shaft bolt loosens clockwise, opposite of how it has to be turned to release tension on the belt.

 

Hi Joh89, I have no idea if the belt was the original, have to say it looks like it could very well be by the cracks on the rubber multi side of the belt.
Mike66, so it must be a left hand thread then? This must be to prevent it coming off due to the rotarion of the tensioner wheel. Thanks for the info mate, appreciated.
Cheers,
Arty

 

Arty,

That shows first stage deterioration where the belt has multiple cracks across the Vee's leaving them in blocks. If not replaced, it would have progressed to the next stage where blocks of the Vee rubber break off.

I always do a visual check on the belt every time I do a routine fluid check. The inside Vee's can be seen with the belt in-situ and deterioration spotted long before it starts to shred rubber.

Graham

 

The reason there is a lefthand thread is so you can use it to release the belt, the bearings are sealed and can not be regreased. However replacing the bearings is easy enough unless you have the early plastic pulley which is moulded around the bearing

 

Thanks for confirmation XKRacer, its good info for others who will have to do this job. All the info I have seen to date has not mentioned the lefthand thread part, though it makes sense. I saw on some thread it was best to grease the bearing when replacing the belt but as it had started to rain and was getting dark I had to be pleased to just get the thing replaced. Will look at re greaseing if possible at a later date.
Yes Graham the inner " V " tracks are in a poor state probably made worse when it stood idle for almost 4 years with last P.O.
I've got work on today but hope to be finished early afternoon, and the weather looks promising, so will tackle the fuel filter change. Not many items left now, getting there slowly but surely.