Hi,
Changed the cam belt and tensioner on my old (1989) Escort (1.4 CVH) over the weekend. The Haynes manual says to push the tensioner over far enough that it is "just" possible to twist the long run of the belt through 90degrees.
I put a 22mm spanner (about a foot long) between the engine mount and the edge of the tensioner, and leant on it until the spanner was visibly bending. Tightened the tensioner bolts, and it's still possible to twist the belt through 90deg without too much effort. The belt isn't slack or coming off the pulleys anywhere though. It's managed 45 miles so far so it does work.
Question is - is there a better way of increasing the tension, apart from befriending a bouncer? And does it need to be that tight?
Thanks,
Mark
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Mark - If you've bent a spanner(??) tensioning the belt, don't drive the car any further. Something is drastically amiss here. The CVH tensioner is held by two 13mm bolts isn't it?
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Hi,
Thanks for the reply.
The spanner is not permanently bent - I just pushed it (using it as a lever between the engine mount and the side of the tensioner frame thing) until if flexed. (Better word than bend.)
Very hard to see what could be amiss to be honest - it's just a roller on a frame, which slides on two bolts. With the belt off it slides all the way left and all the way right.
How much force would you expect to have to apply to the left hand side of the tensioner, in order to apply the right amount of tension to the belt? I can double-check it - perhaps I was levering against the back of the block, which would of course explain the lack of movement - but I don't think I was.
Thanks!
Mark
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Light pressure with a screwdriver is what I would expect to use. Certainly not levering against an engine mounting that would flex a 22mm spanner.
The tensioner must be bottoming out on one of the mounting bolts?
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
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Thanks DL - I'll check it again. Come to think of it, it did seem to move freely a little way, before bottomming out.
Thanks,
Mark
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You have fitted the corretc belt? It could be too long, perhaps?
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
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Good point. I put it on top of the old one as a quick check, and it was "about right", but I didn't count the teeth or anything like that. It came in a set with the tensioner so you'd think it would be right...
I'll try to look at it tonight!
Cheers,
Mark
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Sounds like a Quinton Hazel kit then? If so, they are good; I personally endorse them.
Check the belt teeth count and the size of the tensioner pulley.
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
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Haynes does recommend to get the tension checked anyway by a (Ford) garage. It's probably worth doing this if you're planning to keep the car a while longer. Let them find out where you went wrong!
Better safe than sorry!
Mike Farrow
Ah, the joys of timing chains!
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Ah, that'll be Haynes "covering their asses"
The F*rd CVH belt is one of the easiest belts to change, the 90 degree check is nigh-on faultless.
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
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My guess is that you've probably got the tension right. I would expect to be able to twist 90 degrees fairly easily and then hit a "brick wall" effect, so it won't twist any further.
Personally, I would only worry if I could twist it OVER 90 degrees fairly easily.
{I have done the belt replacement on an Escort CVH, but it was such a long time ago it's difficult to remember the details - so this is just an opinion, not a recommendation!}
Ian
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You will know if its too tight.both tensioner and water pump moan.as has been said if you turn belt with fingers the limit is the 90d any tighter and you wont reach it with ease.ie too tight.slightly over which will be as far as it will go should be ok.they are pretty fail safe.
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Was mech1
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Yes - steve's quite right - if it's too tight the belt will moan, a bit like the wife.
But.....if the belt is too slack, you won't hear much, maybe the belt slapping against the cambelt covers if you are lucky.....
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Thanks all for the replies. I checked it again last night and I'm actually pretty happy that it's tight enough and not too tight. Maybe it's settled in a bit.
As suggested, it turns through 90deg without too much force and then doesn't go much further at all without quite a bit of force.
Still don't understand why I needed so much force to position the tensioner, but there we go. I checked and it wasn't at the end of its movement - far from it in fact.
As for whining, it's a lot quieter than it was before. (It used to be quiet, starting whining when the belt was last changed (due to an old tensioner I presume) and is now once again quiet.)
The kit wasn't QH - but I can't remember the name now.
Thanks for the advice folks!
-Mark
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