Winter Belts

Hello all. If you know me, I do like to work on these cars. A few years ago I changed my fuel lines. Last year, I had nothing to do but make (free hand) a new antenna nut that got lost on the way to a car show. This year, I decided to tackle my cam belts. I figured with all the help here and knowing Continental Autosports is close by, I couldn't get into to much trouble. So, off I started.....

First was removal of the water pump and it was sent out to be rebuilt (Flying Dutchman).

Second was removing that AC unit to I can reach the front belts. This took some effort and some new tools. But, with the right tool, the job was easy. So today I removed the cam covers and am now fabricating cam locks. In the meantime, does anyone know what the best way is to release the cam belt tensioner so I can get the cam bearing off? I guess Ferrari didn't consider including a lip in the engine block so one could use a long screwdriver to push on the tensioner.

I would say the biggest challenge so far was getting the AC unit out and moved out of the way. The second challenge was reaching all those little 8mm bolts holding the back guard to the cam cover.

Oh, why is the alternator belt small enough that one needs to unbolt the upper bracket from the engine to get enough slack to remove it? Sigh......well I needed to remove the alternator any way to reach some of those 8mm bolts.

Once I can get the bearing off, the rest should be easy.

Any gearheads out there want to coach me on techniques to remove/replace the tensioner bearing......I'm listening!
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Thanks, I thought the bearing was spring tensioned like in modern cars. But it isn't, as I found out from a few other FChatters.

Now I just need to mark the cams and old belts so I'll be sure the cams didn't move during the change. I made cam locks today, so I'm just about ready to change the belts.


Also, the forward cam bearing was weeping grease as there was a nice line of buildup on the cam cover. The rear bearing was fine, weeped a little but not so much that there was a bunch of grease splatter on the cam cover. So......it was time to do the change.

 

Cam locks made from pine. 4 triangle pieces bolted to wedge between the cams. I rotated the engine to TDC (I think) and put the cam locks on. Enigne won't budge now, so I'm ready to release the belts....one at a time. But Monday is here and I have to work.

 

Thanks. I have been thinking about the Ferrari and Unobtanium's methods. The Ferrari method of turning the engine through 2 revolutions will allow the belts to align properly so they won't be cockeyed from gear to gear before locking down the tensioner. Thus, the Ferrari method will probably be a little more 'correct' in setting the tension. Also, the hand turning of the engine, which is easy, will provide some confidence that pistons are not hitting valves. If a piston did hit a valve, using the hand crank method would stop the engine without damage and give the mechanic an idea something was wrong.

 

Cam locks on
Belts changed!
Now putting everything back together. It is going fast and should be completed tomorrow.
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Well, I finally started the car tonight. After procrastinating for a few weeks, I turned the key and she started up. Ran the engine until the cooling fans came on. Only overflowed the expansion tank by about a quart. But, now my garage smells like glycol...........smells like........VICTORY!