I just finished my first belt+bearring change!

AND the car started w/o issue! I was nervous though. I triple checked everything and then some. I guess I shoudn't be nervous since I followed the advice of a Ferrari mechanic and like I said, triple checked the belts, tension, touque specs and so on.

It took me 3-4 weeks of on and off work to get it done. I took the time to clean everything I could see as well. I have a lot of photos and notes so I'll do a write up on changing the belts on an 85 QV and all of the little things you have to do, what to watch out for and what is different in Birdmans guide.

Steve

Many thanks to my local Ferrari Mechanic and Birdmans write up.

 

Yes it's in but need to charge it with Duracool. That thing has to weigh 20lbs alone. Everything would go much faster if that compressor wasn't there.

 

What tripped me up was the front bank tension between the cam gears. At points in the revolution there was too much slack between them. I would measure the slack by grasping the belt between my thumb and index finger and moving it up and down. There was too much play when compared to the rear bank. The tensioner was not taking up the slack so what I did was this. I followed the tensioner spring movement during 2 rotations back to TDC and at about the 10 o'clock position the spring was applying as much tension as it could/would. I then rotated the exhaust cam a smidge to take up the slack between the cam gears and locked it down. Then I compared the 2 banks and the tension matched. I use the workshop method of tensioning where you rotate it twice and lock it down. That process worked well on the rear bank but the front bank needed a little tweaking to get right.

 

I think in the case of my front bank the spring may have been a bit tired. I would figure that the tensioner would have removed that play from between the cam gears but no, it didn't. So, I consulted my local mechanic. I cleaned and regreased the assembly but still no luck. I just felt in my gut that the tension was off. I felt that I ran the risk of slippage when the car was started again. That slight rotation of the exhaust cam (clockwise) did the trick. I would say it rotated 1/4 of a tooth to take up the slack. Obviosly that affects timing and such but that will all be addressed during a major. I rotated that engine maybe 15 times to make sure there was no interference.

Next is diagnosing the rich running conditions. First oil, gerabox and coolant change.

 

here is where i encountered slack issues. it should be nice and taught between the cam gears.

see this vid also.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwV1heSV7pM
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Not to bad at all. I went slowly and every nut and bolt went into a labeled coin envelope and was noted on a diagram or photo. I had great advice along the way too.

My mess
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Correct but not sure if I loaded it to the max. I didn't apply any additional pressure to get the play out. I just helped the tensioner by giving it the slack that the spring didn't have enough umph to pull out. I gave the spring plenty of chances but it didnt do it as you can see in the video. I was in time when the new belts went on for sure but something wasn't right. If i rotated the intake cam pulley I would have created slack on the wrong side that could not be taken up.

 

Did you see that video David? That's where the trouble was.