ZX Timing Belt

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ZXdanslamaison
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Joined: 01 Mar 2003, 02:16
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ZX Timing Belt

Post by ZXdanslamaison »

Hello all,
I have posted here a few times before when I had a 1.4 ZX. That went and I bought a classic saab 900 turbo. However, being penniless and saving for a house has forced me to sell that and get back to owning a sensible car: K reg ZX 2 litre 8 valve volcane (106k).
It seems to have lost of extras on it and a little more oomph than the 1.4, but it has no service history! (was cheaper because of this fact). My concern is with the timing belt as I haven't a clue how many miles its done, so first question is is there any way of telling how far this has gone?
My second question relates to the timing belt again. It seems that there is a centre plastic panel that is missing and allows me to see all the way into the Timing Belt pulleys and such. I'm glad I spotted this as anything could come up from the road and get chewed up in there. I phoned around my local breakers yards and none of them had any ZX's. Were there any other citroens I could check for that used this type of engine too?
cheers
Alistair
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AndersDK
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Post by AndersDK »

Hi Alistair -
Some time ago we had a discussion here on how to judge the age/wear of a cambelt.
I think the conclusion was that a fairly new belt can be recognised by still having clean & bright factory printings on - that's about it.
Faded printing on the belt then means from fair to worn out belt - you can't tell by ANY means - other than obvious visual observations like tiny surface cracks or "hairy" edges.
Conclusion : replace the belt ASAP - it's a LOT cheaper than any misshaps from a snapped belt - and do NOT cane the engine in ANY way untill you're sure. There is no point in testing the belt out this way [B)]
As for the missing covers - try any Peug/Cit model same year range with engine size range 1.6L - 2.0L.
There are a few variants to these covers - related to year/engine type - but chances are you'd find the correct one pretty easy.
ZXdanslamaison
Posts: 39
Joined: 01 Mar 2003, 02:16
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Post by ZXdanslamaison »

Thanks for that Anders,
Looks like I'll have to bite the bullet and pay out for a new belt
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