ZX alternator belt and tensioner questions

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uhn113x
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ZX alternator belt and tensioner questions

Post by uhn113x »

Hi fellow avocados
Yesterday decided to replace cam belt on ZX TD - no great problem there - easier than the one I did on my BX16TRS.
The alternator belt was looking the worse for wear, though, so I nipped out to local motor factor for a new one.
The replacement was a Bosch 7972 6PK 1125. I assume 1125 is the length.
The new belt would not go on! Given that they do stretch a bit, the old belt must be a good inch shorter than the new one.
<b>Question - is this the correct belt? (power steering, no aircon)</b>
The other oddity is that the tensioner does not seem to make sense, or it was assembled incorrectly. The bolt in the bottom has a nut and a washer either side of where it goes through the tensioner; the upper nut was seized enough on the thread to pull the tensioner down and tension the belt. That does not seem right to me, and when I cleaned up the threads, I could not tension the belt at all, because the bolt was unscrewing from the casting at the same rate as the nut was unscrewing from the bolt, so the tensioner was not moving, so, can someone confirm that:
<b> The tensioner moves down to tension the belt - what actually pulls it down? If there is a nut on the bolt, the tensioner cannot move up far enough to reach more than half of its travel!
The correct path for the belt is round crank pulley, under tensioner pulley, above and round alternator, down and round steering pump? (clutching at straws now!) </b>
Finally, anyone got an easy way of getting at two bolts holding LH side of cambelt cover, apart from taking engine out or growing arms like Mr Tickle?
TIA
Dave Burns
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Post by Dave Burns »

The bolt for the tensioner has a socket (allen key) cap head which is specially shouldered, the socket cap head protrudes through the hole in the bracket but the shoulder does not, thus the bracket is driven by the shoulder.
What you have got there is a bodged affair, there aren't any nuts on the correct part.
Look at the belt sizes in the online shop.
Dave
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fastandfurryous
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Post by fastandfurryous »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by uhn113x</i>
apart from taking engine out or growing arms like Mr Tickle?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
There are plenty of jobs that would benefit from this I think! [:D]
If anybody manages this feat, I've a few jobs that need doing myself!
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uhn113x
Posts: 1161
Joined: 06 Jan 2004, 22:06
Location: Near Leeds, United Kingdom
My Cars: 1981 Dyane - on road all year round.
1982 GSA Pallas - on road April - September.
1997 ZX 1.9D Dimension.
x 1

Post by uhn113x »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Dave Burns</i>

The bolt for the tensioner has a socket (allen key) cap head which is specially shouldered, the socket cap head protrudes through the hole in the bracket but the shoulder does not, thus the bracket is driven by the shoulder.
What you have got there is a bodged affair, there aren't any nuts on the correct part.
Look at the belt sizes in the online shop.
Dave
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Dave - thanks very much for that - it makes perfect sense! I just need to make or buy a bolt, now!
Cheers
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uhn113x
Posts: 1161
Joined: 06 Jan 2004, 22:06
Location: Near Leeds, United Kingdom
My Cars: 1981 Dyane - on road all year round.
1982 GSA Pallas - on road April - September.
1997 ZX 1.9D Dimension.
x 1

Post by uhn113x »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by uhn113x</i>

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Dave Burns</i>

The bolt for the tensioner has a socket (allen key) cap head which is specially shouldered, the socket cap head protrudes through the hole in the bracket but the shoulder does not, thus the bracket is driven by the shoulder.
What you have got there is a bodged affair, there aren't any nuts on the correct part.
Look at the belt sizes in the online shop.
Dave
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Dave - thanks very much for that - it makes perfect sense! I just need to make or buy a bolt, now!
And it would appear that the belt should be an 1130, not 1125. So I had no hope of getting it on!
Anyone got an easy way to replace those two bolts?
Cheers
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
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uhn113x
Posts: 1161
Joined: 06 Jan 2004, 22:06
Location: Near Leeds, United Kingdom
My Cars: 1981 Dyane - on road all year round.
1982 GSA Pallas - on road April - September.
1997 ZX 1.9D Dimension.
x 1

Post by uhn113x »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by fastandfurryous</i>

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by uhn113x</i>
apart from taking engine out or growing arms like Mr Tickle?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
There are plenty of jobs that would benefit from this I think! [:D]
If anybody manages this feat, I've a few jobs that need doing myself!
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
F&F
You ain't lived until you have replaced an oil light switch on a DS21 IE !! Apart from the aforementioned Mr T arms, you need a piece of wood with a hole in it and some string. I didn't even bother mention removing the battery, heater blower and steering column!
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fastandfurryous
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Post by fastandfurryous »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by uhn113x</i>


F&F
You ain't lived until you have replaced an oil light switch on a DS21 IE !! Apart from the aforementioned Mr T arms, you need a piece of wood with a hole in it and some string. I didn't even bother mention removing the battery, heater blower and steering column!
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
I would happily do all that if it meant the chance to work on or drive a Citroen DS! I've driven a CX, which I thought was a magic carpet, but have heard that the DS makes a CX feel like a bag of spanners!
Anyway, I think I've managed to drift off topic somewhat! sorree!
Having never worked on a petrol BX, all I can offer is that the belt routing sounds correct, as it is the same as that of a 405 1.6. (and just about every XU(D) engine
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fastandfurryous
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Post by fastandfurryous »

Doops.
Just read the original post, and you're talking about the ZX td, not the BX! Right. That I might be able to help with, as the belt covers are identical to a 405 TD. They are indeed fairly impossible to get to. The only way I was able to get enough space to get a spanner in was to remove the upper engine mounting (presumably already off if you're doing a cambelt) and pull the engine forward as far as physically possible without shoving the alternator through the rad. It is so tight around the back of a XUD9T engine that I had to remove the turbo inlet pipe, and grind a cheapo spanner in half to actually be able to get to the upper bolt.
The lower one is equally as much fun, but needs access through the wheelarch, still with the engine perilously close to the rad!
In the end, I gave up completely on the "later" style of belt guards on my engine, and have converted it to the earlier style, with spring clips and a metal backing.
User avatar
uhn113x
Posts: 1161
Joined: 06 Jan 2004, 22:06
Location: Near Leeds, United Kingdom
My Cars: 1981 Dyane - on road all year round.
1982 GSA Pallas - on road April - September.
1997 ZX 1.9D Dimension.
x 1

Post by uhn113x »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by fastandfurryous</i>

Doops.
Just read the original post, and you're talking about the ZX td, not the BX! Right. That I might be able to help with, as the belt covers are identical to a 405 TD. They are indeed fairly impossible to get to. The only way I was able to get enough space to get a spanner in was to remove the upper engine mounting (presumably already off if you're doing a cambelt) and pull the engine forward as far as physically possible without shoving the alternator through the rad. It is so tight around the back of a XUD9T engine that I had to remove the turbo inlet pipe, and grind a cheapo spanner in half to actually be able to get to the upper bolt.
The lower one is equally as much fun, but needs access through the wheelarch, still with the engine perilously close to the rad!
In the end, I gave up completely on the "later" style of belt guards on my engine, and have converted it to the earlier style, with spring clips and a metal backing.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Hi F&F
Yep - agreed that the clippy ones were much easier - wonder why they changed them? Bolts and metal sleeves in cover must be more costly to make.
I have been thinking that one way of getting the small bolt in would be to have a split piece of thin plywood to hold it, and a 10mm socket with string wrapped around it to wind it in, finishing with spanner. That is how you do the DS oil switch!! Leaving the 11mm one out is becoming tempting :(
If you want a ride in a DS, come to the D-Rally at Little Horwood - date on CCC site, and you can have a ride in mine!
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