XM 2.5 Belt Tensioner Issues

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rg
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XM 2.5 Belt Tensioner Issues

Post by rg »

Folks,
My belt has started to squeal on start up. It's got around 27K on it.
I attempted to tension it to the "5mm give between pulleys" setting this evening, but the tensioner "pusher" bolt began to tighten up in a "distressed" manner, and the "pushed" bit of the tensioner, which mounts onto the tensioning pulley began to distort out of line with the "pusher".
My questions to 2.5 owners are:
- Should the tensioner run out of travel before the belt is tight? This is doubtful, unless the belt has stretched way out of limits.
- Are the tensioners known to stick in their tracks? This engine was thoroughly pressure-washed before I bought it, and some corrosion is evident in the area.
- Is 27K reasonable for a belt? I thought that it was a 36K interval service item.
- Is this the start of a failure of the tensioner rollers, as recently documented on the XM-L Yahoo! Group?
Any insights welcomed!
Cheers
rg
crooser
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Post by crooser »

rg which part of the tensioner do you mean? my 2.5 is tensioned by a very strong spring.i am presuming that you mean the auxillary belt.
rg
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Post by rg »

Crooser,
I mean the alternator/pump belt. I am non- A/C, so it may be significantly different to an A/C one.
Meanwhile, I suspect that I have found the cause of the problem. The Haynes book of fun describes an additional lock bolt running through the centre of the roller carrier. I will slacken this and try again.....doh!!
rg
NiSk
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Post by NiSk »

Fitting/adjusting the auxillary belt on a 2.5TD is not for the faint hearted! Since there really isn't any space at all, there is a real risk that previous owners have looked the other way, and all the fixings have rusted up solid. Sorry to sound so pessimistic, but thats what I found on my 2.5!
By the way, have you managed to get hold of the special long allen key with a 110 degree bend (or is that only on A/C engines)?
//NiSk
rg
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Post by rg »

NiSk,
Mine is non-A/C, so space is slightly better.
The Russek manual does not cover tensioning on the non A/C, as far as I can see, but goes into depth on the A/C model, which is significantly different.
However, Haynes has photos of the non-A/C procedure. Sadly, they show it taking place with the engine removed ("to tension the belt, first remove the engine..")
The multi-rib belt runs under a terrific tension to acheive the 5mm setting. Is there any risk of pump/alternator bearings being damaged?
rg
crooser
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Post by crooser »

rg, i ground and welded an allen key to a piece of pipe to do the job and it wasn't too bad, but make sure you use the correct size because the last thing you want is for the bolt to round off inside.also make sure you make it tight.
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Post by rg »

Crooser,
Thanks!
So are you non-A/C, and are you referring to the allen bolt locking the roller carrier?
rg
NiSk
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Post by NiSk »

How different is the aux. belt fitting without A/C? (didnt know they sold a budget version of 2.5TD). I have the offical Citroën instruction, but its in Swedish and its for the A/C version -however the pics are very good and explanatory. Can't for the life of me remember where i downloaded it from . . .. The whole engine section is a 2MB pdf, but I could distill out the aux belt section if you like . . ?
//NiSk
crooser
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Post by crooser »

rg,i have a/c,on mine there is a spring loaded tensioner that you retract and lock and then you tension the belt tight with a manual tensioner.then the spring loaded one is released and the belt is tensioned automatically.remove the inner wheel arch and look at the bottom of the engine to see if yours is the same.on mine somebody put a hole in the inner wing to access the allen bolt but it wasn't very successful because it doesn't line up.
NiSk
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Post by NiSk »

Crooser - or you engine has shifted on its mountings . . (not unusual with that great lump)
//NiSk
crooser
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Post by crooser »

no mountings are ok,i think they must have made the hole when or if the engine was out,a brilliant idea if they had done it correctly.
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