Diesel Xantia timing belt.

[aerodynamica]

Hi all, I'm hoping to change the timing belt on a Xantia XUD9 engine. It has no turbo and no air con.

I do not have a manual but did get a look at one this afternoon. It seems relatively straightforward but my questions are this:

For locking the camshaft, crank and fuel pump with 8mm rods/screws, how do you turn the crank shaft and hence, all the other bits to get them to line up? Do you use the 22mm socket and bar on the crank pulley? use a cold chisel in the starter ring gear?

Ive only had the car just over a week, getting familiar with the layout slowly. I was wondering about all the plastic air intake ducting up to the plenum chamber. Can that all come off easily? and ditto for the RH engine mounting- is it an easy remove? I have WD40d all potential removal screws and bolts including the starter fixings but does the starter really have to come off to reach the crank locking port?

There's no rush to do this but I need to know the score before I even start this project.

[RichardW]

"how do you turn the crank shaft and hence, all the other bits to get them to line up? Do you use the 22mm socket and bar on the crank pulley? use a cold chisel in the starter ring gear? "

Jack up car on RHS and support on axle stand - ensure LH wheel is still on ground. Engage 4th gear and you can then turn the engine over by rotating the driver's side wheel while you engage the timing pins.

Not necessary to remove the starter, but it can be a bit of git to find the hole the first time. I use a long piece of 8mm bar bent up about 15° about 6" from the end. This slides in behind the starter between the body and solenoid and drops straight into the timing hole.

Engine mount comes off easy - support the engine on trolley jack under sump and away you go. You might need a 16mm deep socket though....

When it comes to doing it, get the engine hot then jack up remove the RH wheel and crack the crank pulley bolt whilst it's hot - it softens the locktite.

[aerodynamica]

Forgot to mention: it's an auto.....

That's why I was wondering about the engine turnage (non existant word alert)

The timing hole behind the starter: is it parallel with the starter fixings? Guess it would be.

Thanks for the reply.

G

[Xaccers]

22mm socket or long ring spanner on the crank bolt is what I use.

I remove the starter motor on mine as it's easy to do.

[aerodynamica]

OK y'all! thanks for the help I need this to get my new slow yet economical car tidy.

Respect. 8)

G

[steviewonder7]

Hi, Just to add my two penny's worth,I renewed my Xant 1.9TD timing belt a couple of months ago,and because I had such a hard time trying
to remove the crankshaft pulley (I tried various methods as guided by the good folks on this forum)I decided to leave the dam thing in place.I still
managed to negotiate the pulley and sucessfully put the new timing belt in place without incurring any damage to said belt.
Hope all goes well for you,its not too bad a job,just awkward and time consuming.

[aerodynamica]

OK thanks steviewonder7, I was a wee bit concerned that I might damage the belt negotiating it over the crank pulley - I'll try as hard as poss to remove it.

Do I need any type of extractor to remove the crank pulley once the bolt is cracked?

[CitroJim]

I renewed my Xant 1.9TD timing belt a couple of months ago,and because I had such a hard time trying
to remove the crankshaft pulley (I tried various methods as guided by the good folks on this forum)I decided to leave the dam thing in place.I still
managed to negotiate the pulley and sucessfully put the new timing belt in place without incurring any damage to said belt.

How on earth did you get the belt on without removing the crankshaft pulley?

Unless you do something nasty to the lower cover with a knife I fail to see how it can be done and even if say, you split the lower cover to remove it with the pulley in place I still have trouble with visualising how although I can accept it being just about possible.

Given this is how it is done, the integrity of the lower cambelt cover is vitally important to ensure no foreign bodies such as stones can get on the belt and possibly get trapped between the belt and sprockets. If this happens, the consequences will be very serious and akin to a broken cambelt. Exposed cambelts may look good on show cars but in working cars they are a massive risk.

In the case of a tight crank bolt and easiest and safest way is to jar it off using a 22mm socket on the end of a "T" bar held against the wishbone and giving the starter a quick flick after ensuring there is no way the engine can start. Never failed me yet

[jeremy]

I'm interested to hear that a Xantia cambelt can be changed without removing the bottom pulley. I did my BX TD one this way - and found that the bottom belt cover (round the pulley) comes off by undoing 2 bolts and a bit of wiggling.

The BX doesn't have the damped pulley and I did wonder if the belt would pass behind it - it seems it does.

One day soon I'll have to do the ZX one.

[steviewonder7]

Seem to have stirred something here.
Maybe something was missing on my Xantia that made the process of removing the belt possible,but I dont thinkso.I have the usual two timing
covers(black plastic) covering the camshaft and diesel injection pump pulleys,which are held in place by clips.Now,these covers reach down to just above the cranshaft pulley.The left hand cover just curves around the left side of the cranshaft pulley slightly.
Underneath said pulley is another plastic cover(fairly small in comparison) which i believe was held in place by three 10mm short bolts(if I remember correctly.
Now....I couldnt remove that bottom plastic cover fully because access was denied by the hydraulic high pressure pump and its bracket.You may or may not have concluded that before I reached this point that the auxillary belt was removed with the alternator and the belt adjusting mechanism.
All that I did next was to remove the hydraulic pump bracket out of the way and then gently move the pump slightly to give me enough room to remove that bottom plastic timing cover.This now,believe it or not, gave me just enough access to put in the new timing belt.
I would certainly do it this way again for obvious reasons,but by the time that happens I may have to renew the cranshaft pulley anyway because the rubber banding in that crankshaft pulley is cracking up.

Does it sound that my Xantia is any different from any other early TD's??

[steviewonder7]

Forgot to say...Everthing went back together fine...just b@*&@y awkward.No cutting was done to any covers,all the covers look just as they did before belt renewal,just cleaner.
In fact on Sunday just gone I removed the timing covers again ,just to check the tension on the timing belt was o.k since I'd covered a thousand miles since fitting the new belt.Just piece of mind as I believe new belts can stretch a bit initially.All wa fine.

[aerodynamica]

Well it's done! it took ALL DAY and made a wreck of me but it's done at last.

Funnily the old belt looked OK but was definately the original factory one.

It was a very difficult job - not least because of all the many plastic covers for EVERYTHING - and I had a hell of a time trying to get the 8mm rod in the flywheel - 8mm would not go in al all - must have been corrosion, I had to resort to using a 6mm rod and it worked well. I also noticed that the Auxiliary drive belt will soon need attention. At least I know how to do that one when it comes.

I didn't change the timing belt without removing the engine mount - I'm sure someone said somewhere that they did it without removal but It looked physically impossible. Likewise for the lower cover - there was no way that would come off without the crank pully off first.

There were no seized nuts or bolts (wish I could say the same for my CX...)well except for the ones securing the thick inder panel thingy - 2 of them destroyed their captive nuts and the removal of the inner wheel arch cover was unpleasant. There was a lot to take off, changing the timing chain, tensioner and guide on my CX took 1.5 hours and no need to get underneath!

I wanted to remove the front height corrector since it looked easy on a Xantia (unlike most other hydraulic Cits like the CX where you need to take a day off just to remove the thing!!) and indeed it would have been (2 bolts, 3 pipe unions and the plastic link) had it not been for one mega rusted pipe union! the LHM supply and return pipes hardly took any effort to loosen but the third pipe, the one that goes to the front cylinders, was rusted solid and despite 2 seperate WD40 blasts over the last 3 weeks, it did the dishonourable and rounded off.

That corrector IS coming off but it looks like the pipe is coming with it. Anyone know how long the pipe in question is? I'll have to cut it and use aproper hex socket to get the union nut off on the bench. I can get the pipe made at my local Citroen Indie but I'd need to know how long.

[CitroJim]

I wanted to remove the front height corrector since it looked easy on a Xantia (unlike most other hydraulic Cits like the CX where you need to take a day off just to remove the thing!!) and indeed it would have been (2 bolts, 3 pipe unions and the plastic link) had it not been for one mega rusted pipe union! the LHM supply and return pipes hardly took any effort to loosen but the third pipe, the one that goes to the front cylinders, was rusted solid and despite 2 seperate WD40 blasts over the last 3 weeks, it did the dishonourable and rounded off.

Now why did you have to mention Front height Correctors just as I was nearly recovered from swapping one on my Activa My recovery has been put back weeks now

Beware the job that looks straightforward enough and be pleasantly suprised by a job that looks a real nightmare that turns out easy! Xantias are full of 'em

Somewhere, and I think it was from our Antipodian friends, I saw a good idea to get a rounded union undone without wrecking the pipe. The idea was to use a good, tight-fitting hex socket with a slot cut out of it the size of the pipe so it would slip on and a handle welded to the socket, effectively making a very close-fitting flare nut spanner. So, on that basis, you may be able to make something from a 7mm socket and persuade it to grip the rounded hex and undo it. At least this way you can get the pipe off in one piece for your Indie to have a perfect pattern.

I found a really good 8mm hex falre-nut spanner was absolutely essential for height corrector unions. Why are they so tight?

WD40 is not the best stuff for freeing off well seized fasteners I find. My favourite brew is Plus Gas.

[Lucifer]

Just wondering what is the renewal interval for an HDI timing belt e.g. 50000miles 3 years

[aerodynamica]

Not sure about that Lucifer, but never leave it too late! it's worth spending the time or money to have it replaced if you're uncertain.

My recovery has been put back weeks now

OOPS! well we're sharing the pain that's what I say

I'd certainly like to make a tool for these crappy 8mm unions. On a Citroen DS they are all 9mm and so have better purchase... It is ironic that the HC mechanism on the Xant is physically easier to remove because the corrector valve is a part of a whole spring/lever mech that comes out via 2 bolts. On a CX the front corrector valve (same component) is bolted at 90deg fron the horizontal with the 2 bolts completely covered by a plastic cover, the whole unit is encased, sure one side comes off easy but the fixings for the corrector are on the OTHER side. Only way is to remove the whole heater unit, some cables and pipes and cut the thing in hals and withdraw it from above in 2 bits. Then the 2 8mm bolts can be unscrewed with great pain and effore at a full arm's length (no leverage) from the RH wheel arch.

Getting them back in is another matter..... Despite the stuck union, the Xant's is paradise in comparison

Anyway all happy fixings wherever you are..