seems meter

[mipmops3]

hi,does anyone know if it is possible to hire a seems meter from anywhere so that i can change my timing belt on 2003 2.0l hdi picasso please

[citronut]

i dont know if you can hire one but i doubt it though,

you dont really require one, the way to check the tension without is by twisting the longest straight run of belt on the driving side of the belt, not the tensioner side,

you should be able to only just twist it held between your forefinger and thumb 90 degrees

were are you located

[Peter.N.]

I would agree with Malcolm, I have just fitted one to my C5, I checked the old belt tension by twisting the belt at the top and it would just go 90 degrees so that's what I tensioned the new one to.

Peter

[RichardW]

Did mine by the twist method 2 years 30k ago, and no problems since. The HDi belt is not that tight - I was surprised at how much deflection there was on the old belt on the top run. If it whines after start up you've got it too tight.

HDi cambelt guide here: http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... 11&t=33939 - based on Xantia 110, but it will be similar. Note that the Picasso uses the later version of the engine where the vernier pulley on the cam was deleted in favour of a floating sprocket on the crank shaft. On this engine, you should not undo the crank bolt until you have the engine timed, and then use a locking tool in the ring gear to prevent the crank rotating. Haynes actually covers it pretty well.

[mipmops3]

thanks chaps will give it a go

[Mandrake]

Did mine by the twist method 2 years 30k ago, and no problems since. The HDi belt is not that tight - I was surprised at how much deflection there was on the old belt on the top run. If it whines after start up you've got it too tight.

I'd check for whine when the engine is hot too, not just cold.

When I did the timing belt on my 2 litre petrol Xantia (8 valve, one camshaft) I initially had it over-tightened, it seemed fine when cold including the twist deflection test but after it had been running for about 5-10 minutes it started to whine and the deflection test then showed it to be a lot tighter than when cold. Why ? Because the distance between the crank shaft and the cam pulley increases when the engine heats up and expands! It's enough to significantly increase the belt tension over cold and arguably its the tension when hot that matters...

[spider]

I brought a used tension gauge although I've never bothered to use it (got a conversion chart to Seem for it) was too much trouble.

[mendedit]

Depends-twist method- blue collar or white collar worker?

[rory_perrett]

I was given one of these



with some conversion chart as it would appear that all SEEMs are not equal, except there was no mention of Citroen SEEMs.

I used it to take a reading on the old belt, fitted the new belt using the twist method and then took a reading on the new belt. The two readings were just about the same so left it as it was, 13 months and 30,000 miles later all is well so I guess it must have been OK.

Which I suppose then begs the question, why would you bother to invent a SEEM meter for cam belts? It would appear (engaging grumpy old man mode) as with so many things its because we have the technology!!! Don't get me started on washing machines that have a zillion programmes of wihich you only ever need 3, etc, etc. Please can I have a phone that just makes calls, a camera that just takes pictures and a car that doesn't need a shed load of "special" tools and gadgets to fix it.

[spider]

Different manufacturers have different measurement 'scales' that's all and there's at least two type's of 'Seem' as well.

Pic that I was supplied with a while back from Jim...



My tension gauge looks like the one on the left (or far right) I think its in lbs though not sure.

[rory_perrett]

Yep that's the chart I got as well - didn't make me any the wiser though!!!

[Mandrake]

So despite all this fancy technology and conversion tables we're just back to the tried and true "twist longest run 45 - 90 degrees" ? Amazing how manufacturers make such a complicated business out of something as simple as adjusting the tension on a belt! Where is the need for proprietary made up units of measurement when we already have Newtons...

[spider]

In theory you're supposed to use a Seem gauge on some of the ancillary belts too...

[citronut]

i bought this digital one from ebay

http://tinyurl.com/d6ydqgc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Peter.N.]

We didn't even have torque wrenches when I started repairing my own cars. The more of this technical equipment we get the greater is the margin for operator error, look at the wheel alignment fiasco for instance. There is no substitute for common sense.

Peter