seems meter

[citronut]

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

probably about right Peter,

even though i bought that digital meter from ebay, and just supoz i work out how to use it,
i will still probably use the twist 90 degree method to double check anyway ( it seems )

[Peter.N.]

Can't go wrong with that

[Lighty]

As cars get more technical, then the room for error is less, I think that there are no cars now that leave the cambelt tension to "guess work" all cars have automatic tensioners , so these have a needle that points to a marker point, and stays the same throughout its life span. I have a proper seem gauge, but tbh hardly ever use it now due to the above.
The advice given is about right for the HDI belt tension, just remember to recheck the tension once you have turned the engine manually a few revolutions

[mipmops3]

thanks finished car yesturday with twist method everything went ok only 1 fiddly bit was 10mm bolt holding back of top cover rest was pretty basic, started up and sounds good, the bit that was concerning me was with the pulley having bigger slot for woodruff key but everything seems ok thanks for your replies

[citronut]

good to here your sorted,

on the type with the large key way you are meant to make sure the woodruf key is central in the slot on tensioning the belt

[spider]

good to here your sorted,

on the type with the large key way you are meant to make sure the woodruf key is central in the slot on tensioning the belt

I've not done one with that type, I know they went to that from the three bolts in the pulley for some reason (although I'm not sure its any easier to have the 'movement' in the pulley instead of cam)

I think I just preferred the XUD with its nice plunger ( unless it fell out ) and simple pin up and you're done effect. Having said that I seem to remember some of the later petrol XU units had a 'pointer' effect for belt tension, something tells me some very late TU petrol units had them as well.

Can tell I've not been near many PSA units in the past few years

[Sean602]

suspect the wide keyway is so they can just jig it all up, fit the belt and tensioner and rattle up the crank pulley during manufacture. Found the replacement tight keyway pinion much easier allowing you to turn over the engine a few times without fear of loosing the crank setting.

[spider]

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...

I think that is why a few of the early 406 XU 16v units snapped their belts after a few thousand miles (not many thankfully) possible due to getting hot in traffic etc maybe set too tight during manufacture as the few afflicted ones I saw were all well within warranty. This was the first few though 96/97 and not many to be fair.

[Old-Guy]

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 which 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.

I'll second that - with the reservation that it's generally not "because we have the technology!" but "because we need 'features' to justify the price money!"

BTW I have a Nokia C1 (as basic a phone as I could find), a Nikon S640 (tiny camera with high sensitivity, fast start and excellent picture quality), and one of the last XUD Xantia's without engine ECU or EGR.

The family washing machine is 12-14 years old (new motor brushes every couple of years), the chest freezer is coming up for its 40th birthday (that's tempting fate) and the fridge was second-hand more than 25 years ago - All MADE IN BRITAIN.

I never understood why Renault boasted in their TV adverts that the then new ?Megan? had 13 computers. Why would any intelligent person buy a car with that many potentially unreliable boxes of electronics. Don't get me wrong - I've spent a working lifetime in IT - it's just that vehicle manufacturers always skimp on the design and quality of electrical/electronic components (cutting costs to the bone): compare the gold-plated connections on a £300 PC (that will live in a nice warm dry environment) with the bare copper (if you're lucky) or zinc-plated steel on a car costing more than 20 to 100 times that!

[Clogzz]

My relatives in Belgium still use a Prestcold fridge made in the 50's.

[Peter.N.]

We had a Prestcold made in the '40s - built like a safe it was

Peter