My new C5 - looking for advice on replacing the flywheel and cambelt

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red_dwarfers
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My new C5 - looking for advice on replacing the flywheel and cambelt

Post by red_dwarfers »

I will very soon be entering the 21st century by collecting a 57 plate C5 2.0 16v HDI VTR 6 speed estate to replace my Xantia!

It needs a replacement dual mass flywheel, I'll do the clutch at the same time and I'm told that its a good idea to replace the starter motor as a precaution.
The cambelt history is unknown, although the aux belt does look in pretty good nick, I'll replace both anyway.
Is there enough space for the gearbox to drop to the floor or does it need to slide across? I have an engine/gearbox support beam and am familiar with replacing clutches on the 1.9 Xantia and 2.1 XM.
I assume the hydraulic system will need to be depressurised to remove the gearbox, is there any gotchas to bear in mind here?
Any other hints and tips?

I will sort out a for sale advert for my Xantia over the weekend.
Kev

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Re: My new C5 - looking for advice on replacing the flywheel and cambelt

Post by RichardW »

I've done a clutch on one of these, it's not a great deal of fun... viewtopic.php?t=33060 Ref the PAS pipe, the official Citroen procedure is just to remove the bolt from the subframe, but we couldn't get the box out even then. Jim's done a cambelt on one of these, pretty sure; not too hard as I recall - the injection pump is driven off the end of the cam, so the belt is crank, cam, water pump only.
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Re: My new C5 - looking for advice on replacing the flywheel and cambelt

Post by wurlycorner »

Garage I had my clutch done at, said they drop the front subframe out, because that's the easiest way to get suitable access for the rest of the job.
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Re: My new C5 - looking for advice on replacing the flywheel and cambelt

Post by flying clutchman »

The gearbox is a very tight fit. I've done a few of these and haven't enjoyed it. Loosening the subframe so you can give yourself another inch or two leeway helps. The front bit can be taken off quite easily, but there's not much room to get the box out.
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Re: My new C5 - looking for advice on replacing the flywheel and cambelt

Post by hamster99 »

In my experience of changing the turbo on my C5, dropping the sub-frame makes a huge difference to access the underside and back of the engine/gearbox.

However, you may want to take a look at the Citroen site as when I needed to get my clutch/DMF replaced they were doing deals on it. I priced up the various parts and the all-in price from Citroen I think was about £150 more. I decided for the hassle involved I would get them to do it.

They had an offer on too when I had my cambelt changed, although that was one I could more easily have done myself but was really busy workwise so didn't have the time.
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Re: My new C5 - looking for advice on replacing the flywheel and cambelt

Post by red_dwarfers »

Thanks for the advice.
Kev

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Re: My new C5 - looking for advice on replacing the flywheel and cambelt

Post by Stickyfinger »

Kev, have you looked at a Solid Flywheel conversion? I would have thought with your driving style you would not notice any extra harshness of clutch engagement.
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Re: My new C5 - looking for advice on replacing the flywheel and cambelt

Post by red_dwarfers »

I did have a quick look in to it, I can't find an off the shelf solid flywheel kit for the post 2006 16v diesel. To be honest, I'm of the thinking that if it was designed with one then I should probably replace it with one. Hopefully my driving style will mean it will last a long time!
Which engine does your C5 have Alasdair?
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Re: My new C5 - looking for advice on replacing the flywheel and cambelt

Post by Stickyfinger »

2ltr Auto 136bhp so the same engine I think, tows a large If-Williams 4 wheel trailer with a Xantia on it OK :)

The Mk2 C5 I had was a 1.6HDI, I did not get on with needing to rev a diesel to pull away on a hill with a loaded boot :( so was glad it fell down a big hole :)
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Re: My new C5 - looking for advice on replacing the flywheel and cambelt

Post by white exec »

On Toyota, I repeatedly found that hill-starts with DMF were not good, and required lots more revs than normal. Trouble is, on a steep incline, torque is 'stored up' in the DMF springs (which can compress by up to 45deg of rotation), and the way this 'lets go' is pretty much out of the control of the driver, who has direct control of the clutch, but not the long springs. When I converted to an SMF, from Blueprint, normal clutch control became available.

I think the choice of whether to convert is a very individual one, depending on how well or otherwise the DMF had behaved.
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Re: My new C5 - looking for advice on replacing the flywheel and cambelt

Post by wurlycorner »

Not had any driving style problems (e.g hill start delayed torque) whatsoever with the dmf on mine. Wouldn't even know it had one, from that perspective.
When it comes to slow speed reversing a loaded 4 axle car trailer up hill, I do wonder if the dmf heats up more quickly than a solid would (contributing to clutch burn) but that's my only question / concern. Other than that, it's all win!
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