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Changing the timing belt - thankfully only every five years

Posted by Mark Jones

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Changing the timing belt - thankfully only every five years #1
Mark Jones SW, Ontario, Canada 1970 Triumph Spitfire MkIII 1995 MG F "Barney"	Posted: March 12, 2012 10:14AM Registered: 13 years ago Posts: 3,135

I finished the timing belt project on the weekend. Aside from the RH mount bolt problem, replacing the timing belt, water pump and manual tensioner went quite smoothly.

The timing belt, tensioner, and water pump replacement just isn't quite as easy as the manual leads you to believe because you just can't see the two bolts holding the tensioner on, it’s all by touch. Oh, the allen bolt on the tensioner is an 8mm, and the bolt is an 8mm. I had to use a 1/4" drive 8mm socket on a 6" long 1/4" breaker bar to get at the 8mm bolt. My 1/4" ratchet wouldn't fit.

The water pump bolts are removed by touch as well AND there are two locating pins for the water pump, one of which is hard to see. Take a look at your replacement pump and you'll see what I mean. My water pump was well stuck on. I had to do a lot of tapping to get it to come off.

With respect installing a new water pump that was straight forward, aside from I couldn’t torque the bolts back on with the torque wrench I have. I di apply anti-seize to each bolt and a bit to the locating pins.

The manual tensioner’s backplate bolt was a pain to reinstall because you can’t see the bolt hole and getting your hand into the right spot is difficult. I ended up taping the bolt to the 8 mm socket. And reinstalling the spring isn’t the easiest but easier than the backplate bolt.

Setting the tension took some time because of the access to the backplate bolt but wasn’t too bad. It did take me about three tries to get the tension right. The hard part of setting the tension is getting your hand on the belt to try to give to a 90 degree in order to see if it is tensioned enough or not.

In the end all is well, the car started right up and runs smoothly, although I did need to tighten the alt belt a bit more because it’s squealing.

Canadian Modern MG Rover Car Club - www.cmmgrcc.org

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Re: Changing the timing belt - thankfully only every five years #2
Rich in Vancouver Rich McKie Steveston, B.C., Canada 1996 MG F "Andy" ~ For Sale ! ~ 1997 MG F "VVC"	Posted: March 12, 2012 11:30AM Registered: 6 years ago Posts: 5,392

Glad to hear the job went well! After your battle with the mount I was a bit worried.
It sounds like it is no worse than on a lot of modern cars. When I did the belt on my daughter's
Ford Contour I was sure Ford never intended the rotten thing to ever be changed, it was that hard
to get at.
I'm not exactly looking forward to doing my belt but at least you have me feeling a bit more positive about the job.
I think I will take a look at the mount next time I have the engine cover off, and maybe give it a soad in penetrating oil!

Modern MGs aren't just Transportation, They're a Hobby!

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Re: Changing the timing belt - thankfully only every five years #3
Mark Jones SW, Ontario, Canada 1970 Triumph Spitfire MkIII 1995 MG F "Barney"	Posted: March 12, 2012 02:03PM Registered: 13 years ago Posts: 3,135

Also make sure you have a good quality anti-seize at hand. I think it will become my new best friend when it comes to working on the MGF.

In terms of fitting the timing belt, I frig'd with it for a while and then all of a sudden it went on.

Canadian Modern MG Rover Car Club - www.cmmgrcc.org

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Re: Changing the timing belt - thankfully only every five years #4
Rich in Vancouver Rich McKie Steveston, B.C., Canada 1996 MG F "Andy" ~ For Sale ! ~ 1997 MG F "VVC"	Posted: March 12, 2012 02:34PM Registered: 6 years ago Posts: 5,392

Just gotta hold your mouth right! spinning smiley sticking its tongue out

Modern MGs aren't just Transportation, They're a Hobby!

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Re: Changing the timing belt - thankfully only every five years #5
mharrell Mike Harrell Shoreline, Washington, USA 1982 MG Metro	Posted: March 12, 2012 02:57PM Registered: 2 years ago Posts: 48

Interesting. What's a timing "belt" anyway? Funny name for a chain and/or some gears....

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Re: Changing the timing belt - thankfully only every five years #6
terreneuve John Stevenson Paradise, Paradise, near Octagon Pond!!!(Yes, really!!!), Canada 1952 MG TD 1967 MG MGB GT 1968 MG MGC 1986 Land Rover Defender 110 1995 MG F → more	Posted: March 12, 2012 06:34PM Registered: 3 years ago Posts: 567

There is an article in MG Enthusiast and it says 2.5 hrs for changing the belt, so how many hours in total Mark??

John

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Re: Changing the timing belt - thankfully only every five years #7
Rich in Vancouver Rich McKie Steveston, B.C., Canada 1996 MG F "Andy" ~ For Sale ! ~ 1997 MG F "VVC"	Posted: March 12, 2012 06:52PM Registered: 6 years ago Posts: 5,392

Including refreshment breaks? smileys with beer

Modern MGs aren't just Transportation, They're a Hobby!

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Re: Changing the timing belt - thankfully only every five years #8
terreneuve John Stevenson Paradise, Paradise, near Octagon Pond!!!(Yes, really!!!), Canada 1952 MG TD 1967 MG MGB GT 1968 MG MGC 1986 Land Rover Defender 110 1995 MG F → more	Posted: March 12, 2012 07:11PM Registered: 3 years ago Posts: 567

In reply to # 2009669 by Rich in Vancouver Including refreshment breaks? smileys with beer

I would say time for swearing was much more than refreshment breaks!! drinking smiley

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Re: Changing the timing belt - thankfully only every five years #9
Mark Jones SW, Ontario, Canada 1970 Triumph Spitfire MkIII 1995 MG F "Barney"	Posted: March 13, 2012 05:16AM Registered: 13 years ago Posts: 3,135

Hmmm... I'd say I spent close to 20 hrs on this one in total. The last bit, putting on the water pump, tensioner, and timing belt took about 2 hrs.

Canadian Modern MG Rover Car Club - www.cmmgrcc.org

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Re: Changing the timing belt - thankfully only every five years #10
Mark Jones SW, Ontario, Canada 1970 Triumph Spitfire MkIII 1995 MG F "Barney"	Posted: April 20, 2012 06:32AM Registered: 13 years ago Posts: 3,135

I finally downloaded some pictures from my camera and thought you might be interested to see them. The first pictures shows the mount bolt still in the lower portion of the mount. I first had to remove the wire that goes over the rubber mount, then the rubber mount. Both bolts were removed from the wheel well. I was able to remove the rubber mount with the upper portion of the engine still in place by jacking the engine upwards. I also had to remove the bolt between the steady arm and the buttress. The rubber bushing in the stead arm was shot. The one in the buttress (seen in the picture) was in good condition. The second picture shows the cantankerous bolt once removed. You can still see the white corrosion in some of the threads.

Canadian Modern MG Rover Car Club - www.cmmgrcc.org

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Re: Changing the timing belt - thankfully only every five years #11
Rich in Vancouver Rich McKie Steveston, B.C., Canada 1996 MG F "Andy" ~ For Sale ! ~ 1997 MG F "VVC"	Posted: April 20, 2012 11:20AM Registered: 6 years ago Posts: 5,392

Ohhhh! I am so not looking forward to doing this job. sad smiley

I have had the parts on hand for a year, and it is on my list of
jobs to do this summer. Our cars seem to have similar corrosion issues
so I anticipate some of the same problems-Bummer!
It is interesting that once you take care of corroded fasteners etc. the
job itself is quite straightforward. I certainly found that with my
recent lowering project.

As a sidebar I think I may have found out why MGRover went broke.........
I just bought a set of NOS Hydrogas retaining brackets and they came with a 9 page,
81/2x11" set of instructions in four languages. All for a bracket which is held on by 4 bolts
which should b
never have to be replaced during the service life of the car.
Go Figure? confused smiley

BTW: As I bought 2 pair of the brackets I got 2 of the instruction booklets! grinning smiley

Modern MGs aren't just Transportation, They're a Hobby!

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/20/2012 11:25AM by Rich in Vancouver.

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Re: Changing the timing belt - thankfully only every five years #12
em754 Eric Martin Jannali, Australia	Posted: April 21, 2012 06:11AM Registered: 8 years ago Posts: 834

What. No pics of your arms with scratches and claret everywhere!
You did well grinning smiley

1967 MGB Roadster
1969 MGC GT

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Re: Changing the timing belt - thankfully only every five years #13
Mark Jones SW, Ontario, Canada 1970 Triumph Spitfire MkIII 1995 MG F "Barney"	Posted: April 21, 2012 08:29AM Registered: 13 years ago Posts: 3,135

Oh there were scratches and blood Eric, lots of both.

Rich, I can't understand how so many fasteners can be in bad shape, even the heads are corroded. When I do a job I replace the fasterns, even if it means buying expensive bolts from England, like the two holding the RH mount together. I couldn't find a bolt similar locallly, and I should be able to given that I live in Chemical Valley.

Canadian Modern MG Rover Car Club - www.cmmgrcc.org

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Re: Changing the timing belt - thankfully only every five years #14
Rich in Vancouver Rich McKie Steveston, B.C., Canada 1996 MG F "Andy" ~ For Sale ! ~ 1997 MG F "VVC"	Posted: April 21, 2012 10:52AM Registered: 6 years ago Posts: 5,392

The steel that the MGR bolts are made of must be a very odd alloy. I have seen bolts on a 60 year old T-Series car in better shape.
The way the heads crumble is horrifying. When I did my suspension bushings last year I replaced all of the bolts I could with new OEM parts and they look like heck already. Very frustrating! sad smiley

Modern MGs aren't just Transportation, They're a Hobby!

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