Sound familiar?? Also, info wanted

[Alan S]

I pulled the top bolt on the cam belt cover of the BX 16V last weekend and just generally had a bit of a poke around. Although I was assured that the cam belt was changed not long before I bought the car, I have always had a gut feeling about it due to other things I found (refer to LHM comparison in Froggy Archives as an example) which told me that although the previous owner had spent big bucks doing the right thing getting the car serviced, the ones doing the service had not done the right thing by him by not doing what they were charging for.
The teeth on the belt appeared to be covered in a silvery colour, presumeably from the cogs & pulleys, there was a black mark (not a deep indent or cut; just a mark) on the back of the belt, and although I couldn't get a hold on the belt anywhere else but between the cam pulleys, to me it seemed too loose. I have been told on an overseas Bulletin Board that one guy had similar symptoms on his daughters car & it turned out to be a loose cam belt which caused the silvering & mark on the back of the belt which to me sounds logical. Has anyone else had this on their 16V Cit or Pug??
Just for my own peace of mind I intend swapping the cam belt over and will be getting the locating pins made as per the Haynes specs (God give me strength

) however, I don't know what size "pin" I need to lock the crankshaft to the locating slot in the block. Can anyone tell me what size piece of metal I need? In the diagrams it appears to be about 5 or 6 mm but that's a bit vague & I would prefer to have it on hand when I pull it down rather than have to go improvising at that stage. I imagine it would possibly made out of tool steel.
Any help greatly appreciated.

Alan S

 

[Alan S]

This one must be scarey stuff - the silence is deafening

Anyhow, I have had a pile of responses from overseas including one from Macedonia from a guy called Alex Fritz who is in the process of sleeving down a BX 16V to 1.6 litres so as to be able to race it under a certain set of European regulations. Amongst other things, he is a motoring Journalist over there also.
I have copied & pasted the posting he put up today wherein he speaks of a "Pirelli" brand of timing belt. Has anyone ever heard of them & if so where do you get them and probably the frightening bit; how much do they cost?? Might be of some interest to those contemplating engine mods on Pugs as well.


Hi Alan,
while reading original PEUGEOT SPORT instructions on how to build a Gr.A XU9J4 engine (for 309 GTi16Soupapes), which is the same engine as in the BX16v, I noticed that PEUGEOT SPORT specifies ONLY and EXCLUSIVELY a PIRELLI produced cambelt for the high-revving, high-cam-lift Gr.A engine type.
This is, of course, due to the anticipated higher camlift stress & higher revs (8,600 rpm max limit) for the Gr.A engine.
This makes me believe that for the std., 7200 rpm speed limit and with normal cams, the 'normal' cambelt is likely to be VERY reliable, if made sure that it is replaced every 33-35,000 miles.
However, we have seen loose bolts from the lower end of the plastic cover falling inside the cambelt and making such a ruin of it in the process that it could have been a matter of hours before it broke. Luckily, it was saved on time.
Point is, what is most important is correct tension after new belt is fitted. Otherwise, I do not believe cambelt brand makes a difference, provided it is a reputable brand like GATES, CONTI or similar.

If you want to be absolutely sure, a PIRELLI cambelt sounds as a best alternative. Btw. can you source 2-3 PIRELLI cambelts out there in the UK and at what price?
I would be seriously interested to order some for my race BX project?

Regards,
Alex

 

[Stuey]

Alan, you're probably aware of this already, but Pirelli, as in the tyre mob, basically make loads of rubber goods, including cam belts and hoses, and are a huge manufacturer of insulated electrical wiring. The first step, therefore, might be to contact a Pirelli distributor and ask if they import the belts here. Not much help, but you seemed a bit lonely here on your own...

Stuey