Cam Belt

[racquets]

Am about to renew the cam belt ( unknown age ) and waterpump ( Leaking ) on my fiat T / Cam. Have to take the front section of body work off. Is there any info I should be armed with? or is it a straight forward, lights off and take bolts out of sides. Any advise from someone who has done a c belt would also be of help. Martin.

[tymill]

Re: Cam Belt

Hi Martin,

I'd imagine it to be a pretty straightforward job, but there are a few tricky thing to keep in mind.

The huge nut on the nose of the crank uses a very large, nonstandard, socket. 38mm, if my memory serves me. You'll need to get at it with some pretty good leverage as well to get it loose.

Also, check the condition of the idler pulley - if it's running rough, you can get a new one from guy croft (www.guy-croft.com), but it will cost a few pennies, about ?40 if I remember correctly.

Do you have the yellow plastic shroud in place? If so, accessing some of its securing screws might be a bit of a mission too. When I rebuilt my 1585 last summer, I just left it off, and put a tdc timing mark on the back of the intake pulley (just have to remember that it rotates half as fast, of course).

There's no magic to r+r ing the water pump - it shoudl be straightforward enough. While you're at it, though - condider throwing out the original external thermostat, and re-doing your plumbing in a much simpler way that works fine. Put a standard thermostat in the head near the water outlet, block off one side of the "T" junction, and just run a hose from the bottom of your radiator straight up to the pump. Drill a little bypass hole in the thermostat, though. Much less complex and more reliable. (my original external thermostat was totally shot - and they're very very expensive to replace) It's also what GC does with all the engines he builds, for what it's worth.

Good luck, and let me know if there's any way I might be able to offer some ideas.

Cheers,
Ty

[h_m_cumming]

Re: Cam Belt

Hi martin, I've tried twice to send a reply with some images to the forum but without success. E-mail me on
h.m.cumming1ATdsl.pipex.com and I'll get back to you. Hugh.

[amalgamated users from prior forum]

Re: Cam Belt

Message originally posted by: Sue Roedel (MOC Editor)
Hi Hugh

What size are your images? I tested the images the other day and they worked for me. They shoud be no larger than 200 k

[h_m_cumming]

Re: Cam Belt

Hi Sue, just tried to reply to you with one of the images attached, 82.9kb and it failed to register. Here's a reply without an image.

[h_m_cumming]

Re: Cam Belt

Well it seemed to go but nothing has appeared on the forum!!!!!!!!
Oh b----r. Sorry, please don't shoot the messenger.Maybe Cornwall has been cut off!! However I have replied to Martin in an e-mail but it would have been nice to have shared the info with other members.

[peter.oldland]

Re: Cam Belt

Hi Martin,
Try Italian Car Spares in Manchester (0161 947 0171) for your bits, they've a loft full of old FIAT bits. I paid ?27 for my water pump, ?24 for the external thermostat, ?15 for the timing belt. Replacingthe water bits was easy with the engine in situ but I replaced the belt before I put the engine back. As Hugh says, don't forget the two "correct" positions for the crankshaft pulley - the manual tells you what the valve positions on no 1 pot should be. Try ICS for your tensioner, they're likely to have them in at a good price.
Good luck,
Pete

[racquets]

Re: Cam Belt

Thanks all. Hugh info and pics are great.Pete, ICS were very helpful and parts came in two days. Cam belt ?10- Not bad. I ve got a manual so will attack it on Sunday. Martin