Can I Change My Own Cambelt?

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ต.ค. 2024
  • Today I'm changing a cambelt for the first time ever on my Disrespected Astra VXR. Not all smooth sailing, but I think anyone could do this if they're thorough and have the right tools for the job.

ความคิดเห็น • 40

  • @Donn3rMC
    @Donn3rMC ปีที่แล้ว +6

    I work at OPEL in Germany and I loosen those tensioners with one blow with a hammer on the small metal plate where you put the allen key in. Works everytime and very quick and safe!

    • @JamesBalazs
      @JamesBalazs  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      That's a great tip thank you! I'll come back to this when I next have to do a cambelt 😅

    • @AlaGamesMobile
      @AlaGamesMobile ปีที่แล้ว

      How you do you have enough room to hammer it thou? 😅

    • @Donn3rMC
      @Donn3rMC ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@AlaGamesMobile Use a long screwdriver or a chisel, you only need to give it one blow and it will get loose

  • @Sjwatts
    @Sjwatts ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Absolute gem of a channel!

  • @vincentmoran3252
    @vincentmoran3252 16 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Just had a nightmare of a job doing this. Got an inner belt kit with a water pump-no bolts at all supplied. First thing that went wrong was the cheese bolt; got that off, then fitted everything with a new bolt on the tensioner. Torqued the water pump and pulleys down to 25Nm, tensioner to 20Nm. I rotated the engine by hand from the crank pulley, and the water pump slipped, putting the timing out by a few teeth.
    I re-timed it, but this time I over-tightened the water pump to around 35Nm so it wouldn't slip. Everything else was left at the normal torque settings. I tried turning it over by hand again, but the tensioner alignment marker was moving all the way to the left and all the way to the right while turning the engine over by hand.
    Needed the car back on the road, so I fitted the old tensioner back on. It moves to the right with load on it and returns to the correct alignment. Turned the engine over by hand a few times, and everything is staying marked up. I’ll take the covers off again tomorrow and make sure it’s all still true.
    First belt I did-a job that should have taken about an hour or so took all day.
    still not happy with it i will be getting a new kit as soon as RND have them back in stock and redoing it ill have to call them and see if i can get some water pump bolts also i think the old ones have slightly streched i'll just kep an eye on it till then...
    What I learned was not to buy inner belt kits, and it’s a pain in the ass to do by yourself anyway. Would I do it again? Yeah, of course, but I’d probably get my belt kit from RND and ask them to supply all the bolts for everything.

  • @Yodaracing1
    @Yodaracing1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Nicely done mate very detailed top vid

  • @Thejoker-zg1gk
    @Thejoker-zg1gk 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Awesome video man very knowledgeable 👍🏻👌🏻

  • @guyhorner8165
    @guyhorner8165 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The torx head bolt on my tensioner was mullered at the factory when they originally torqued it up. I got it off by using a pry bar resting on the tensioner arm & bashing it anti clockwise from underneath. I think they used them instead of a normal hex bolt in case it rubbed on the cambelt cover as they are slightly shallower than a hex.

  • @drivewayjunkie
    @drivewayjunkie 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Did you ever have any issues with the oil pump bracket snapping where the tensioner bolts doing it this way?

  • @stelfc5384
    @stelfc5384 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Good job

  • @williamyoulad7064
    @williamyoulad7064 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Good work did the same on mine 🙌

  • @nubie1100
    @nubie1100 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thanks. Defo going to do it myself next time 👍🏻

  • @colinguerrieria8374
    @colinguerrieria8374 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Looking good now mate need 345mm brembo at front and vectra vxr rear one 292mm disc these are vented

    • @JamesBalazs
      @JamesBalazs  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Should be switching to K Sport 356mm 8 pots in the next year, just a matter of time and funds. The vented rears off the Vectra are a good shout thanks 😁

  • @DeUnoReverseKaart
    @DeUnoReverseKaart 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This is a easy engine, but more modern engines have poulie's that you need to adjust and crank/camshafts that you need to lock in place while you tension the belt and sometime even micrometers to find TDC.

    • @omarismith3655
      @omarismith3655 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Bs lol. The engines with the pulley snd cam belt assembly on the left or to the right hand side of the engines are one of the hardest engines to work on! Because there is no visibility, no working room to get your hands down there. Requires removing a wheel, jacking up, removing engine mounts.
      Opposed to a lot of Mercedes, BMWs, rear wheel drive cars, which have the pulley and cam assembly at the front of the engine. Heaps easier.
      The vxr engine is actually devious it looks very easy to work on, but is extremely tough in some areas, with very very tight working room.

    • @robertnagy2456
      @robertnagy2456 ปีที่แล้ว

      easy engine good engine

  • @markymark3295
    @markymark3295 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Gates do a blue raceing cambelt kit from nevlock iam after that next time round

  • @markymark3295
    @markymark3295 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Have u had the car mapped yet mate ? Iv ordered the 90mm hybrid intake from sprogley. cars going in for tweek n map it in with the 6 paddle clutch n pro alloy radiator it should be happy at 400bhp this time

    • @JamesBalazs
      @JamesBalazs  2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I haven't yet no, still on the stock map.
      I'll be doing a front mount and top hat at the end of this year I think then getting it mapped 😁
      400hp sounds like a handful!

    • @markymark3295
      @markymark3295 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@JamesBalazs sweet mate this one's my second the first one had and exhaust n filter no map there great when mapped it did 174mph on the dyno 🤣👌

  • @tye595
    @tye595 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    might wanna change your oilpump seal as it looks nice and wet

  • @mihaipadeanu3034
    @mihaipadeanu3034 ปีที่แล้ว

    All should be easy until the lower cam cover's bolts spin with the whole thread and can't be removed... I've been struggling for a whole day to remove those and i thought there's some kind of catch that I'm missing, but it turns out people love tightening bolts in uga duggas instead of NM

  • @omarismith3655
    @omarismith3655 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    So after 6 hours of beating it and hammering it. I finally managed to get the tensioner bolt off using nothing but a chisel and a hammer and some swearing.
    I must be the only person in history to do this job in torrential rain, in the dark lol. That tensioner bolt is for sure quite a massive challenge due to the cramped area it’s in.

    • @drivewayjunkie
      @drivewayjunkie 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Did you ever have any issues with the oil pump bracket snapping where the tensioner bolts doing it this way?

    • @omarismith3655
      @omarismith3655 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Nope. You have to be pretty precise with the chisel. In a 10 o clock position everytime. If you hit it at 11 or 12. Then there’s more chance of damaging it. As long as you get good incision to begin with, a few hard taps should get it moving.

  • @omarismith3655
    @omarismith3655 ปีที่แล้ว

    Heya mate; can I ask where you got the conti timing belt kit from?

    • @JamesBalazs
      @JamesBalazs  ปีที่แล้ว

      Iirc it was RnD Motorsport mate. The "Z20 Cambelt kit with 2 uprated idlers" on their site :)

    • @omarismith3655
      @omarismith3655 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Thanks for the reply. I’m midway through this and having to grind off that horrid t40 bolt.
      It’s been in there since 2007 in my vxr lol. Is the replacement bolt you put on m8 x 50mm am I right in saying ?

    • @JamesBalazs
      @JamesBalazs  ปีที่แล้ว

      @@omarismith3655 Yes I think that's right, although mine came with the timing kit. Good luck!

    • @omarismith3655
      @omarismith3655 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      No luck so far, no idea why Vauxhall would put a tiny torx for such a important part. But for rest of the pulleys they have nice external torxs’🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️
      I’ve made a little slot on top of the bolt with a chisel and tried to whack from the top but no joy. Might have to get my hands on a dremel to cut a deeper one.
      if the chisel and hammer method fail, do you think it’s possible to grind the entire head off with a Dremel?

    • @JamesBalazs
      @JamesBalazs  ปีที่แล้ว

      @@omarismith3655 yes I bet you could remove the whole head pretty quickly with a grinding stone in the dremel.
      Also take a look at the comment from the Opel technician on here, he apparently loosens the tensioners off by sharply hitting the part the allen key goes into. Sounds like that does the trick every time.

  • @grantcollingwood414
    @grantcollingwood414 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thanks for the series of video and the help to help look after my own VXR. Do you have instagram?

    • @JamesBalazs
      @JamesBalazs  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Thanks for the support!
      My insta is @balazsjames but I don't use it too much for car stuff, mostly post gym stories there 😅