Zafira Cam belt - DIY job?

sickparrot

All this Zafira talk has got me thinking I really ought to to think about having mine sorted out.

Does anyone know if it's a reasonably straightforward DIY job? I'm reasonably competent mechanically and have all the tools, but no Heynes manual for it so I don't know.

I changed the belt in a Peugeot 205 years ago and that was a right pain, involving disconnecting gear linkages and various pipes and wires and levering the engine half out of the car to get the side off. I managed it OK but I don't really want the same kind of palarver again.

Strider590

Depends I think on which engine......

mchale

Sandoval wrote: »

See if you can track down a cheap Haynes manual on Amazon or something for reference.

Ebay, a lot of manuals on CD, search for model type.

vikingaero

You can buy a cambelt kit for the Zafira which includes the belt and new tensioners and pulleys. On the Zafira it's the plastic tensioner and pulleys that tend to fail causing engine mayhem. The belt and braces way to change a cambelt on these engines is to also change the water pump at the same time.

chunder

sickparrot wrote: »

All this Zafira talk has got me thinking I really ought to to think about having mine sorted out.

Does anyone know if it's a reasonably straightforward DIY job? I'm reasonably competent mechanically and have all the tools, but no Heynes manual for it so I don't know.

I changed the belt in a Peugeot 205 years ago and that was a right pain, involving disconnecting gear linkages and various pipes and wires and levering the engine half out of the car to get the side off. I managed it OK but I don't really want the same kind of palarver again.

it is possible to do this if you have some kit and knowledge of how an engine works....i work on cars for a living so easy for me to say, one thing i can say is that if you do the cambelt yourself do not scrimp on cheap nasty kits, get a genuine kit, or either a gates or dayco belt kit and never never just change the belt:eek: make sure you change the rollers and tensioner as these are the things that go wrong the most, would also be worth getting a water pump in case you see signs of leaking or play in the pulley you dont want to change that in a weeks time lol..........MOST OF ALL MAKE SURE IT IS TIMED UP CORRECTLY ON THE CAMSHAFTS AND CRANK BEFORE YOU TURN IT OVER WITH THE KEY... IF NOT KISS GOODBYE TO ££££££'S
CHECK IT...DOUBLE CHECK IT.... THEN CHECK IT AGAIN

sickparrot

Thank you for that, I won't scrimp on the bits and will change everything that's evenly remotely connected, but is it a straightforward job to get at it? or do I have to start pulling manifolds off and disconnecting CV joints?

Cheers

mikey72

What engine is it?

benham3160

sickparrot wrote: »

I changed the belt in a Peugeot 205 years ago and that was a right pain, involving disconnecting gear linkages and various pipes and wires and levering the engine half out of the car to get the side off. I managed it OK but I don't really want the same kind of palarver again.

What one earth was that engine? :rotfl: Sounds like you took a very long way round!

Let us know what engine it is, and what year.... That'd be a great help.

Regards,
Andy

chunder

sickparrot wrote: »

Thank you for that, I won't scrimp on the bits and will change everything that's evenly remotely connected, but is it a straightforward job to get at it? or do I have to start pulling manifolds off and disconnecting CV joints?

Cheers

remove air box on left of wing,remove alternator belt using spanner(careful its spring loaded),put car in gear tap crank bolt with a hammer and undo using 1/2 inch bar,remove coil pack and spark plugs,support engine with suitable jack and block of wood and undo engine mount bolts 3 on wing three on engine bracket as you see it looking down,remove covers,refit crank bolt and turn engine clockwise till timing marks aligned (crank one at 5 / 6 o'clockish) cam ones (left at 3 and right at 9 o;clock should both be in line with each other) remove cam sensor,fit locking tool, undo tensioner bolt move tensioner clockwise using 6mm allen key remove belt,rollers etc and fit new ones refit belt, crank first then cams in anti clock direction, then tensioner and water pump, tension belt using allen key turning anticlock till pointer marks aligned(this is all explained in most belt kits),turn engine twice through 720 degrees and check tension, refit parts as you took them off making sure that the timing marks stay aligned hope this helps a bit ...lol
KIT YOU WILL NEED: 6,8,10,12,14 FEMALE TORX SOCKETS
6MM ALEN KEY
15MM SPANNER
T30+ T40 MALE TORX SOCKET
TIMING TOOL FOR CAMS(HALFORDS DO THIS)
8MM SOCKET TO REMOVE TRAY UNDER
DRIVERS WHEEL
5MM ALLEN KEY IF YA CHANGE WATER PUMP
OWT ELSE YOU THINK YOU MAY NEED SCREWDRIVERS PLIERS ETC
if ive forgotten anything i apologise:rotfl:

Coveredinbees!!!!

mchale wrote: »

Ebay, a lot of manuals on CD, search for model type.

If you can buy an illegally copied manual on a cd from ebay a little bit of searching on google will find you the same thing for free (but equally illegal).

As for doing the cam belt I wouldn't, if you screw it up you've got no come back.

sickparrot

benham3160 wrote: »

What one earth was that engine? :rotfl: Sounds like you took a very long way round!
Andy

It was a 1.4 GR, one of those where the whole thing is tilted 45 degrees toward the back of the car, and there wasn't any space either side hence the need to half pull the engine out.

It sounds like I'm going to have to do something similar from chunders explanation above but maybe not as complicated.

I don't know what my engine is, but it's a 53 plate 1.6 club, i'll have a look tonight.