kate205gti 4 Posted August 28, 2008 (edited) sorry im posting a lot about this, but after some advice and guidance from those in the know before i go taking my cambelt off please basically my 6 engine started making a horrendous rattley noise the other week, Anthony and Baz listened to it and we decided it definately was a vibration noise rather than an engine/bottom end noise (thankfully!) ive taken the cambelt cover and the alternator belt off and i can grab the cambelt by hand and turn it full half a turn in my hand its flapping about like a flappy thing speaking to Ali this is a common fault on S16 tensioners? (i think thats what he said!) and to add to that my bottom crank pulley has slipped round and the timing holes no lonbger line up (another common thing?) my next logical course of action therefore is to change the belt and the tensioners and the bottom pulley and time the engine up again with tight tensioners - i dont think the timing or the belt has slipped, its just much looser than it should be and is hitting on the cambelt casing! can someone recommend the best tensioners to use? is it likely to be the tensioners that have gone or is there anything else thats could cause the cambelt to loosen? also im thinking of getting an ally bottm crank pulley - are these worth the money? thankyou Edited August 28, 2008 by kate205gti Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
welshpug 1,679 Posted August 28, 2008 (edited) if its a gti6 you should use gti6 tensioners. though there are 2 types, one sprung with a longer belt, and one normal eccentric tensioner and shorter belt, I preffer the earlier non spring type which can be retrofitted if you get the stud and nut as the method of fixing is different. an alloy bottom pulley IIRC would be cheaper than a new unit from peuegot, IIRC only Rich_W dopes them for this engine. Edited August 28, 2008 by welshpug Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony 1,003 Posted August 28, 2008 can someone recommend the best tensioners to use? is it likely to be the tensioners that have gone or is there anything else thats could cause the cambelt to loosen? also im thinking of getting an ally bottm crank pulley - are these worth the money? Standard pulley is fine, just don't try and use the hole on it when timing up the belt. I just use an old 8v pulley to time it up, as they're one piece and hence can't move. It's worth noting that I don't think the holes will all line up on that engine anyway, as I timed in the standard verniers to Sandy's recommendations for lift@TDC rather than using the timing holes. I doubt your engine has suffered the same problem that Ali's did, as I modified the tensioner mounting stud on yours so the bolt actually held the tensioner properly - Ali didn't do this, hence the tensioner eventually slipped. I wouldn't go as far as to say that it's a common problem with the S16 - Ali is the only person I know that has suffered it - and clearly S16's have been fine for years and years. I'd say leave the belt fitted, double check the lower tensioner is set to full tension, and then if needs be just give the upper one a tweek to tighten the belt a touch - and then double check all the tensioner bolts are tight. The belt, waterpump and tensioners are only about a year old and haven't done many miles, so I doubt they need replacing. Remember that the cambelt on a GTi-6 doesn't run particularly tight anyway, and you should be able to twist quarter of a turn on the belt easily enough. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kate205gti 4 Posted August 28, 2008 (edited) ahh cool thanks Ant im still trying to get hold of that sump plug tool to tighten the top one - may have to take you up on your offer! im not bothered about it being loose if thats normal, but the noise it was making slapping against the cover is def not normal! (and quite embarassing when your neighbour looks over the fence ) I locked the timing to tighten the belt - hence noticing the bottom crank pulley was out, have another 8v one here to use if i need now - but am a bit concerned why its suddenly come loose and is hitting on things when they were brand new last year?? if i tighten it will it come loose again? dont want it to let go in the middle of germany (better safe than sorry and all that!) Edited August 28, 2008 by kate205gti Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
welshpug 1,679 Posted August 28, 2008 best to replace that pulley if its slipped, disastrous consequences if it chucks the auxillary belt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony 1,003 Posted August 28, 2008 Tensioners themselves generally don't come loose when they fail - they either make a whirring/whining sound, or they disintegrate and usually result in many bent valves (that's what happened to my XS on it's previous owner, and that's what happened to James's S16). Tensioners coming loose is normally a bolt coming loose or insufficiently torqued in the first place - given the history your car has of vibrating various other bolts loose I'd hazard a guess that that's the problem here as well, but again, without seeing it I couldn't say for definate. A bit of threadlock might be an idea though if it does look like they've vibrated loose... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kate205gti 4 Posted August 28, 2008 i def cant move them by hand - which bolts should i check? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
