Octy MK1 engine mount bracket removal.
Discussion
Having the day free I thought I would give my newly acquired car a quick service and a cam belt kit.
The car has only done 58,000 miles but I cannot see any evidence of the cam belt being replaced!
Unbelievably, this is the first cam belt that I have ever done having spent most of my time messing about with Rover V8 engines in TVRs.
Everything is going swimmingly, engine mount removed and just the alloy bracket that bolts to the cam belt side of the engine to remove. 
No matter how I wiggle it, raise or lower the engine, I can't get the blighter out!
It seems the two air-conditioning pipes that run adjacent to the bracket are in the way of pulling it away from the engine.
Can anyone give me any hints on how to remove it as it is driving me mad and I need to progress .
Assuming that it is the same layout as the MK4 with a PD TDI engine in it....?
Then, the bad news is that I've always had to work around the damned thing. Is it the older damper tensioner setup where you have to set the 4mm gap, if so then they are probably the worse cambelts to do! If it the later friction tensioner setup, they are easier but you still need to work round that stupid bracket.
Not the best cambelt to learn on.
Then, the bad news is that I've always had to work around the damned thing. Is it the older damper tensioner setup where you have to set the 4mm gap, if so then they are probably the worse cambelts to do! If it the later friction tensioner setup, they are easier but you still need to work round that stupid bracket.
Not the best cambelt to learn on.
It's the vRS.
Are you saying, work around it and leave the bracket loose end jangling in place?
If so, what a design, it was all going so well until that point.
I have everything ready to remove the belt but noticed with a bit of googling that you need to screw in a bit of stud into the adjuster, fit a nut and wind it up. You would've thought you would get this piece of equipment with the kit! Hopefully I can find a bolt that may suit .
Are you saying, work around it and leave the bracket loose end jangling in place?
If so, what a design, it was all going so well until that point.
I have everything ready to remove the belt but noticed with a bit of googling that you need to screw in a bit of stud into the adjuster, fit a nut and wind it up. You would've thought you would get this piece of equipment with the kit! Hopefully I can find a bolt that may suit .
What you are talking about though is the stud that screws into the block that the tensioner rotates on which then secued with a nut.
As for that pesky lump of aluminium, yes, the only way I've found to do these (on a 1.9 PD TDI) is by working round it, a very difficult job. If you search online you will find the odd person saying it comes out. I've jcked the engine right up, lowered it right down and the damned thing still would not come out.
As for that pesky lump of aluminium, yes, the only way I've found to do these (on a 1.9 PD TDI) is by working round it, a very difficult job. If you search online you will find the odd person saying it comes out. I've jcked the engine right up, lowered it right down and the damned thing still would not come out.
1.8T petrol
Yes, the pesky lump of aluminium bolted over the tensioner to bolt the engine mount to.
I can't believe this cannot be removed but I have struggled for a couple of hours. Engine up, engine down and everywhere in between.
What a stupid design if you have to work around it or take the engine out!
Yes, the pesky lump of aluminium bolted over the tensioner to bolt the engine mount to.
I can't believe this cannot be removed but I have struggled for a couple of hours. Engine up, engine down and everywhere in between.
What a stupid design if you have to work around it or take the engine out!
2 hours!!!!
All going well now I've accepted that the big aluminium lump can stay in position and be moved around when necessary.
All stripped out and now I have found that TPS have forgotten to put the new tensioner in the box!
Bugger.
Always check off what you're picking up at suppliers!
All going well now I've accepted that the big aluminium lump can stay in position and be moved around when necessary.
All stripped out and now I have found that TPS have forgotten to put the new tensioner in the box!
Bugger.
Always check off what you're picking up at suppliers!
I just did one of these a couple of weeks ago - and yes, that mounting bracket was a bugger! I unbolted the tensioner first (I didn’t bother screwing in the M5 bolt first to release the tension off the belt as I was fitting a new tensioner). I still couldn’t get the mounting block out, but then removed the water pump (as I was replacing that along with the cam belt) at which point I could get the mounting block out.
Alternatively you can work around it. With the bolts out you can move it far eonough away from the engine block to slip the belt behind it.
The other battle I had was to get the new belt on. In the end I had to hold the crank pulley in place using a breaker bar on the crank pulley bolt wedged against the garage floor, and a socket on the cam pulley to pull the rear part of the belt taut whilst I slipped the belt over the water pump.
Good luck! It was a really fiddly job due to lack of space, but satisfying once done.
Dave
Alternatively you can work around it. With the bolts out you can move it far eonough away from the engine block to slip the belt behind it.
The other battle I had was to get the new belt on. In the end I had to hold the crank pulley in place using a breaker bar on the crank pulley bolt wedged against the garage floor, and a socket on the cam pulley to pull the rear part of the belt taut whilst I slipped the belt over the water pump.
Good luck! It was a really fiddly job due to lack of space, but satisfying once done.
Dave
Update. All done now. New cam belt kit, service and renewal of air-conditioning compressor.
I can't believe this was the first cam belt that I've ever done! A bit of a palaver with the engine mounting block. I did remove this via dropping the engine as far as it would go and finally wiggling it out.
That was fine and made the renewal of the cam belt, tensioner and waterpump easier which was a big hurrah.
The downside was that with the water pump in place and the engine lowered, the mounting block would not fit!
I could not face removing the water pump and cam belt and going through all that work again so I raised the engine as far as it would go, pulled the engine forward to the front of the car which just about gave enough room to slip the mounting block into place. Everything else just fell into place and as I was pushed for time the test was a drive up to London for work and all is well.
If I had to do another one again I could do it in half the time, but isn't that always the way!
All ready now for a track day that is booked for Friday. TVR broken so the Octy Will be pressed into service.
I can't believe this was the first cam belt that I've ever done! A bit of a palaver with the engine mounting block. I did remove this via dropping the engine as far as it would go and finally wiggling it out.
That was fine and made the renewal of the cam belt, tensioner and waterpump easier which was a big hurrah.
The downside was that with the water pump in place and the engine lowered, the mounting block would not fit!
I could not face removing the water pump and cam belt and going through all that work again so I raised the engine as far as it would go, pulled the engine forward to the front of the car which just about gave enough room to slip the mounting block into place. Everything else just fell into place and as I was pushed for time the test was a drive up to London for work and all is well.
If I had to do another one again I could do it in half the time, but isn't that always the way!
All ready now for a track day that is booked for Friday. TVR broken so the Octy Will be pressed into service.
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