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Cambelt etc change, 2.5

Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 11:24 am
by White Exec
Age comes to everything, and just realised last week that it was almost 10 years and 40,000 miles since the 2.5 had its engine out (for HG replacement) - so certainly time to get the cambelt replaced.

Three belts to be replaced (cam, alt/AC, balancer) and not a lot of fun, let alone not having the proper tensioning tools (which I know can be worked around). There aren't many jobs I baulk at, but with 70th birthday last month, the attraction of belt-wrestling in a very confined space has lost some of its appeal. So, having seen a recent quotation by Citroen for about £400 for a C4 belt-job, I thought I'd get a quote for the 2.5 from our dealer here.

All-in, it's €482, plus tax, so €583. This includes 6.5h of labour, and parts (three belts) at €191+tax.
Could save €96 by getting the belts from Mister Auto (Gates, Gates and Continental), but, should the job go squiffy, I wouldn't have a leg to stand on if non-genuine parts had been supplied.

Am going to leave the tensioners and jockeys alone, as they've covered relatively little mileage.

The other job to be done is replacement of the front strut gaiters (still available, 5271 92 for XM & Xan), so a bit of strut-lowering to come. Miserable, fragile things, those gaiters - a polyurethane would be so much better.

Re: Cambelt etc change, 2.5

Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 2:10 pm
by misha
Stay away from Gates belts for timing belt.
They are pure garbage and aren't even capable to do the job for alternator and Hydraulic pump.They will crack and tear pretty soon and will make you a lot of damage.
Continental is premium brand for belts...for a lot of car brands...it is oem.

Re: Cambelt etc change, 2.5

Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 2:20 pm
by Jan-hendrik
Happy birthday last month, Chris :)
New belts at a very reasonable cost I think and your ship will sail till the next or the one after lustrum.
I never considered to complain about the gaiters when I had them replaced, one by one, in 2015 (RH) and 2017 (LH) respectively. The cars were not designed to last more than 15 years I suppose, but us persistent owners beg to differ.

Re: Cambelt etc change, 2.5

Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 4:54 pm
by White Exec
Thanks, Misha for the advice on Gates belts. This time round, I'll just go with what Citroen will be supplying, which hopefully will be top quality. The job is priced on OEM parts, as opposed to the Eurorepar/>3years alternative, but who knows these days.

Hi Jan,
Both my gaiters have splits, although still in one piece - just. LH one is original, so 22 years! RH one was fitted new in 2011, along with a new strut top . . . so need to be philosophical about the 7 years it's managed to do.

These OE gaiters are very thin, and made from a fairly rigid plastic, highly concertina'd. See that there's a large number of better quality PU/flexible gaiters on the web ('strut boots'), but haven't yet managed to find one with the necessary dimensions - in particular the top diam of 88mm.

Did stumble across these, but unsure on its exact size: https://www.importcarparts.co.uk/parts- ... earchPart=. The US company KYB also produce a large range of boots/gaiters, but their online catalogue isn't helpful. A work in progress. Will measure the OE item this week, when Citroen here take delivery of a new pair.

Re: Cambelt etc change, 2.5

Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2018 9:12 am
by White Exec
Well, had the three belts (cam, balancer, aux) replaced yesterday.
They had done only 41k miles, but 10 years, so time to do it.
Local Citroen did the job for €577, including parts and 6.5 hours' labour.
Old belts showed no visible cracking or wear, which was reassuring.

Spoke to the technician who did the job; think he quite enjoyed the XM for a change. It was confirmed that ours is the only one they now see, so a bit of a novelty. When I got it there at 0845 the same morning, half-a-dozen technicians had gathered round it with their early morning coffee, likely joking about who had drawn the short straw.

Parts accounted for €200 of the bill, which I know I could have halved by buying elsewhere. However, I only wanted one outfit to hold to account if the job went wrong, so thought the extra was worth paying. Cam and aux belts were €30-40 apiece, but the double-toothed balancer belt was €114, and had to be laid in from Citroen France.

Anyway, job done, and the only bruises I have are in the wallet! :roll:

Re: Cambelt etc change, 2.5

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2018 4:58 pm
by White Exec
A while ago, we were discussing the 2.5 aux belt - routing, tensioners and flail.
John made the point about the belt being a non-standard length (1862/1863mm).

Looking at the new aux belt that Citroen supplied this week, it is marked as follows:
5750 WE
Gates, Hutchinson POLY.V
6 PK 1862
Made in EU


No PSA logo or marking, but it carries their pt.no., so does suggest it might be a dedicated special for PSA.

The old cambelt (removed) carried this info:
Gates
PowerGrip HTD 5420 XS* (*a Gates number, not PSA)
141x28mm

Re: Cambelt etc change, 2.5

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2018 11:37 pm
by trampsterdave
Hi all
I will be soon be getting the cambelt replaced on my S1 1993 2.i CT...I'm not at all mechanical so will be getting it done -quote is around NZ$1000....I know the 2.5 discussed here is a TD, but are there aother belts I should get done at the same time on my XM?
Cheers, Dave

Re: Cambelt etc change, 2.5

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2018 9:12 am
by xmexclusive
Hi Dave

The 2.5 TD engine is a bit unusual.

It has an extra timing belt to drive the two engine balance shafts.
Not seen a similar belt as it has teeth (106x19) on both sides so a bit difficult to obtain.
The box for the Gates one I bought last week is marked 5618XS.

Then there is the Auxillary belt on the outside of the timing belt covers that needs to be removed to get into the timing belts.
Different versions of the Aux belt setup for A/C and non A/C 2.5's.
The A/C version mentioned above by Chris is a regular source of running problems which new belt alone seldom solves.

A sample of the reasons why non 2.5 XM owners will tell you to avoid them.
Most 2.5 owners though tell a different story and would not sell you theirs.

None of those complications on your CT.

John

Re: Cambelt etc change, 2.5

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2018 10:53 am
by White Exec
xmexclusive wrote:
Mon Aug 27, 2018 9:12 am
A sample of the reasons why non 2.5 XM owners will tell you to avoid them.
Most 2.5 owners though tell a different story and would not sell you theirs.
John
It's just the story put about, so we can keep them for ourselves! ;)
It is an extraordinarily good engine, with torque aplenty - and I say that as someone who drove a Rover V8 3500S for many years.
From a bit less than 2000rpm you'd scarce know it only had four cylinders.

Re: Cambelt etc change, 2.5

Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2018 10:24 am
by Pshemsky
xmexclusive wrote:
Mon Aug 27, 2018 9:12 am

The 2.5 TD engine is a bit unusual.
It has an extra timing belt to drive the two engine balance shafts.
I've decide to improve my knowledge and (finally) checked what these balance shafts are, how they look and how they work in relation to the engine. It's really interesting subject and as far as I understand they only been fitted into bigger engines to smooth out engine vibrations. Some people been saying that 'silent shafts' been fitted to help with selling a cars, because it was all about test drive :]
What other cars/engines using balance shafts Chris? Is there any manufacturer which still using that technology ?