Thread: Front timing cover 300TDi, why change it?

The housing of the front cover is not thick enough to support the wear involved and can crack, mine did , if it cracks it can let loose the fan through the radiator..Well thats the story on why from Rover tech here in Perth.
You could always leave it and see what happens when it breaks, new push rods etc etc..leaving the timing belt change too long is like playing Russian roulette with 6 bullets. The modifications are essential, Rover could have saved shiploads of money by not having them if they weren't necessary.

I'd get it done ASAP - should get away with about $500 fitted with an after market kit.

BUT saying that, my cam belt snapped and I only broke 1 rocker and bent 3 pushrods - this is pretty common, so I have been told.

HTH

LRH

how many kms before your belt broke....?

mine was due to the wrong pulley being taken over when the engine was swapped.

This is why it is important to have the latest full kit - with new pulley, not the one with the spot welds but he correct cast one, and new belt etc.

LRH

Originally Posted by zwitter

I have a 96 Defender 130, 300TDi, 105000Km and counting with original timing belt!

Should I be nervous?

Yep... I'd be sh1tting myself!

Originally Posted by zwitter

I have been trawling the archives for instructions and advice on changing the timing belt.

I have read the service manual and the Difflock site's instructions and have a few questions for the real experts here.

1 There seem to be two main kits from LR called STC4095K and STC4096K specified for various ranges of VIN numbers. The main difference in the kits seems to be the STC4095K kit includes the front timing cover. Why does the timing cover need to be changed? Wear? New seal? Shape?

2 There was a redesigned mount for the injection pump. anyone know if this fixed anything? Do i need to change it? How do you tell the difference between old and new?

3 I can understand changing the belt and fitting a pulley with sholders to keep the belt aligned. Does it really work?

4 Is it OK to just change the bearings (6203) in the tensioner and idler? Do the bearings have the rubber seals or the steel seals?

When the 300TDi came out, LR had problems with the timing belts coming off and wearing themselves out against the side of the case. All these different mods are their attempts to cure the problem. The thing that finally cured the problem was changing the torque setting on the tensioner. IIRC - It was changed down from 14lb ft to 11lb ft.

If it's any help, I've got an engine the same age as yours, without the modifications and mine has been fine with the lower tensioner setting.

Originally Posted by zwitter

5 How difficult to DIY? How long does it take?

6 Any real difference between timing belt manufacturers?

Thanks

James
Zwitter

It's any easy but time consuming job... It's also a job that gets a lot easier after you've done a couple. As for the belts, IMO buy a Genuine one... For peace of mind if nothing else!

HTH

M

Originally Posted by DirtyDawg

The modifications are essential, Rover could have saved shiploads of money by not having them if they weren't necessary.

No they're not... LR would have save plenty of money had they managed to find the fix first time though.

M

FWIW, Land Rover only recommend the update kits if there is abnormal wear on the timing belt, but for the sake of a kit for the few extra $ from a company like Karcraft, probably worth swapping out. Also, the recommended change interval is 110,000km, but there are so many disclaimers attached to it (heat, dust, towing, etc) that the recommended change interval drops to 60-80,000km. (although I let mine go 102,000km and it looked OK when I pulled it out.)

Another reason to change the timing cover when you have a few more km on than yours does is that there is a long centre support bearing for the main pulley/fan assy pressed into it. Not something you want failing in the middle of no-where.
Someone in Melbourne imports the bearing, so I found on ebay after swapping my front cover at 178,000km and $440.00. Also swapped out the idler and tensioner as the seals and bearings in both were buggered, although you couldn't tell untill the the timing cover was off and they were removed.

I don't think that changing the torque setting of the belt tensioner has as much to do with preventing premature belt wear as the other fixes.

With the earlier models the belt would track off and wear the side of the belt away. This was due to the idler pulleys, lack of flanges on the crankshaft pulley and distortion of the timing cover.

The support bracket on the rear of the injection pump is important and the correct procedure must be followed when tightening the mounting bolts. Do this wrong and it could lead to timing belt failure.