2.5v6 cam pulleys

[matt brookes]

think i posted this in the wrong thread earlier

im in the process of changing my 156's cam belt, tensioners, idlers, sparks, etc. have loosened the cam pulley retaining bolts, however they are not spinning on the shaft. is this normal or should they slip on the shaft to allow the new belt to be tensioned? do i need to get puller on them and free them from the taper?

thanks

matt

[rgwm]

Very normal....they are an extremely tight fit on the end of the cam.....I've known them break before coming loose so take your time and dont get (too) rough....

Good luck!

[mudhut]

On a 164 24V you hit them.

Leave the retaining bolt in but loose, say three mm out. Thump the pulley with a susbtantial plastic hammer or as I did with a block of oak and a club hammer. You have to take great care not to hit the engine and cover it to prevent splinters/crap from entering the open engine.

The cam belt cover is different on the later 24V engines after the 164 and there's a puller on the special tools list for the 3.2 GTA engine. This may also be specified for yours - I don't know. Povided you can strike a solid blow safely, there will be no problem.

[matt brookes]

thanks for your help, will give them a beating in the morning, side of engine compartment and air con hoses are a bit close for a puller! think that the belt covers may get in the way though, any tricks? looks like the covers cant be removed without removing the pullys first

[matt brookes]

might try making a puller out of 1"x1/4" bar and 16mm nut and bolt, see if my welding still any good!

[mudhut]

I'll see if I can find a pic of the puller in use on the 3.2 engine and post it here. The clearance is small - the instructions for the 164 say to remove the left hand side wheel arch liner, support the gearbox and then remove the engine mount on that side. Lower engine (I let mine down all the way until the end of the gearbox rested on the chassis leg). This gives cionsiderably more clearance at the timing belt end. Not sure a 1/4" strip will be anywhere near strong enough if used "flat". Were you proposing to stiffen it?

Thinking about rgwm's reply on this, I think caution may be the word. I had to give the pulleys quite a solid blow to shift them. I may be that the later pulleys are not as strong and a puller is needed. The 164 24V engine has pulleys with six holes but I think later ones might be slightly different - eight?

[mudhut]

Pic taken from eLearn disc for 147 GTA. It's about 500g in weight and is listed on ePER at about £50! There's Gary at Totally Alfa who is considering whether to make it but doesn't list it yet. He has other tools for Alfas that he makes - get in touch with him and tell him Peter in Southampton sent you!

Hope this helps.

[matt brookes]

thanks mudhut, i will have a bash at making one tomorrow, will let you know how it goes!, think with the 156, dropping the engine wll just make the rear one even tricker as i dont think it lines up with the wheel arch openings, but will check. thanks again

[mudhut]

It doesn't line up on the 164 either but as the engine drops on the left hand side, the timing pulley moves away from the suspension tower. I suppose it all depends on where the other mountings are as to which way the engine moves. Onthe 164, there is only one on the geabox end so removing it allows the very end of the box to drop. The increase in clearance is not huge but does help a great deal.

Good luck tomorrow!

[matt brookes]

might need it!

[matt brookes]

by god, they go with a bang! made a puller out of 6x30mm cut it 130 long (just wider than the pulley) 17mm hole through the centre and 2 11mm holes at 55mm pcd (pulley holes are 17.5 dia at 72.5 pcd) welded a 16mm nut to the bar and cut down a bolt so it just slides between the engine and bay, inserted a 10mmx30 socket cap bot head first through oppossing holes on the pulley and pushed the puller over them, bolted the 10mm tight (pcd forces quite a tight angle and the head of the bolts catches on the pulley) until the puller body touced the pulley hub and rim, then tightened the 16mm bolt, then got a scaffolding ple and tightened it some more, then at the point of giving up-- BANG, find myself lying flat on my back, watching a spanner and pole flying towards my face. gingerly peeked into the bay, to find a loose pulley!

many thanks for your help, wouldnt have been comfortable putting that much force into them if i hadnt been told its necesary, thanks for the pics too mudhut, puller in them is almost the same a s mine but no slots as i couldnt work out what the heads look like so figured holes would give bolt heads a better purchase

[fishy-steve]

The ends of the bolts in the pic are eccentric to the shaft. So you put them in the pulley holes and spin them. Your way was just as good and a hell of a lot cheaper
I made a puller similar to yours, to get my diesel pump pulley off, a couple of weeks ago.