Hi,
Am about to change both external drive-belts on my Mk2.5 1.8 Sport (2002), but am struggling to find a how-to-guide specific to mk2.5s. However I’ve changed the belts on a mk1 1.6 before and am hoping it’s not too different a procedure. If so, I can probably just follow the instructions in the Rob Grainger 1.6 workshop manual? Or is there a mk2.5 1.8 specific guide anyone could point me too?
One thing I’m hoping is different is the lower bolt for the alternator… do you still have to get round the back and grip from both sides to loosen/tighten? I remember this was the trickiest bit when I did the mk1 1.6 belt change…
One other related question - there’s a bit of old shredded belt stuck behind the main crank pulleys (as it snapped and shredded while driving…) - I’ve been advised by the guy who towed me home to just turn the engine over slowly, and in a clockwise direction, with a socket wrench on main crank centre-bolt, while gently pulling the stuck threads out. Does this sound like the best way? I’d rather not have to loosen the main crank, but if I do run into problems freeing the stuck strands of belt, is this an option?
Thanks!
Yes the procedure is similar to the MK1 assuming the Mk1 had power steering.
Yes getting to that rear bolt and getting it loose is a real pig.
Do not do as advised with the broken pieces of belt behind the crank pulley as I know to my costs.
Take off all the cam belt covers, three if I remember to make sure there is no parts of the alternator or power stearing belt stuck between the cam belt and the cam wheels.
This happened on my MK2 and the cambelt jumped three teeth.
As Eddie said, plus - if you bought the belts from MX5 parts, then you may struggle to get them on. We had to loosen the adjustment bracket (on the engine) so we could get the power steering belt on. May also be necessary to do the same on the alternator belt, but we had difficulty locating the pivot bolt, so it’s not done yet.
Good luck removing the shredded belt. Check the setting on the cam belt before you refit the cam belt covers, just in case. Hand cranking the engine is going to be a tough job, so Eddies idea sounds better to me.
Thanks for advice - unfortunately this sounds like it’s getting into territory I have no idea about… I’m OK with changing the external belts, but have no idea what I’m doing with the cam belt and it’s covers. It does look like it needs some more dis-assembling though, just tried gently working the threads of shredded belt out by hand, but they’re firmly stuck, and there’s quite a lot of strands tangled up back there.
I guess the question is now, is this something I should really tackle myself given I’ve no idea how to remove cambelt covers or check the cam-belt settings?
Thought this was going to be a nice simple job at first…
Where are you located? If you are near Kent (Chatham) or Nuneaton then I can point you at great garages, but they are the only ones I know - and of course in it’s present state, you can’t drive it anyway. However, there may be someone in your location that can offer help and advice, so tell us where you are, and we’ll see who shouts up.
Am based in Hitchin (Hertfordshire) so not that close to either Kent or Nuneaton unfortunately.
Really appreciate the offers of help, but don’t worry, as since last posting I called the garage which the car’s been in and out of since I bought it a few weeks back, and they’ve agreed to tow it in tomorrow free of charge and sort it all out. They’ve done various work on it over last few weeks, including changing the cambelt - I did ask them at the time whether it wasn’t worth changing the external belts too (as they looked decidedly old and worn to me) but they said they’d be fine… however a week or so later here I am with car stuck in driveway, after the alternator belt shredded itself while driving, and presumably dragged off the power steering belt with it (as I found this one intact in the floor of the engine bay). I don’t really want to name the garage, as reading this, you might get a rather negative impression of them… whereas actually I think they’re a generally very good, and certainly come highly recommended - plus they’ve offered to sort this out free of charge, including the tow, so can’t complain there. It’s also not the first time I’ve had a mechanic tell me a belt’s fine, and then it’s snapped a few days later… I think I’ve learned the lesson now to trust my own instincts on this!!
Frustrating thing is, if it wasn’t for the shredded bits stuck behind the crank pulley, I would have just put new belts on myself, and probably enjoyed doing the work (apart from that lower alternator bolt, which seems just as inconveniently placed as on mk1’s!) - however seeing as it sounds like the cam-belt needs checking, even if I could find a way to remove the shredded bits, I’m going to admit defeat here and let the garage handle it.
Thanks again for replies, even though I haven’t been able to sort this one myself, without the info above I think I may have ended up with even more serious problems (e.g. timing belt woes!)
Hi again - belts all changed now (and shredded bits removed! Tho the garage said they didn’t remove cam-cover or check timing belt as they didn’t see how any of the shredded bits could have got in there - I’ve left it at that, as engine feels great so I’m guessing no problem with timing belt)
Just one follow up question though:
If I need to adjust the alternator belt at some point, how the hell do I get at that lower bolt?!? Seems even less space there than on a mk1… Certainly no room for a socket wrench, so would have to just use a regular spanner(?)
Has anyone else found a good way of doing this, and going in from above? I guess getting at it from underneath would be a bit easier, but I don’t have jacks, and don’t particularly like the idea of going under a jacked up car anyway to be honest, so I’m ruling that option out. But is it even possible from above just using a regular spanner?
The way the broken external belt gets behind the cam cover is that they are forced behind the very thin section of cover that is at the crankshaft and mine was damaged and had to be replaced.
Your garage was lazy and they have put your car at risk!
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You may well be right… as mentioned earlier, the garage who fixed it was the same one who assured me a week or so earlier that the drive belts didn’t need replacing…
Anyway, in terms of what to do now, I’ve been driving it for several weeks since this without problems - wouldn’t I have noticed something if something had been damaged? Is there anything I can check for, or any engine behaviour that might raise a warning sign? Bearing in mind I don’t feel mechanically qualified to start dismantling the front end of the engine… also if I did decide to try that, I’d still have to get past the obstacle of getting at the lower alternator bolt, which no-one seems to have any advice on!
