Member Since: 02 Dec 2008
Location: West Yorkshire
Posts: 670
Cambelt disaster advice please
Replaced my cambelt just over a week ago following the guidance on here along with Topix etc - all done to the book. Ordered all the kit from Landrover, timing kit was minus the tensioner bolt so this was quickly dispatched afterwards with invoices. Just pulling out into a busy road when all went dead, dashboard like an xmas tree etc etc. Had the vehicle recovered home, after stripping engine down I found the cambelt tensioner sat in the bottom of the engine bay and a tensioner sized hole in the cam belt case cover. What is odd is that the tensioner bolt has snapped 3/4 of the way down inside the tensioner - a clean break The result of which is a pretty well engine. Contacted LR Parts supplier who advised me to speak to my local branch. Rang them and they didn't know what to suggest. In the meantime I am having the bolt tested and examined by a metallurgist or similar and the old bolt tested as well to see if they are the same strength.
Any guidance / advice very much appreciated.
6th Mar 2012 4:58 pm
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Member Since: 06 Nov 2006
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What torque setting did you use is the obvious question they will ask......
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6th Mar 2012 5:27 pm
character
Member Since: 31 Dec 2007
Location: wiltshire
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might want to have a chat with the man....... Douglas Wragg 01444 811349, if yer google his name, should be impressed, works on a consultative basis for such incidences and has a whole team of trusted metallurgist , Dr Yelland, Oxford University
Last edited by character on 6th Mar 2012 5:31 pm. Edited 1 time in total
6th Mar 2012 5:29 pm
Matty 2332
Member Since: 02 Dec 2008
Location: West Yorkshire
Posts: 670
Thanks guys, torque setting was 24nm as per topix
6th Mar 2012 5:30 pm
character
Member Since: 31 Dec 2007
Location: wiltshire
Posts: 5781
Matty 2332 wrote:
Thanks guys, torque setting was 24nm as per topix
need to get the torque wrench tested to ensure in calibration or have you got a calirbation certificate for it anyway
1/Was the bolt plated (shiny chrome look) if so it could be hydrogen embitterment
If it looks like silver paint, then that,s not the case.
2/ What thread locking media did you you, these can effect the torque value, especially if the stuff got under the bolthead as any lubrication reduce surface friction and give the required torque value but with a greater bolt stretch (I am assuming you lightened direct to torque and not torque and angle)
3/ The bolt coater could have applied the wrong bolt lubricant over the corrosion resistant coating - unlikely but possible - what are the bolt head marking ? should be a number ie 8.8 or 10.9 and some letters ie AAF or BUL
4/The bolt had a flaw
anyone of 1.3 or 4 and the bolt was not fit for purpose. if number 2, or you applied the thread lock even if it did not go in the wrong place I think you will struggle to claim.
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6th Mar 2012 7:08 pm
Disco_Mikey
Member Since: 29 May 2007
Location: Dundee, Scotland
Posts: 20844
Matty 2332 wrote:
The tensioner is a crap piece of kit that I would strongly advise you use a good thread lock substance on.
Member Since: 02 Dec 2008
Location: West Yorkshire
Posts: 670
I didn't use any sort of threadlock on the bolt. When things first went wrong I thought the tensioner bolt had loosened and come out as 24NM doesn't seem much at the time, hence the threadlock afterthought.
The bolt is a 10.9 which is I believe high tensile steel.
Here is a picture of the break, its not easy to see,
Click image to enlarge
The break is right at the start of the thread !
Many thanks for your help
6th Mar 2012 8:06 pm
mzplcg
Member Since: 23 Jun 2009
Location: Gone
Posts: 1087
Is it just me or is that bolt 2 different colours where it sheared? Looks like a defect in the steel maybe.....
6th Mar 2012 8:12 pm
Matty 2332
Member Since: 02 Dec 2008
Location: West Yorkshire
Posts: 670
Well spotted, though I think its just the light reflecting, The bolt is in the hands of an engineer who is going to do some closer inspections etc.
edit, just had a look at another photo, the darker band is what was screwed into the mount, as you can see it actually snapped about 5mm into the tensioner sleeve.
Last edited by Matty 2332 on 6th Mar 2012 8:18 pm. Edited 1 time in total
6th Mar 2012 8:15 pm
Robbie
Member Since: 05 Feb 2006
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What thickness is that bolt as 24Nm for an 8.8 or above is pretty darn low?Land Rover - Turning Drivers into Mechanics Since 1948
To be honest looking at the bolt it looks to me like the cam belt tensioner has been to tight and put to much of a load on the bolt, but can't see from your pictures, but the break does not look uniform, it looks as if the bolt has only half the thickness it should have because one half is smooth and the other looks jagged where it's broken off.
I would have thought the casting where the bolt goes in to on the engine block would have fractured or split if the bolt had been over tightend.
Flack
6th Mar 2012 8:17 pm
Matty 2332
Member Since: 02 Dec 2008
Location: West Yorkshire
Posts: 670
My thoughts as well, surely a high tensile steel bolt is tougher that the alloy mount, if it would have been over tightened (which it wasnt) it would strip the threads in the mount ?
The surface of the break is not uniform, 3/4 of it is a rough carbon texture, the remaining bit is smooth and shiny, there is no evidence of bending etc. The other bolt is the old one I removed and is slightly different in design, still 10.9 though
Last edited by Matty 2332 on 8th Mar 2012 8:57 am. Edited 1 time in total
6th Mar 2012 8:24 pm
Russell
Member Since: 23 Aug 2007
Location: Kent
Posts: 10564
Looks a lot diffrent with the stepped shoulder, almost looks like wrong bolt supplied.MY17 D5 1st Edition Namib Orange
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6th Mar 2012 9:07 pm
zarnd
Member Since: 23 Apr 2010
Location: Kent
Posts: 794
If it is genuine Land Rover part then you have parts warranty which should cover this. The Land Rover dealer would have to go to great lengths to prove it was something that you have done, but it is best to get it to them as soon as possible so as not to compromise your possible claim and don't take anything else apart so they can see what you found.
I have just put a new cylinder head courtesy of VW on a 1999T4 at work due to cambelt tensioner failure.
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The result of which is a pretty well 
