CLOSE SHAVE!!!

[EThreezero]

Hi all, was workin under the bonnet the other day andmanaged to knock a hole in the timing belt cover, this is what i saw.......



It looked like it was to close to the front so i thought id better get internal to investigate, this is what i found......



AND.....



To say my flabber was gasted is a wee understatement, check oot the shaved rubber sitting behind that case, it was in every square centimetre behind there and what about the groove the belt's made in the case. How close to catastrophe was i??? Ive been wondering of late why she was running poorly, i think ive maybe found the answer i cant see how the two halfs of such a lump could have been kept in unison with a belt that was in that nick, the deflection on the thing was luaghable, well for a second or two anyway untill it came back to me how close a shave ( literally ) this actually was and the tensioner has'nt done a stroke of work since the day it was fitted. It was indeed a scary find but an unusually lucky one at the same time, i dont usually have good luck just the other stuff. It gives me the excuse ive been looking for to get her off the road for some essential servicing and diff change, yup! im going down the 3.91 LSD road, cant wait. I was cleaning the aforementioned diff yesterday to see if it had any distinguishable markings on it but could'nt seem to see anything





Ahhhhhhh!

Anyway cheers for yer time guys, just thought id share this event with y'all.

[dazleeds]

Damn that was soooooooooo close mate

[cliffybabe]

Lucky mate, very lucky

[eko]

Lucky man

[EThreezero]

Yup! im deffo puttin tomorrows lottery on i might be on a lucky streak

[cliffybabe]

Yup! im deffo puttin tomorrows lottery on i might be on a lucky streak

[DRIFTBOY]

I'm amazed that belt didn't break!!! Lucky!

I thought the 'S' on the diff casing signified it being limited slip, but I could be wrong on that.

Usually there is a metal tag (usually rusty) held on by one of the rear casing bolts with the ratio on it.

If not you can turn the input shaft and count how many turns the output flanges make - if it is limited slip both output flanges should turn in the same direction. Hope that helps.

[EThreezero]

I'm amazed that belt didn't break!!! Lucky!

I thought the 'S' on the diff casing signified it being limited slip, but I could be wrong on that.

Usually there is a metal tag (usually rusty) held on by one of the rear casing bolts with the ratio on it.

If not you can turn the input shaft and count how many turns the output flanges make - if it is limited slip both output flanges should turn in the same direction. Hope that helps.

Yeah mate i was being a smart arse! a wee bit of limited slipexcitement.

[DRIFTBOY]

Aaah! I've had too much beer to detect subtle jokes!!!

Hope you have fun with the new diff though!

[Brianmoooore]

I came across a belt like this once - just over half its width left.
Problem is the shaft of the idler moving and leaning over in its bracket.

[EThreezero]

He he will do. I was just thinking how many of you are going to be thinking about timing belt changing now

[EThreezero]

I came across a belt like this once - just over half its width left.
Problem is the shaft of the idler moving and leaning over in its bracket.

Yup this was the same just about half as wide as it should have been.

[stevetigger]

Might change mine........ I cant