128 coupe cambelt service at home

ghostdancing

ghostdancing

True Classic
hello guys it's a long time i dont post here anyway i still own the red coupe and it's time to change the cambelt for peace of mind; i read the article in the info section of the forum, but i have to make the job with the motor mounted in the car and looks (well, at least to me) like there is no too much room for wrenching..how it's hard to perform the job? do i need special tools? do i need to rise the car from the ground? if the tensioner bearing looks still ok is it mandatory to mount a new one or i can leave it there ? (looks like it's rather expensive\hard to find part)
 
Been a long time since I had a 128 SL but you should have no problem changing the timing belt. Access is certainly easier than on an X1/9. I think most of us would recommend a new belt tensioner bearing and they are certainly not hard to find and are not expensive here in the US. With the belt off spin the bearing. If it growls or you feel roughness you should change it. You probably want to jack it up to get the front wheel on the right side off to gain some access.

With the old belt off, check to be sure the crank seal at that end is not leaking.
 
Besides being tight, its not to big of a deal. I would take a paint pen and make some marks on all the pullys to ensure nothing moves. Remember, when you loosen the belt adjustment, it will weep a bit of radiator fluid from the hole, that is just fine.

Take your time and make sure everything lines up again. Pretty easy to get out of shape. The Cam pully, Crank pully, and oil pump pully are important to keep in line. The oil pump drives the distributor. The rest is no worry. Best bet would be to set the car to top dead center, then remove it all and put it back together. Be sure to spin it over by hand for a full cycle (basically two times around as one time will be 180 off your marks.)

Hope this makes sense.
 
to set the motor on TDC i just turn one front wheel (4 th gear in) watching the dot on the flywheel? do i need to remove the alternator\water pump pulley first?
how much a tensioner bearing there in the US? here they asked me 50 eu and it's hard to find
 
ghostdancing said:
to set the motor on TDC i just turn one front wheel (4 th gear in) watching the dot on the flywheel? do i need to remove the alternator\water pump pulley first?
how much a tensioner bearing there in the US? here they asked me 50 eu and it's hard to find
Click to expand...
Eurosport in the UK has them in stock at GBP 22.74, (1300 type). Unless you know for a fact that the one on the car is relatively young and healthy, I would get a replacement.
 
ghostdancing said:
to set the motor on TDC i just turn one front wheel (4 th gear in) watching the dot on the flywheel? do i need to remove the alternator\water pump pulley first?
how much a tensioner bearing there in the US? here they asked me 50 eu and it's hard to find
Click to expand...
A disintegrating tensioner bearing with under 40K miles on it took out my 1300. Unless you know the history of the bearing, I would make replacing it a priority.
 
ok guys, will have a new bearing after all... do i need to unbolt the big nut that hold in place the generator\waterpump pulley first? i guess this can accomplished only from the bottom, correct?
 
ghostdancing said:
ok guys, will have a new bearing after all... do i need to unbolt the big nut that hold in place the generator\waterpump pulley first? i guess this can accomplished only from the bottom, correct?
Click to expand...
I am assuming you are talking about the crank pulley. The first time I replaced the timing belt on my X1/9 I did not remove the crank pulley, but snaked the timing belt behind the crank pulley onto the crank timing belt sprocket. Access was made difficult by the bracketry that holds the pointer for the timing marks; I don't know if the 1300 in an 128 has this. The second time I replaced the timing belt on my X1/9 I did remove the crank pulley, and found it to be much easier that way. If you have an impact wrench (electric or pneumatic), getting that big nut off is easy.
 
With the passenger side front wheel off can you direct access the crankshaft pully nut?
 
ghostdancing said:
to set the motor on TDC i just turn one front wheel (4 th gear in) watching the dot on the flywheel? do i need to remove the alternator\water pump pulley first?
how much a tensioner bearing there in the US? here they asked me 50 eu and it's hard to find
Click to expand...

X1/9 Tensioner Bearing - 1300 : Eurosport (UK), FIAT X19 Bertone & Lancia Montecarlo Beta Scorpion spare parts

Eurosport (UK) X1/9 Tensioner Bearing - 1300 - Timing cam belt tensioner bearing for 1300 models. Size: 60 outer x 25 inner x 27 width (mm).
www.eurosport-uk.net

Should be a good bit less.
 
thankyou K, will look into it, the brexit thing has complicated much the transactions with the kingdom, though (custom, fees etc..) probably some eastside (serbia, croatia) shop\merchant can have the part too..there was a guy here on the forum from serbia that has a shop but it was some years ago and i no longer have his contact info..if some of you guys remember some info good to catch the serbian friend, please, let me know

sadly here in italy interest and knowledge for old cars has declined in the last years..
 
Last edited:
found it:

classicperformance-parts.com

FIAT 128 X1/9 UNO ZASTAVA 101 CAMSHAFT TIMING BELT TENSION BEARING - Classic Performance Parts

Classic Performance Parts - FIAT 128 X1/9 UNO ZASTAVA 101 CAMSHAFT TIMING BELT TENSION BEARING
classicperformance-parts.com classicperformance-parts.com

price in italy for comparision:

www.ebay.it

CUSCINETTO TENDICINGHIA FIAT 128 RITMO LANCIA DELTA 633272 VKM12100 FIAT 4385583 | eBay

Le migliori offerte per CUSCINETTO TENDICINGHIA FIAT 128 RITMO LANCIA DELTA 633272 VKM12100 FIAT 4385583 sono su eBay â Confronta prezzi e caratteristiche di prodotti nuovi e usati â Molti articoli con consegna gratis!
www.ebay.it
 
ghostdancing said:
do you know if this kit works on the 128 as well?

www.ebay.it

KIT DISTRIBUZIONE FIAT UNO TURBO - FIAT PUNTO GT-TIPO-SCUDO CINGHIA CUSCINETTO | eBay

Le migliori offerte per KIT DISTRIBUZIONE FIAT UNO TURBO - FIAT PUNTO GT-TIPO-SCUDO CINGHIA CUSCINETTO sono su eBay â Confronta prezzi e caratteristiche di prodotti nuovi e usati â Molti articoli con consegna gratis!
www.ebay.it
Click to expand...
The number on that timing belt matches a 138 tooth belt for a 1.6l engine, so not appropriate for your car.
 
That's weird, the Classic Performance bearing says it's good for 1100, 1300, &1500 models, but 1300 & 1500 use different size bearings...⁉️🤔
 
ghostdancing said:
do you know if this kit works on the 128 as well?

www.ebay.it

KIT DISTRIBUZIONE FIAT UNO TURBO - FIAT PUNTO GT-TIPO-SCUDO CINGHIA CUSCINETTO | eBay

Le migliori offerte per KIT DISTRIBUZIONE FIAT UNO TURBO - FIAT PUNTO GT-TIPO-SCUDO CINGHIA CUSCINETTO sono su eBay â Confronta prezzi e caratteristiche di prodotti nuovi e usati â Molti articoli con consegna gratis!
www.ebay.it
Click to expand...
that is the wrong tooth section type of belt (for starters) ... look closely at the teeth, they are rounded in section, not square like a 128 / x19 (and early Uno turbo) uses.... after about 1986 or so the UnoT / Punto and all other SOHC switch to this type of round tooth design

SteveC
 
ghostdancing said:
found it:

classicperformance-parts.com

FIAT 128 X1/9 UNO ZASTAVA 101 CAMSHAFT TIMING BELT TENSION BEARING - Classic Performance Parts

Classic Performance Parts - FIAT 128 X1/9 UNO ZASTAVA 101 CAMSHAFT TIMING BELT TENSION BEARING
classicperformance-parts.com classicperformance-parts.com

price in italy for comparision:

www.ebay.it

CUSCINETTO TENDICINGHIA FIAT 128 RITMO LANCIA DELTA 633272 VKM12100 FIAT 4385583 | eBay

Le migliori offerte per CUSCINETTO TENDICINGHIA FIAT 128 RITMO LANCIA DELTA 633272 VKM12100 FIAT 4385583 sono su eBay â Confronta prezzi e caratteristiche di prodotti nuovi e usati â Molti articoli con consegna gratis!
www.ebay.it
Click to expand...
you're comparing a genuine SKF bearing with some no name eastern european (or chineseium) copy... the genuine bearing is going to last many times longer than the cheaper pattern part... caveat emptor

SteveC
 
thanks Steve, actually i had some doubts on that yellow lined bearing from Croatia..finally i found a legit looking bearing here in italy at a reasonable price:

www.ebay.it

CUSCINETTO TENDICINGHIA SKF BA2B 633272 25 x 60 x 29 mm RITMO-DELTA 1.3 | eBay

Le migliori offerte per CUSCINETTO TENDICINGHIA SKF BA2B 633272 25 x 60 x 29 mm RITMO-DELTA 1.3 sono su eBay ✓ Confronta prezzi e caratteristiche di prodotti nuovi e usati ✓ Molti articoli con consegna gratis!
www.ebay.it

for the belt itself have you got caveats as well?, there are many brands, probably they are not fresh produced but (very ) old stock..does the rubber became brittle with age? any advise higly apreciated!
 
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