How to change your QP IV 3.2 cambelt, with pictures!

B16 ONX

Junior Member
Messages
95
Whilst I was at it I thought it would be a good time to sort out the poor A/C so I located the ports & hooked up my A/C machine to the car. The system had very little pressure & gas so I vac'd the system down & left it for 30 mins while I cleared up.

I then checked the guages hadn't crept up to zero before firing in 600gms of refrigerent.

Tested the system & it all works beautifully!

I then locked up & took it for a blast on the way home & the performance difference is sharper with the new plugs & super unleaded fuel in the tank.

All in a few hours well spent getting to know my car while giving me the confidence to rev it as hard as I want to for as long as I want to!

The belt that came off was in very good condition but I'd commited myself to it by then & I had the new one here so it made no sense not to fit it.

If you've got one of these engines then most competent home DIY'ers would be able to tackle this on their drive. As mentioned earler the ramp is not a neccesity, merely a more comfortable option should you have it.

DISCLAIMER: Guys, if you tackle yours & it goes horribly wrong then please don't flame me here! I got lucky & it all worked out well for me. This does not guarentee it will for you. If in doubt leave well alone & pay a professional to do it.
I have never worked on a Maserati before & I searched high & low for a guide like this to no avail. It should be treated as a guide, no an actual how to.

At your own peril.........!!!!!

Good luck!
 

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Danny

Member
Messages
442
Terrific write up and excellent pictures! Thanks for your efforts of putting this together.
 

NickP

Member
Messages
1,623
How did you lock the crankshaft to undo the pulley bolt? Leave it in 5th gear and have someone stand on the brake pedal or is there a more elegant solution? The manual infers you lock the flywheel using a special tool but thats with the engine out...
 

NickP

Member
Messages
1,623
OK so I have started this, sticking it in gear solved the problem, now I have the old belt off and i can't seem to line up the pulley spots with the lines on both sides I also dont seem to be able to fully turn the engine over by hand? Any suggestions?
 

Almichie

Junior Member
Messages
799
Plugs out and engine out of gear - if you read the write up it refers to moving the cranks pulley to allow slack: I assume this just means moving the crank so the valves don't need to be opened, then move the crank back to TDC: might need to clarify this though!!!
 

NickP

Member
Messages
1,623
I resolved this, i messed up, I marked tdc for cylinder 4 instead of 1 then lined the timing pulleys... Then found the engine wouldnt turn over completely so knew something was wrong... I found cylinder 1 is at the front of the block on left hand side facing the car, so took it all back off, turned it round to tdc on cylinder 1 and then spun the timing pulleys round to line up as specified. It now turns round completely by hand and I'm in process of putting it all back together, fingers crossed it doesnt go bang when I start it!
 

RSM Masser

Member
Messages
2,437
What an excellent write up and some very helpful photos.
I changed my belt on the 3200 at the weekend and fell foul of a few 3200 niggles - removing the aux drive belt, I got bored trying to release the tensioner and cut it! only to realise that in order to refit the pipes to the oil cooler need to be removed, not an issue as the fan housing was already off to give better access and the oil drained from a change, just annoying.
Then when I tried to move the tensioner it fell off! both ends have rotted and snapped leaving just a semi circle of metal to hold it in place!, I thought I took a photo of it but obviously didn't, here it is still on the car

IMG_5576.jpg

I think I may have discovered my mysterious slow coolant loss - with a number of drips evident from underneath the thermostat, those pipes are a real pain to get right, any strain in the wrong place and the clips just do not make a seal.

What are the other marks on the cam gears - the white paint is mine, the yellow from a previous belt change I assume

IMG_5577.jpgIMG_5579.jpgIMG_5581.jpgIMG_5583.jpg

I also painted the belt and sprockets then transferred the marks to the new belt, it was a helpful marker when trying to line up the spring loaded right hand side - especially when I over tensioned it and it popped straight over the cam onto the next lobe!
 

Wack61

Member
Messages
8,764
I'd have just ended up with a pile of bits, well done

I did see an episode of car SOS where Fuzz just cut the old belt in half all the way round, took half off, slid the new belt on , cut what was left of the original belt off then pushed the new one on the rest of the way.

is there a reason nobody does that ?
 

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,539
I'd have just ended up with a pile of bits, well done

I did see an episode of car SOS where Fuzz just cut the old belt in half all the way round, took half off, slid the new belt on , cut what was left of the original belt off then pushed the new one on the rest of the way.

is there a reason nobody does that ?

Sometimes you just can't. Also, changing water pumps, tensioners etc

C
 

RSM Masser

Member
Messages
2,437
I did see that video - it has been removed now, and did consider this (I would have marked everything just in case) water pump and tensioners all seemed fine, rotated freely and no adverse movement.
Fuzz made it look so simple and easy, bet he chose an engine without the access issue of a Maserati! even changing the spark plugs is a mission in nuts and bolts to undo.
 

zagatoes30

Member
Messages
20,756
That engine looks familiar, might be as its sat outside my house :)

PS it's a lot cleaner than that now
 

Ian H

Member
Messages
167
HI All
Many thanks for this fantastic thread that gave me the courage to try the timing belt replacement.
All was going great until I tried to remove the cam belt tensioner. The two allen bolt that hold it on are seized solid despite pickling in WD40 for a day.
I suspect it doesn't help the tensioner bolts are still under load from the belt.
Has anyone worked out a way to re compress the tensioner while on the car (and re insert the retainer pin) to take the load off the bolts?
I guess I could just cut the belt off to remove the tension but that seems a bit drastic.
Alternatively try to cut the belt lengthwise al la fuzz to get the new and old on at the same time but I suspect this will also be tough with the belt still under tension.

Does anyone know of a source for the oil pressure sender unit which I was going to do while the belt is off - usual suspects all say they are now unavailable? I was also thinking of doing water pump but it seems fine and is a shed load of money for a precautionary replacement

many thanks for your input as always

Ian
 

conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,593
You could cut the belt yes, but there is not going back. If your in that deep anyway, just cut it.

Waterpump, it may seem fine but its quite normal for the pressure of a new belt and tensioner to put extra load on the pump and is common they can fail a few hundred miles later. Its your risk but I would want the belt of and check the smoothness of the water pump bearing. If its like new and there is no leaking the I suspect I would leave it too, but I would check it first.
 

RSM Masser

Member
Messages
2,437
You could cut the belt yes, but there is not going back. If your in that deep anyway, just cut it.

Waterpump, it may seem fine but its quite normal for the pressure of a new belt and tensioner to put extra load on the pump and is common they can fail a few hundred miles later. Its your risk but I would want the belt of and check the smoothness of the water pump bearing. If its like new and there is no leaking the I suspect I would leave it too, but I would check it first.

Matt is absolutely right - my water pump failed within 3 months of replacing the belt. Seemed fine at the time and I did check!
A right ball ache to strip everything down again.

I used a 2mm diameter drill bit from memory to hold the tensioner back - you wont compress it in the car it needs a vice.

REMEMBER the left bank (if sat in the car) moves when the tension is released, mark everything with paint. I marked the old belt as well to ensure everything lined up.
 

Ian H

Member
Messages
167
ok didn't think I would need an angle grinder to change a timing belt but the two screws holding the tensioner are now removed!!!
Ironical the heat from grinding the heads off + removal of any tension released the threads and the headless studs screwed out finger tight !
Good news is there is a steel washer between the tensioner and screw heads so no grinder damage to the tensioner itself.


Next question though is how on earth do you change the bearings for the timing belt pulleys?
Each bearing is within a running case to stop the belt from slipping off. Do you need a bearing pulling kit to get this outer case off and to slide a new bearing onto the shaft?
For the pulley in the tensioner unit the bolt really doesn't want to come undone but no more grinders today thank you!
For the other lower pulley / bearing assembly I had assumed there was an attachment bolt in the centre of the pulley to release it from the engine block but there isn't?

Many thanks
Ian
 

spacecadet

Member
Messages
378
Yes, the bearing has to be pushed out of the pulley (case). Easiest with a shop press. Maybe you can try a vice, it doesn't matter if the bearing gets force on inner race.

When reinstalling the bearing, put it in the freezer, it will slide in much easier. Sometimes you can seat fully by hand / minor hammering this way. Make sure you are pushing on the outer race.