Hi folks, changed the belts on my 2000 996. All seemed good until tightening the lock jut on the horizontal cylinder. Once the lock nut is tight I can still turn the 22mm adjuster ???? Vertical ones tight as it should be. Using new lock nuts. Even tried the old one. Still the same.... Any ideas what's wrong ?? Appreciate any help
Check the idler bolt is tight into the block, they can come loose. Take the roller of and check the stud that it slides on. Steve
when you say 'turn the 22mm adjuster' do you mean the actual wheel as it rubs against the belt? If you do, then this is fine as you can always turn idler/tensioner wheels with some effort.
Guys, spot on. Was the post that had loosened off when I undone the locking nut. Went back out to it on Sat eve, that's when I noticed it. So back up to Ducati Glasgow on Sunday for new lock nuts. Cleaned off the old crud locktite, reapplied new stuff. Also did the one on the vertical cylinder for good measure. I like to spanner, but it's the first time I've decided to do the belts myself on any of the Ducatis I've had. Think i freaked out a little bit lol. Just need to shift the radiator a touch to get the gauge on the belt now. Thanks for the help : )
It seemed too easy to me and couldn't believe you wouldn't have sussed it, hence my reply. Glad you fixed it up with no stripped threads
@AllyBoy: Just make sure to turn the tensioner pulley counter-clockwise only when setting the tension. Otherwise it tends to push the belt run in and that can cause major issues. Don't ask me how I know that! Also, I highly recommend either as a primary method or a secondary check, if you have smartphone, get a guitar tuning app to check the belt tension. The latest Ducati bulletin recommends a 4 valve belt should twang at 110Hz +/- 3Hz on the long run between the drive pulley and the idler pulley. That's for new belts. For mid life belts as a tune up, they should be set to 90Hz, +/- 3Hz. I have an Android phone and use gStrings. Just set it to autotune and hold the mike to the belt and twang it, and the app will show you the Hz! It's very simple and very reliable. All the best! A
Was actually looking into the Apps for my iphone. Do you use the inbuilt mic or an external one ? I Would like to compare methods to see the results between the Facom gauge and the tuner Apps. Cheers again.
Rotated the belts a lot off the back wheel to settle them in. To be honest they seem to be sitting further back on cogs than the old belts which were almost flush with the front of the cogs. I'll be back in the garage after work to tinker anyway. In no major rush to re-assemble everything. Plus I want to look into the frequency method of setting the tension as well.
The built in mic on the phone was fine for me. As regards the tension, indeed, set, measure, turn over by hand, repeat. It is more important to ensure that the tension is close enough than perfect, so ensure that you turn it over several times to make sure that you aren't over or under tensioning. Also, I found it handy to use a long allen key down the plug hole to ensure TDC when setting the tension. A
