WORKSHOP: XF

XF 3.0D timing belt and water pump renewal

North Wales Jag Centre shows how to replace the timing belt and water pump on a 2009 XF 3.0D

W O R D S & P H O T O G R A P H Y R O B H A W K I N S

THE TIMING belt along with its two idler pulleys and single tensioner should be replaced every 112,000 miles or ten years on the XF’s 3-litre V6 diesel engine. That’s a long interval for a rubber belt and even the coolant has a long life of ten years or 160,000 miles before it should be refreshed.

We’re following the timing belt swap and also the water pump which means refreshing the coolant. Access to all of these parts is at the front of the engine bay (and the front of the engine), but there are numerous components to remove first.

We also discover a few problems, such as a broken clip for a plastic breather pipe and a loose induction hose attached to the central shut-off valve (CSOV), which if it had become detached would have resulted in running issues.

The CSOV can become blocked and fail anyway, resulting in running issues. Fortunately, technician Owain Neild at NWJC has seen it all before and knows what to do.

THANKS TO

North Wales Jag Centre

Unit 2, Cae-Bach Builder Street, Llandudno LL30 1DR 01492 870150 www.northwalesjag.co.uk

DOING IT YOURSELF

Difficulty Time required: 4+ hours On your own? Yes

TOOLS

■ Multipurpose grease ■ Screwdrivers

■ Spanners/sockets: 8-21mm ■ Torque wrench ■ Torx: E12

1

We start the job by removing the air filter housing, which is secured with a single 8mm or 10mm bolt. There are three hoses to detach, a breather pipe and two electrical plugs for the MAF sensor

2

We are replacing the water pump, so the coolant is drained by removing the engine undertray and slackening the fastenings for the bumper undertray, then releasing a drain tap on the bottom of the radiator

3

Owain carefully detaches a hose to the coolant expansion tank, then removes the tank, which is secured with one 8mm bolt and has a feed hose and wiring plug attached to the underside

4

A plastic induction bridge needs to be removed to access the timing belt. There’s an 8mm bolt to undo, along with a Jubilee clip and a horseshoeshaped spring clip and a plug to detach

5 6

More hoses have to be removed, including an induction hose to the intercooler and a lower air filter pipe to the nearside turbo. On the offside, only the fastenings for the pipe to the turbo are undone After drawing a diagram of the configuration of the auxiliary drivebelt, Owain slackens the three Torx E12 bolts for the water pump pulley, then uses a 3/8” ratchet to release the belt, but…

7

…the belt cannot be fully removed until the 15mm mounting bolt for its tensioner is undone, enabling both components to be removed. Owain then removes the water pump pulley

8

Several components need to be moved from across the front of the engine, including a coolant pipe to the nearside EGR valve, a section of the engine wiring loom and several vacuum pipes

9 10

A vacuum reservoir needs to be removed to access the front of the engine (secured with one 8mm bolt), plus an idler pulley for the auxiliary drivebelt (15mm mounting bolt) and two mounting brackets The crankshaft pulley is removed by undoing six Torx E12 bolts. Owain spots a vacuum pipe that can get in the way, so he removes it. Next, he removes the two upper and one lower timing belt covers

11

There’s now the space to remove the mounting bracket for the auxiliary drivebelt idler pulley, secured with three 15mm bolts, plus the water pump by undoing three 8mm bolts

12

The engine is manually turned using a 21mm socket on the crankshaft until we can fit M6 bolts through the camshaft sprockets. Owain also checks that a mark on the crank timing cog is at 12 o’clock

13

Confident the engine is timed-up, Owain slackens three 13mm bolts for each cam sprocket (to allow adjustment after the new belt is fitted). He slackens the tensioner’s 13mm nut and removes the timing belt

14

There are two idler pulleys for the timing belt, and both are being replaced. The offside idler has a protection cover and spacer wedged behind it, so it’s important not to lose these components

15

After removing the idler pulleys and the tensioner, we compare all of the old components with the new ones to make sure they match. New idler pulleys are fitted and new bolts are tightened to 45Nm

16

A new tensioner is loosely fitted, followed by a new timing belt. Owain manoeuvres the timing belt into position around the crank timing cog and up to the camshaft sprockets, ending at the offside idler pulley

17

After checking the camshaft sprockets are positioned to allow for movement when the tensioner is adjusted, Owain adjusts the tensioner so a notch and square line up, then tightens its 13mm bolt to 26Nm

18

The camshaft sprocket bolts are tightened to 23Nm, then the locking bolts are removed. Two manual turns of the engine are completed via the 21mm crankshaft bolt, and the timing is checked. It’s correct

19

A new water pump is going to be fitted, but first, Owain checks the mating surface on the engine and cleans it to help ensure a watertight seal is achieved. He also wipes around the area

20

A smear of multipurpose grease is applied around the new water pump’s O-ring to reduce the risk of it getting caught and damaged. The water pump is fitted, and we start to refit all remaining parts

21

There are a lot of fiddly components that need refitting at certain points. This vacuum pipe running over the water pump and around the front of the crankshaft is one of them

22

Owain checks the end of the vacuum pipe, mentioned in the last step, is fitted on to the CSOV. The CSOV is a common component to become blocked and to fail, resulting in running issues

23

He fits the auxiliary drivebelt and its tensioner, loosely fitting the water pump pulley to help ease the belt over it. Afterwards, the water pump pulley’s Torx T12 mounting bolts are tightened to 25Nm

24

Finally, we’re ready to refill the coolant system. NWJC don’t slacken the bleed screw on the top of the plastic expansion tank because it can break or leak afterwards, preferring to run the engine and top up the tank