So I was planning on changing the timing belt and dephaser pulley because:
a) I had no proof other than the sellers word that the belts had been done. He told me they were done around 100k miles which from looking at the MOT history would have been around 2019.
b) I wanted to check the timing was actually correct.
c) I thought the rocker cover required resealing.
I had already removed the timing covers and was able to take a good look at the belt and pulleys. They looked in pretty good condition, some of the bolts had obviously been off pretty recently. Also there are no nasty sounding noises from the dephaser and from I can remember the car pulling absolutely fine.
For some reason yesterday I decided to stick my pile of receipts in the Renault document wallet I received with the car. When I bought it I had a quick flick through and it just looked like a collection of old MOT's and new keeper slips! I bought the car on the assumption of it having no history and was satisfied with this as I wanted a project and got it for a decent price (they guy I bought the car from had only had it for a week and had taken it in part ex so couldn't really tell me anything about it).
So on closer inspection yesterday I was surprised and pleased to find a few maintenance receipts - things like the Powerflex mounts and coilovers etc, along with this (I'm still not exactly sure how I missed it)...
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One receipt from mid 2018 for a timing kit, dephaser pulley and host of other parts. This ties up with the 2018 date stamp on the old oil filter I removed and the fresh looking coolant expansion bottle.
So to answer my first point, I now have confidence that the timing belt and dephaser have been changed at some point between now and June 2018. Meaning there as least 2 years life left before they need to be changed
With all of the timing covers removed, pile of new genuine parts sitting on the bench ready to be fitted and timing tools at the ready I was looking for reasons to change the belts, so onto point b, the timing:
Absolutely spot on. This gives me further confidence that when the belt was changed, care was taken in doing so.
So now my final reason, the oil leak. The joint between the head and rocker cover actually looks ok. These images aren't great but I'm fairly convinced the oil is leaking from under the bolt heads and from the dephaser solenoid seal. Some has been running down the front face of the rocker cover and pooling on top of the lower inlet manifold. And to answer the obvious question... no its not because oil was spilled during filling because I cleaned it all when I changed the spark plugs.
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So i cleaned off the oil that had leaked and changed the depahaser solenoid seal
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Then I set about sealing under all of the rocker cover bolt heads. Removing one by one, cleaning all of the oily residue with IPA, wiping dry, applying sealant before tightening to the correct torque.
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So fingers crossed, no more oil leaks... well from the upper engine anyway!
So to summarise, it doesn't make sense to me to change the belt and dephaser at the present time as i believe they are only half way through their service life:
-I'm happy that the timing belt and dephaser pulley have been changed within the last 2.5 - 3 years. They are in good condition visually, there are no noises from the dephaser and the car pulls well. I have a reciept from mid 2018 for the associated items.
- The timing is spot on. This also gives me confidence that when they were changed it was done by someone who knew what they were doing and it was done correctly
-I'm 90% confident that the seal between the head and rocker cover is fine and that the oil was coming from the dephaser solenoid seal and under the bolt heads.
I still had to strip it down this far to fully inspect, and whilst I have been at it I have cleaned up and sprayed a few more bits plus I have all the parts now for when the belt is next due in June 2023
I'll probably still stick a new water pump on it as I've got the pulley off now and pumps are relatively cheap. That way everything aux side is fresh.