Started with this: Moved to this: With some of these to stich it together underside: Then started sanding and grooving top to plastic weld: Also received fr tyre in post, so left in sunshine for morning and fitted at lunchtime. Nice and easy when warm. Done. At least that was one easy job Anyone got a seat latch cable? Mine is bust and Ducati want £40+ for a new one
Got the new head gasket and a few other bits from Ducati today so into the garage like a rat up a drainpipe after work. All bolted up and then realised in my stupidity that i dont have a tool to torque the head bolts. I used a multipoint spanner to remove the nuts, but now i need torque facility. Doh. Anyone got any i could borrow in Bristol area, or i'll order the relevant crowfoot tool. Or are there any alternative solutions that folk use? I just messaged @Ivor to see if i can get copies of his belt replacement instructions as i don't have a datum, given i have swapped heads. Plus looking at the slack in the other belt, i would rather start from scratch. Youtube covers straight replacement of belts but not a more comprehensive belt setup (that i can find). I tried asking the Ducati tech for some tips, but he just showed me the (very expensive) tools and said its a 5 min job with these! I was kinda hoping for advice! Hey ho, he is fully trained and prob gets loads of folk like me asking for £ saving tips so i guess so i guess it was a valid response Any assistance or advice greatly received. I have been searching and will continue to do so, but lot of good knowledge on here
Fingers crossed for you as its definitely something that you have to get right first time. Good luck.
Probably only takes him 5 minutes as he has spent some time learning how to do it. And bought the correct tools....
Have a look at the pictures on post #7 of this: https://www.ducatiforum.co.uk/threads/cam-belt-advice.95180/ They show the position of the camshaft with the relevant piston at TDC on compression stroke (but note that only the horizontal TDC is aligned with the common pulley mark - the vert cylinder is 90-degs away from that). You'll see that the slots in the camshaft nuts are aligned with its piston at TDC, and this is what the expensive Ducati tool is designed for. I've got the Kbike gadgets to hold the cam pulleys so can lend them (am in Bristol) if you need them.
Thanks @Keith_P i have ordered some cam holding tools, so that should assist the process. What doesn't make sense to me and i am not sure if i am overthinking this, but it is mentioned locking out the cams then loosening the 3 pulley bolts on each cam, placing belts and then tensioning the belts. Then re-torque the 3 bolts (6 for each head). But when reading the majority of belt swap discussions, no-one mentions doing anything with the 3 bolts... In the link provided above, the last post talks about spring tension, which throws me totally as there are no valve springs on the Ducati! "Loosening the screws allows the belts to be tensioned with no load applied to them by the closer springs" I assume they just meant that the load is generated by the position of the cam?!
Depending on the cam positions the closer springs will tend to turn the cam. There will be no external forces on the belt on the cylinder at tdc on the firing stroke. On some engines you would do one cylinder at tdc then turn the crank and do the other one. Or do as your link says.
Problem is Ducati will only book as per the pre-allocated book times for that specific activity, so it would include fairing removals, belt cover removal etc etc. I asked if i could just bring the engine in to get a better quote and they said it would be the same rate with no warranties etc. I get it, they have to cover overheads etc and the training of the technicians etc. Plus the technician has years of experience which has its own value etc. I was just surprised they offered no flex to the fact it was engine only. He did however suggest that a specialist may be able to assist... Doesn't really matter now as i'll be doing it myself, once i suss it all out. The biggest hurdle is most folk and videos are just swapping belts. I am starting from scratch as heads have been off... So no datums, per se
The loosening of the cam-pulley bolts must be done in conjunction with the Ducati tool, as this locks the cams, not the pulleys. This is to alleviate any minor out-of-standard cam-pulley position, but is unnecessary for a simple belt swap. There are advantages to using the Ducati tool and loosening the pulley bolts but don't do this when using the cam-locking tools. As for the mention of springs - there are weak closer springs that just assist the desmo closing action.
I am exactly the same on an intricate job that's been stripped by someone else. There used to be some in depth guides on YouTube which ought to help, despite everything being stripped out already. will have a look - C.A. Cycleworks comes to mind?
Although not an 848 shown here, it's very similar so will help you get prepared hopefully. there are many methods, I don't mark the belt as per this video but I guess it's a "belt and braces" (npi) approach.
I used that guidance when doing my 1098 belts so can confirm it works*. *apart from when doing the vertical cylinder, rotate 270deg forward rather than 90deg backwards.
If it's any use, one of the youtubers has just started a series on the repair of one of these In the second video he goes through the timing belt etc Hope that's useful! I'm doing some research on the 848 - maybe will get one in a year or two - and this thread and that youtube series are very useful. MM
That is really helpful thanks. I'll make sure i put up photos when i do it, to help others (so long as i get it right!)
This bike is like a proper education. When i picked up the replacement engine it didn't come with the generator cover as the previous owner had sold it, as well as the flywheel and starter motor. He had kindly placed the flywheel retaining nut, washer and various fixings back in their respective positions. Over the weekend i decided to reassemble this side of the engine with generator etc, so then it would be just the timing belts to refix. I soon realised that torquing up the centre nut to 330nm with the engine on the bench was a no go, as too hard to hold (and to be honest i wanted to see some fwd motion with the assembly) so i made the decision to fit the engine back into the frame. I then got carried away and refitted the swingarm, forks and various smaller ancillaries. This evening my neighbour came round to assist in the torquing up of said 330nm nut. Whilst torquing it, it appeared that things were not right and that the timing seemed out. This was weird as front belt wasn't on and as i had been told the rear belt had only recently been fitted, i made the assumption its fitment was correct. I whipped the rear head off. I wanted to be 100% sure, plus wanted to check if any previous contact. No contact. I then thought i'd refit the head off the old engine as i knew they were ok, as they came of the bike which was crashed, but engine was working fine (well, pre-crash before it lost its sump and all its oil). Anyway, everything cleaned up, new OE head gasket fitted, head bolted down (waiting to be torqued up). I chucked the rear belt on, but no pulleys at moment. Then i threw on the front belt and timed it up (that one is easy as loads of advice!). Turned engine over by hand and it turned fine and then stopped/locked up. WTF*!*? I checked the TDC mark and then checked TDC using the ole screwdriver down the plug hole method. Nope not tdc. Eh?!* Went back to the generator side and stared at it expecting something to jump out at me. I couldn't understand how the TDC mark wasn't at TDC. So i started working backwards and started removing the flywheel and associated gubbins. I noticed that the timing belt driveshaft gear had a dot stamped on the face. FFS, i know what i have done. I looked at the idle gear on the crank and there is a dot on that too...which according to the manual ... and logic, line up, to create TDC. I had assembled 2 teeth out... Now refitted, correctly, and then decided before i make any more mistakes i'd leave it for this evening. Luckily i was turning it over by hand. The engine will be doing a lot more hand cycles during this rebuild The culprit dots above. In my very weak defense, the dot on the crank gear is very small, especially for my aging eyes... So 1 step forward, 2 steps back. But hopefully this will help someone, (as in anyone else who like me, can't be bothered to reference the manual ) Manual now constantly be referenced on laptop. I am hoping its all plain sailing from now on
Thank Goodness you found it, and with the right approach i.e. never use force on anything unless you are certain.
