Steve, The vernier adjusters are very simple, but lots of mechanics get it wrong. They serve two very important purposes - to enable absolutely precise setting of both the pump and cam timing and also to enable the belt to be tensioned correctly without any "locked in" torque from the camshaft or injection pump.

When you peg this engine, you actually peg the wheel hubs, not the wheels themselves. Consequently, if you fit the belt correctly (a Dayco belt has marker lines on it which correspond to the marked teeth on the wheels) the slotted adjusters will be somewhere in the middle of the adjustment range for each. If it isn't, you've got it a tooth out. Remember that the crank TDC belt mark is at 12 O'clock on the crank toothed wheel, so you need to move the crank to check for registration with the belt mark. This is obvious when you actually do it.

The tensioner system is very simple and is an eccentrically mounted wheel. You need the door handle square to set it and make sure you turn it the right way - Haynes is correct here for once.

I bought a belt kit from German Swedish & French which included the tensioner and the idler. The wheels were made by INA and were identical to the ones removed in every respect, including part numbers. They are of excellent quality (VAG please note) and the ones I removed appeared perfect in every way. The water pump was a pattern - no problems but the old one was just beginning to leak. The water pump is hard to get out of the block - there is a trick...

The supplied belt in the kit was a Dayco - my favourite make.

You only need to jack up the front RH side of the car and remove the wheel - there's no need to go right underneath it. Remove the alternator belt tensioner to make a bit more room. The job is straightforward - this engine is very well designed - and 3 hours would be a reasonable estimate if you have not done the job before.

659.

First kit was a Parrot MK9000 and the second is an IO Play.

The 'head engineer' from the installation company is on his way here today to have a look at the job thats been done.

I have a feeling that Halfords would have done a better job that this company i've got. I called Halfords and asked about installing the IO Play in my car and immediately they've picked up on needing an additional adapter cable so they contacted the supplier who hav said that they don't make a cable for the A3 stereo and hence not possible to fit to this car.

Remember, the 'head engineer' is on the way... this will be interesting...

to keep this response up to date, in case it helps you

the engine stalling and surging problem for the Kalos petrol/LPG model I know of was due to incorrect tappet settings. They're manual adjustment for the 1.2, while automatic on the 1.4 and many other cars. The owner needed to do the minimum service including tappets and all was well again.

For those technically interested, when the tappets were hard up against the pushrods without a gap there were leaks of compression which increased pressure in the rocker case. The MAP sensor adds a bias to the calculation (normally based on throttle cable position) to conclude higher pressure means wide open throttle - therefore inject more fuel. In that case the driver can release the throttle to slow down and instead the car accelerates. Quite scary and a problem discussed about other models, notably Toyota. While some continue to believe carpets getting stuck over the pedals or sticking cables it seems that sticking valves or incorrect tappet operation is a much more likely scenario. Disconnecting the MAP is a quick and effective way to see if a marginal situation like that becomes more stable (the engine calculation defaults to throttle position only to decide the fuel injection).

Hope that helps.

Polar

Hi

I just use Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF for short) to top up my Vectra, Megane and 306. its the same stuff at power steering fluid but a hell of a lot cheaper! I just use what brand happens to be available (Carlube at the moment), has been fine in any car I have owned over the years with no wear or corrosion to seals. (p.s. not that my cars go through it fast, just a bit every few years)

hope this helps

Problem resolved. Old servo contained petrol not brake fluid. Replaced servo and servo hose (non return valve had failed).

Thanks for all the advice.