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Will@LRW

Member Since: 04 May 2019
Location: UK
Posts: 230

1997 Defender 110 300 Tdi CSW Alpine White

Camshaft gear out by a tooth

Looking for some second opinions on the below whilst i'm doing the timing belt on my 2006 300Tdi. Not done it on this vehicle before. It has 112k miles and don't know when it was changed previously, but definitely has been.

The camshaft gear was 1 tooth out on the old belt. I locked the crank and FIP before the belt came off, and the FIP plate was loosened. The vehicle has been running fine and not overly smokey exhaust. It passed an MOT recently. No power issues. I'm wondering if the belt has jumped a tooth, or someone changed it in the dark, or worst case - the camshaft gear alignment has been changed relative to TDC. Don't want to smash the engine on first start....

Click image to enlarge

The oil pump flats look fairly worn. What do you think?

Click image to enlarge LR Workshop
New parts illustrations https://www.lrworkshop.com/diagrams/land-r...ed-corners
Find a Defender's history and spec: https://defender.lrworkshop.com

27th Aug 2025 7:29pm

Fossil

Member Since: 23 Aug 2015
Location: Bolton
Posts: 25

1997 Defender 110 300 Tdi CSW Coniston Green

A while back I bought a 300tdi from what I thought was a reputable dealer in the Midlands - there was even a magazine article on them extolling their virtues. The vehicle was clocked, by about 140k . However being a 300tdi it was still reasonably healthy. They had changed the cam belt as part of their 'comprehensive pre-sale service' (their name and the date was scratched on the inside of the timing cover) and as it turned out it was a tooth out on the cam timing. So, I have direct experience of this and it ran OK but with really not much power. If you aren't aware of what it should be like, as I wasn't at the time, you'd probably think it was Ok. But getting it right should make a very noticeable improvement to both power and economy. After getting mine right I could smoke all 4 tyres - ok, no not really - but towing a trailer suddenly was a lot easier.

It ended up needing a head gasket and I decided to take out the radiator and look at the cam belt while the coolant was out. With the radiator out the cam timing marks are much more easily seen; I found it quite hard to get the timing right until the radiator was out.

If the belt is correctly tensioned I can't see how it could jump under normal running - maybe bump starting might upset it. I think it's most likely to have been timed incorrectly at the previous belt change. You can check easily whether the engine will hit anything internally by turning it over gently with a spanner on the crank pulley, at least 2 revolutions ( I usually do that at least twice to settle the belt. Note also the workshop manual belt tension setting has been updated see [https://www.aulro.com/afvb/technical-chatter/55793-300tdi-timing-belt-tension.html]

For some reason the timing belt kits give you a new crank pulley (why?) but not the big O ring behind it, ERR4710, to stop oil wicking down the crank under the pulley.

29th Aug 2025 10:57pm

Will@LRW

Member Since: 04 May 2019
Location: UK
Posts: 230

Thanks Fossil.

I had turned it over and no interference. I'd read about a single tooth being close to the tolerance between valves and pistons. I also read it'd be fine

I did the valve clearances also to double check and they were all 0.5-0.7mm, so pretty loose. So all back together now, timed up correctly and it runs fine. I can't say I notice a difference in performance or smoke (i.e not much), but time well tell if there's an impact on MPG.

It must have been a quick job previously - as you say it's hard to see without the radiator out. The crank pulley bolt wasn't that tight and I also found a bolt missing from the front cover. The belt was unbranded and the tensioner/idler, when spun, sounded like they had been on since new.

Also managed to change the coolant, flush the intercooler and wash the mud out of the radiator and condenser fins. LR Workshop
New parts illustrations https://www.lrworkshop.com/diagrams/land-r...ed-corners
Find a Defender's history and spec: https://defender.lrworkshop.com

5th Sep 2025 7:22pm

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