well, finally going to change cambelt on my 1.9d felicia next week.

"haynes" manual says not to support engine from underneath (in case of damage to sump), so do i have to make some sort of bar for support from above or is ok to use a trolley jack (with care of course)?

There are bars available to do the trick, I have one so used it when I did mine. I can't see it being a major problem supporting it from below if you use a suitable piece of wood to spread the load. I've seen someone make a really elaborate piece of wood to support a Porsche 944 transaxle (to allow him to remove it on his own), so I'm sure half an hour's effort and some scrap wood would do the job nicely.

I've got a support bar too, very valuable piece of kit, but not strictly necessary to change a belt.. Do be careful though, you need to drop the drivers side of the engine down quite low to get to the belt tensioner so be careful it doesn't slip off the trolley jack.

thanks for your replies.

there is no "lifting eye" on the engine so do you use a "strap" with your support bar or are you able to bolt to somewhere on engine ?

i was thinking if maybe i could use a piece of timber (4x4- doubled up if need be and threaded rod).

i could easily make up a lifting eye, but where should i bolt it to on the engine?

It depends really, I've got a stash of various lifting eyelets from previous projects kicking about, there's always one that you can fit somewhere or other... Failing that on those diesel engines there is a lug cast into the side of the cylinder head at the top that has a hole through it, you can use a shackle or an u-bolt type exhaust clamp on that.. The other favourite trick of mine is to use an old seat belt as a sling around one of the manifolds in a place that is captive so it cant slip off....Anything will do really, but beware that the engine is a heavy chunk of metal and it doesn't feel pain, so just make a judgement if you think it is sturdy enough before you proceed

Oh yer, you might have to undo the earth strap on the back of the engine block on the drivers side as well to be able to drop the engine far enough, it's only a very short cable

ok, cheers for that :beer:

there is a lifting eye, its cast into the head at the front of it, I use a 2X2 section of steel box and a 14mm threaded bar with a D link welded to it to do all the cambelts. use blocks of wood on the inner wings to spread the weight and no problems, I wouldn't use a jack under the sump as you need quite a range of movement of the engine to do the job.

well i got the job done!

made a support bar as per photo

also had trolley jack/block of wood under sump.

got as far as locking camshaft and then realised that the "locking pin" for the injection pump was the wrong one- far too big (laser kit 1868)

so i had to improvise with a 6mm drill bit!

got it all back together and fired it up and had a test drive and everything seems fine.

now for the homer simpson moment-after i had finished i decided to replace all fuel "leak off" pipes. it was only then i noticed an engine lifting eye at the front of the engine- DOH

aww mate, I'm loving that ghetto lifting beam. That is pure legend

the locking pin you mention is probably for the turbocharged engines, but the cam locking plate should be the same. When I do these I tend to use a special universal cam locking tool between the camshaft and injection pump pullies to avoid having to take the rocker cover off, but this relies on them being timed perfectly to start with so if you are unsure your better off doing it the proper way like you have done.

you would have cursed if you had used the front lifting lug, the support beam would have been right in the way for changing the belt.