Help & Advice Needed!

[Rob1973]

Hi all, this is my first post so take it easy!

I have just taken my old Galaxy 1.9TD (Preg 1997) to the garage for a check to see what is wrong with it, as the steering keeps going a bit funny at times. When i turn the car still wants to go straight for a while. It has done this on a few occasions now so i thought i had better get it checked out. The verdict was a list of thing needed to be done to the car overall, Costing in excess of £600 :D

I do trust my garage and would have the work done if i had that sort of money to hand this side of xmas.

But in the list are a number of jobs that i'm sure i can do myself like:

Replace the rear shocks

Replace Exhuast back box

NSF CV boot

But it also needs front lower arms, front upper strut bearings + mounts, nsf track rod end, which i feel is out of my depth. But i wanted to ask if i would be able to replace the alternator belt and PAS belt myself? As i think the PAS belt being loose may be the main cause of the steering issue?

Is it a quite simple task?

Thanks in advance, Rob!

[seatkid]

But i wanted to ask if i would be able to replace the alternator belt and PAS belt myself? As i think the PAS belt being loose may be the main cause of the steering issue?

Is it a quite simple task?

 

It could be all you need to do is to tighten the PAS belt.

 

really need to know the engine code. I suspect it the 90bhp 1Z engine.

 

My 98 S Reg 90bhp AHU engine is relatively easy to replace the belts.

 

AHU engine only (it may be the same for the 1Z engine, but cant confirm) : -

 

IIRC in order to replace the aux belt, you first need to remove the PAS belt. Remove the engine undertray - 4 bolts (2 each side) plus 2 nuts at the back, drop the tray, jack up the drivers side front wheel a little and then you can slide out the tray, and have access to the PAS belt. Loosen the PAS pump mounting bolt(s) a little and there is a rack and pinion type tensioner on the pump, loosen the pinion bolt and then you can use a spanner to easily adjust the pinion and so the belt tension - loosen it fully to remove the belt.

 

If you then want to change the aux belt, you have to remove the air filter box. Unplug the MAF sensor, undo and remove the MAF sensor from the air filter box (two bolts and slide back - dont lose the O ring). Then unclip the the top half of the box, lift it off and move to one side (taking care not to damage the small pipe attached to the back of this bit). Remove the air filter, the front grill air intake hose (push fit), then you can pull the bottom half of the air box up and out. Now you have clear access to the aux belt and its tensioner. You ideally need a tool like this Sealy VSE5753 to easily move the aux belt tensioner so the belt can be removed. Make a note of the aux belt routing, before you remove it - its not obvious how the belt goes on!

 

Remember, diesel engined Shalaxys need the engine undertray fitted to prevent water splash onto the PAS belt - which can lead to heart stopping momentary loss of power assistance (the steering still works but is very very heavy).

Edited November 30, 2012 by seatkid

[seatkid]

front upper strut bearings + mounts...

 

Double check this - the Shalaxy design uses a floating upper strut mount. When the car is lifted off the ground and the wheels hang, the struts drop by several mm. This is often misdiagnosed as a worn mount....

[sparky Paul]

front upper strut bearings + mounts...

 

Double check this - the Shalaxy design uses a floating upper strut mount. When the car is lifted off the ground and the wheels hang, the struts drop by several mm. This is often misdiagnosed as a worn mount....

 

seatkid gives spot on advice here, that's the biggest job on your list and I wouldn't be at all surprised if they are perfectly okay. The strut top bearing arrangement on the Galaxy is very robust, and rarely gives any problems. Garages do sometimes misdiagnose the excessive movement in the strut top, possibly intentionally in some cases.

 

Complete bottom arms are not cheap, but the problem is almost always deterioration of the rear bushes. I know most garages just want to swap the bottom arms for new ones, but a pair of genuine bushes are much cheaper and with modest garage facilities, it's not difficult or time consuming to replace them. 90% of the job is removing the arms and reassembly. Personally, I would rather have genuine bushes fitted than pattern complete arms, and a decent garage ought to oblige.

 

Track rod ends are not that difficult a job on the Galaxy, on the other hand a garage shouldn't charge much, and the weather if far from ideal to spend more time than you have to under the car. Ideally, you would need to have the tracking checked afterwards anyway.

 

I'm not familiar with the belt arrangements on the diesels, but seatkid is, so I would go with his advice again. :D

Edited November 30, 2012 by sparky Paul

[Rob1973]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the quick and detailed replies. As funds are low and most of the parts i need are quite cheap, i think i will look for a workshop manual book or disk and have a go myself. I know very little about mechanics, but it sounds like you guys know what you are talking about. And i also thought that having a look at, and mayben changing the PAS belt and alternator belt seems to be the best place to start. Would the alternator belt make any impact on the steering? Or is it just the PAS belt that the garage described as "loose" or "slipping" that is causing the temp steering loss? I had a quick look around the engine today and i;m not sure if i fancy having a go at the upper strut bearings & mounts or the lower arms :(.

Thanks again for the advice, very greatful!

 

Rob.

[bigdave982]

If the garage gas described the pas belt as loose or slipping first thing as the guys have said is tighten it up and see what hapoens. Quick easy and cheap fix