Lancia Beta Forum

Technical stuff => Part Number Requests => Topic started by: rossocorsa on August 12, 2012, 08:14:55 PM



Title: cam belt tensioner
Post by: rossocorsa on August 12, 2012, 08:14:55 PM
strangely the cam belt tensioner on front wheel drive Betas differs from those fitted to similar fiat twin cams, all versions use a bearing inside an outer sleeve an interference fit but also held in place with a circlip. The smaller capacities use an outer sleeve of 67mm the 1995cc versions use one that is 70.5mm this presumably is to accommodate the taller engine and longer belt (?). Some vendors list the smaller size for all cars but I don't actually know if the smaller one works on a 2 litre car or not so be careful. Complete tensioners for the 2 litre cars seem to be difficult to find these days and please note that the montecarlo uses a different bearing (more unexpected joys of Lancia ricambi!!)  In any case you can replace the inner bearing and luckily there is a standard bearing available from any decent bearing supplier that will do the job (although apparently not absolutely identical to the original). It is possible to buy one for a few pounds but I would recommend buying a quality brand such as SKF or FAG and source it from an official dealer as at one time there were a lot Chinese SKF fakes about. 3205 2rs is the basic designation make your own research on which is best for you, there are a few variations.

It appears that

SKF 617546 A is the original type

SKF 3205-A-2RS1TN9/MT33 is a more generic size that fits


as usual I can't be responsible for typos and other errors so please check my information yourself before proceeding