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Thinking of attempting Timing Belt Change

4K views 22 replies 14 participants last post by  coldbear 
#1 ·
I was thinking of doing the timing belt change on 2001 2.0 sedan. What are your alls thoughts and pointers if you have them. Has 152,000 miles and has not been changed. Just bought the car and thought it would be good idea. Let me know thanks
 
#2 ·
Everything you need to know. http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=171242
The timing kit isn't really necessary unless your timing is off. You can mark the belt/pulleys with white out. I do one pulley tooth and two belt teeth. Transfer the marks to the new belt. Make sure you count the teeth on the belt between the marks 3 or 4 times to make sure you marked the new one right.
While you're in there replace the water pump, accessory belt and accessory belt tensioner/idler pulleys. You need to take all that stuff off anyways so might as well do it while you're doing the timing belt.
 
#3 ·
Is this 'white marks' method an accurate explanation? I have to replace the timing belt on a 2002 wagon. It's still running, so I'd rather not buy more parts (in the kit) than I need to replace. Are there timing pullies I need to replace?

Also, how do I tell if my Zetec engine is an interference engine or not? And are all Zetecs DOHC?

The car has 156k miles on it. The water pump is fine, so (again) I don't want to replace things unnecessarily, but I don't mind replacing it if it's the best thing to do. I'm also planning to replace the serp belt & tension & idler pullies.

There are a LOT of different timing belts & kits on Rock Auto!! [???:)]
 
#5 ·
I would not transfer marks to the new belt if that's what I read.

mark the gears the same way but mark on the engine in the same spot as well. mark the crank the same way. its a whole hell of a lot easier to mark gear and block position over counting teeth and is very accurate with no mistakes to be made as in counting.

works very well professionally, allows me to get more done and if it came in running it will come out running the same way. I don't see the point of having to reset the timing unless you suspect its off or if the belt went out. or if you're ocd, but I've seen it cause more trouble than it was worth.


go for the gates component kit (TCK# something) I would get the component kit because you don't want a bearing to seize and eat your belt. same with the water pump if its timing belt driven. BUT, it all depends on how tight your budget is and if you can afford to do the job again if the pump starts to grind or seizes up and eats the belt.

Zetec is non interference and IS the dohc engine. the spi is the sohc. if it asks for Vin info, yours is "3"
 
#19 · (Edited)
... go for the gates component kit (TCK# something) I would get the component kit because you don't want a bearing to seize and eat your belt. same with the water pump if its timing belt driven. BUT, it all depends on how tight your budget is and if you can afford to do the job again if the pump starts to grind or seizes up and eats the belt.

Zetec is non interference and IS the dohc engine. the spi is the sohc. if it asks for Vin info, yours is "3"
I spoke with 2 guys here at work (one races Miatas & the other used to be a Ford mechanic) & they both said to just order the timing belt & mark the cam/block unless I'm experiencing other problems (noise? vibration?). Is this Gates kit something I should order from Tousley Ford?

The water pump is driven off the serp belt. The former Ford mech agreed with most here, saying that it would probably fail within 6 mos if I don't replace it when replacing the serp belt. He also said he never replaced the tensioner (or idler?), but the consensus here seems to be "it's as worn as the belt," right? And from more forum reading I've learned that the Gates serp belt & tensioner are the ones to buy, rather than Ford brand. So maybe I just order Gates everything?

I think everyone recommends the Ford hydraulic motor mount, but what about water pump brand?

Thanks again to everyone!

[EDIT]--
The Gates kit #TCK294B (1-belt, 1-idler, 1-tensioner) & Dayco kit #95294K2 both say they're for interference engines. Is this a mis-print? The Dayco kit even states, "SE Model Engine VIN 3"
 
#6 ·
Iminhell has probably timed his engine more times than I have fingers, but I think a timing tool kit is the simplest way to go for a novice. And when done properly the crank stop pin is probably dead nuts on within one or two thousandths of an inch, which really just translates to very minutely different overlap on the exhaust stroke. Probably not a big deal on a pokey stock '01 zetec.

I think you should get a timing tool kit (mine's from Massive) and a Haynes repair manual and just follow the instructions. The Gates kit Iminhell mentioned is totally acceptable, used it with 3 cars, including my own.

I'd never [:)][:)][:)][:)] around with permanent markers/whiteout when doing something as essential as engine timing, it's simply half assed for very little time and money saved. My perspective about this comes from having an interference engine, it's made me paranoid.
 
#7 ·
it is not half-assed... the first method mentioned I'm not very comfortable with. but if you make the marks directly across the crank and cam gears to the head/block, there is absolutely no reason to get the timing wrong unless you leave too much slack on one side before putting the tensioner on, but that is a different problem.

I will leave it at that though. there are some people that make book time and those that make well under it. using the same method I did a Honda in 45 minutes... book time 3 hours. never had an issue with my own marks. never trust someone else's. oh and never cut corners, that will come back to bite you. that's a bit out of the scope of the thread though.
 
#10 ·
For what it's worth, I was writing my response after you posted yours, I think you know your methods and I trust they work. I still think from the perspective of a novice who's doing this for the first time, timing tools and by the book instructions are the surefire way of getting it right. If he does this, he's not trying to beat flat rate time.
 
#11 ·
The biggest thing missing will be the skills to know when and where to look for the error when it doesn't run. The air pressure and BDC idea can have error in it of up to 5 degrees, there's always bearing, wrist pin slack that makes for a variance.

I never loosen cam sprockets at all, the motor was running before and will run after, the only error you can have that way is at least a full tooth which is easier to find. As touchy as SVTs are I'd be looking to do that on them too. Once you loosen the sprocket you are into minor part of tooth errors, but you gotta be good enough to be able to tension belt and tensioner in range with no timing error. Hard for most.

Use a mark put in line with say a head flat line or similar, putting the line straight up is a mistake, once you look at it a time or two you will find yourself questioning did it run slightly to the left or right? No close hand point of relationship. You'll be second guessing yourself in nothing flat.

I use homemade pin and camtool. The camtool can even be used to custom degree off a bit for playing with nonstock timing.
 
#12 ·
Thanks for the tips & collective experience!! [pray]

I don't have any leak-down testing equipment, or any special timing/Ford tools for this job. My repair experience over the past 13 yrs has been doing 98% of all of the repair work on my 1990 Saab 900 16v & my son's 1985 Saab 900 8v, & maybe 70% of the repairs to my wife's Saab 9-3 turbo. This Focus wagon is my daughter's first car. She's had it for 2 yrs & it's now 11 yrs old with 156k miles. I don't expect her to keep it for more than another 4 to 6 yrs before wanting something different.

So here's what I think I'm going to do:

Buy a Ford timing belt, serpentine belt, tensioner & water pump from Tousley Ford. Maybe a new hydraulic (passenger) engine mount as well. (I replaced the two rubber mounts last year with RA cheapies.)
Since the car's running well (aside from a recent electrical problem after R&R the alt), I'll use the 'paint stripe' marking method to clock the DOHCs. Based on comments, it seems like a 'T' mark on each cam pulley/block would make sense.
I'll print out the 'How To' instructions for the Zetec & start the job on a Saturday morning, giving myself 2 full days to work on it.

Any additional suggestions or ideas would be highly welcomed! [wrenchin]
 
#13 ·
on dohcs I have even made a mark directly across the two gears as well as on the head for foolproof indexing.

one or two more helpful tips, get yourself some of those black heavy duty paper clips. they will go over the belt and clamp it to the cams. get yourself one of those plastic springy woodworking clamps to hold the belt on the crank.

also when adjusting the belt, make sure you have it tight on the side the tensioner doesn't push on or it will go out of time.
 
#14 ·
I'm with the Zetec timing kit and water pump change crowd and although I've read about others not undoing the cam bolts and using the "marking" system on the belt I think as others have said it all depends on your own skill and confidence. For a first Zetec timing belt change I'd go for a "factory" job.

Good luck with the crankshaft bolt:)
 
#15 ·
Zetec timing kit, it makes it mostly idiot proof, if you use the kit. Just one thing to remember, if the timing bar does not fit in the cam slots and the crank is against the timing pin... your cams are upside down, just remove the timing pin, and turn the crank until the cams are mostly upright, re-insert the timing pin, and put the crank against the timing pin.

Also... To get the crank pully off of the crank was hard as the crank wanted to spin, so I put the motor in gear (Manuel transmission) and had my brother hold the brakes HARD) as I put an 18mm on the bolt and wit it with a hammer to break it lose...

The timing kit is $30 on advance auto's web site, Although no one in the store heard of it and said it must have been an online only deal... So I just ordered it.

And since you probably will take the plugs out might as well replace those to...
 
#16 ·
I just did my timing belt and found it pretty reasonable. I purchased the OTC timing belt tool from amazon for around $25. I purchased a Gates timing belt kit 294B with idler and tensioner from rock auto. I also ended up replacing the water pump and serpentine belt, idler and tensioner since I was in there. I have a couple of suggestions:

1) Use the timing belt tools! these make the job way way easier!

2) Loosen the cam gear bolts! Many people on here say you don't need to, but let me tell you it is better to do so. When you loosen the bolts, the belt will tension evenly and your timing will be perfect.

3) There is a great 2-part video tutorial on youtube on how to do this job. I believe the author is srmastertech.

Good luck to you. The job is not that bad [wrenchin]

-tmoney12
 
#20 ·
Anyone have a recommendation for Gates vs Ford timing belt & water pump?

And does someone have the correct length on the serpentine belt? It seems from comments here that getting this length right is difficult for many parts desks.
 
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