ZETEC Timing Belt Replacement

[CBen]

Fair enough. And no - I do not gamble.

[coldbear]

If 27-29 MPG around town means my old 2002 gal is running bad, then I SHOULD get 38-40 MPG with a NEW BELT. Right? 168,000 miles. Zetec

[amc49]

Absolutely not.

[mbakker21]

Hello Everyone,
I know this is a bit long but I will start from the beginning. Approx 3 months ago I was having a bad idle issue, where my car idle would drop off completely anytime it was a standstill (was fine while moving) It never actually stalled but came very close a few times. My CEL was on as well and because I live in Canada I had to get my bi-annual emmisions testing done before I could reinsure. I took the car to a local mechanic and he was really good. I turned out to be the pcv hose, he replaced it and did a complete once-over and it seemed fine. Fast-Forward 3 months and its time to replace the timing belt (195000kms im Canadian lol ) I have a friend who is very mechanically inclined and we decide to work on it together to save some $$. I ordered a new gates timing belt component kit (belt, idler pulley and tensioner), waterpump, valve cover gasket, serpentine belt and timing bar and pin kit. We followed all of the instructions to the dot and had no issues with installing all the parts. After looking at the spark plugs they seemed a bit warn out so I replaced those as well. We got it all back together and started the car. I started first try but after a min it started hesitating and having power hops up and down. Started researching it and realized on of the spark plug boots was pretty damaged. We replaced all the spark plug wires (because it seemed to be misfiring on a cylinder) it started again no problem and after about 2 mins it started hopping again, this time the rpms were falling quite drastically. Did some research and OBD reader said cylinder 1 and 4 misfire. Because these 2 cylinders align on the ignition coil it made sense. Hooked up a multimeter and tested resistance. Sure enough 1 and 4 weren't right. Soooooo replaced the ignistion coil.
Started like a dream no issues with idle seemed perfect. Went on test drive 5 minutes in engine stalls after going around corner at very slow speeds. Starts fine no large engine rattling, just severe idle issues at standstill. In your opinion is this timing belt, ignition or possible related to previous issue I had 3 months ago.
Im sorry this was so long, but any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

[FocusGhia]

Did you loosen both camshaft pulley's when replacing belt? Lhc-Focus doesn't release the cam pullys in this write-up, however, not everyone is so lucky and if your timing/tension is slightly out your idle will be effected at the very least. That said your ignition repairs did allow the engine/idle to perform well for at least 5 mins so there may still be a weak point in the ignition system.

One thing to try initially is ressetting the ecu by disconnecting the battery for about 30 mins then re-connect battery and start car up (dont touch the throttle). Allow the engine to sit at idle for about 15 mins.....then if idle eventually settles try driving the car for a few miles. This basically teaches the car new running values. There are several methods of doing this and mine is probably one of many but it is a tried & tested method.

Good luck.

[amc49]

I never loosen sprockets and have no trouble getting it right first time.........you have to be willing to roll motor around and recheck a time or two.

[coldbear]

I agree. Why not roll it around 3-4 times and make sure. That's better than getting it wrong.

[Al Bundy]

Very good write up.

I did this job myself and it took about 7 hours with the cam locking tool and the crank tdc pin. I also changed the accessory drive belt and tensioner, the engine mount, the radiator, thermostat, tappet cover gasket and cooling fan. (The fan mounting was damaged in an accident and then subsequently damaged the radiator but the insurance would fix it.. a whole other story)

I had never attempted a cam belt change before on any engine, let alone a twin cam unit. Luckily my neighbor used to own a workshop and he gave me some pointers on how to loosen the Crank bolt (put a breaker bar on it and crank the starter) etc.

I followed the FSM instructions and loosened the cam gears to change the belt. Had to figure out how to put 100+ Nm of torque into the cam bolts without breaking the camshafts. I ran out of nerve at about 90 http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/i..._strongman.gif. It seems to be holding up well after 2 years.

The car seemed a bit more responsive after the belt change. Maybe the new belt fixed the cam timing that was off by a few degrees due to the old belt being stretched?

I also had a rough idle after I put everything together but that was the plug wires not seated properly in the coil pack. Had that problem before so I knew how to fix it.

Otherwise, the job is not too difficult but like the OP stated, take your time, follow the steps and use the correct tools and you won't have any problems.

[defabricational]

Hey everyone,

My cousin (an auto-mechanic professionally employed) and my self attempted a timing belt job on a 2002 focus ZX3 2.0L DOHC last weekend. All seemed to go smooth until the test drive. The engine would surge / stall / miss on load. If you lightly put on the gas it wouldn't miss or anything strange... half way down and things start going weird.

The Speedometer jumps all over the place... all the way up to 140MPH and back down again. Eventually it comes back to the speed you are actually traveling. The dash makes clicking noises and randomly the door open light will come on for a few seconds. We started looking for the source of the problem.

My cousin felt it must be related to the ignition somewhere so we replaced the spark plugs and wires... and guess what? It started to purr like a kitten again! But this is not the end of my woes...

The following evening I drove the car to his house to watch the walking dead... all ways good and fine until I left... When I pulled away and got onto the road ALL OF THE SYMPTOMS HAD COME BACK!

I can't figure it out. He can't figure it out. Autozone employees can't figure it out. Did we damage something on the harness while we had the engine off the side mount and on the jack/moving it up & down to get at the serpentine belt?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. This is my daily driver and my most favorite car ever... so needless to say I'm hurting.


Thanks!

-Seth

[Missourileo]

You may have stressed the harness to your PCM. Check your wiring harnesses for looseness or stretched wires.