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timing belt question - double checking my work

S

slothy

New CEG'er
Joined
Aug 5, 2008
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18
Location
Michigan
i have a 98 contour, just did the belt/pulleys/tensioner on it - just wanna make sure i did it correct before i start it up.

i used the TDC pin to get TDC, then aligned the cams using the cam holding/aligment tool. Put on belt, set tension, removed the pin and bar, spun motor 2 times clockwise, put the TDC pin and cam tool back in and everything aligned up and i did this 2-3 more times to be anal and everything aligned up. does this means its okay?

reason i ask/not sure is im not clear on how to deal with the exhaust sprocket/cam.
 
If you were able to turn it over by hand you *should* be OK. Given that the Zetec is non-interference, if you by some chance DID make a mistake, it won't harm your engine. If you fire it up and it runs smooth, you know you did it correctly :cool:
 
Exhaust cam rotates clockwise looking at sprocket, or forwards toward you (front of car). Make sure it's forward as far as it will go by taking a wrench to cam itself, make sure it's against internal VCT stop. Don't force anything, go the other way and come back and you'll feel the stop. Put all marks on and if cam tool goes in then, you're home. That's why I say do not loosen exhaust sprocket on VCT, it's generally not necessary anyway. That way, exhaust cam to VCT cylinder position is preserved. If VCT is dry of oil, you may hear a rapid snapping sound on startup as cam snaps backwards until VCT fills with oil. Should only last a second or two.
 
well every thing is finished (timing tool makes life easy), but i was hoping the reason it stopped running was the idle pulley on tb was noting left but bearing race. the vct is bad and i was able before i did the TB to just ground the solenoid to drive it, well now it wont idle (unplugged/plugged in/grounded), but when rev it runs 1000x better. So my option i have been looking into is a slotted gear or buying a new vct - the car was bought for 800 bucks and well the body iisnt the best, so not sure if im gonna put any more money into.
 
no need for slotted gear

no need for slotted gear

I assume you are talking about the cam 'gears' , if so no need to buy slotted gears, unlike previous versions these cam gears are not keyed to the cams only the bolt tension holds them into place. The vct engines are very sensitive to cam timing.

Your post does not say if you loosened the cam gears to time your car after putting on the new belt , pulleys, and tensioner. If not (and in spite of others adamant position on never loosening the cam gears) look at the procedure that ford recommends for timing AND tensioning the belt. The tools you have will hold the crank in the correct position, loosen the cam gear bolts (honest the world won't end), put the alignment tool into place, put on the timing belt, adjust the timing belt tensioner and then retighten the cam bolts. If you remove the tools and rotate to check for alignment, they won't. Don't worry, bolt it back together and if timing was your idle problem it should go away. I did not use the tools and procedure the first time on mine and it ran like heck at idle and smoothed out at higher speeds. Retiming per fords recommendation did the trick. AND its simply not that hard to do.

Of course it could be that you didn't get the spark plug wires in the correct holes or on the plugs fully.

Best of luck
 
The cam gear is spring-loaded in the fully advanced position, so if the VCT solenoid becomes damaged or malfunctions, the car will still maintain normal operation and performance. However, if the cam gear mechanism malfunctions, or if the timing belt is installed incorrectly, the exhaust cam can end up in the fully retarded position, giving you the same effect as having an EGR valve stuck wide open ... rough idle, stalling, hesitation on tip in, etc
I have posted it many times, I don't know why anybody would take the chance with the VCT and not loosen the cam sprockets when setting the tension or why anybody would say you can skip this step. The ones that do usually do end up doing it again because they have the 1381 code or the belt is walking all over the place.
 
You are taking more of a chance by loosening VCT, when tight its' timing was correctly phased in to the exhaust cam. Once loosened you just introduced more potential error there. I've timed zetec before without loosening EITHER sprocket, it can be done. Engines ran great after. I have never said don't loosen at all, just don't (especially VCT/exhaust) unless you HAVE TO. Don't hesitate to loosen if the need is proven, I just have found it doesn't have to at least not every time. The VCT cam is indeed spring loaded forward, but that doesn't mean that turning engine by hand will automatically run it forward against internal VCT cylinder stop. If you rotate engine just right, exhaust cam can load against valvetrain friction and retard just a little (yes, even though the spring tries to keep it forward, I've seen it)to where all marks can be on except the end of exhaust cam, which will not let camtool go in it. If you then rotate cam forward against the stop (as per Ford manual), tool will fall right in, all correct now, but a novice will loosen the exhaust cam sprocket wrongly and then he gets lost. That's why I say if you loosen one loosen the intake. I gotta ask, what does loosening sprockets have to do with belts walking around? There's a tensioner on the belt, and individual sprockets will find their running area under the belt regardless of where the cams end up. That will have NO EFFECT on belt walking. Also, if you remove the tools and recheck all marks, they WILL reline up provided you rotated engine around 2-3 times to tension belt while setting everything. That tool should go in every time if you take the time to rotate exhaust manually forward as in the book.
 
Look at all the posts of people who have done the job and 6 months later their belt is shreaded. Its their choice if the want to loosen the sprockets. Maybe they will get lucky and not have any problems or they can do it again. Whatever works for you.
 
ya picking up a t55 to loosen the intake gear, everything lined up with out adjusting, but ill do that to see if i can get it better.

now question on the vct gear, do i need to wind it up? ie clockwise, or is it the cam that i turn clockwise while holding gear?
 
Wind the cam itself clockwise as looking at front of sprocket until hits stop. It may already be there, as spring tries to make it go there. If it does not move, go backwards a little and then back clockwise to guarantee against the stop. Stop is inside VCT cylinder itself. Put all marks on and camtool must go in while exhaust cam is forward against stop. To above, if you think you'll realize that loosening sprockets has NOTHING to do with the belt tension. Say for the sake of discussion that the camtool does NOT go in cams with unloosened sprockets. It still will be very close. A moot point anyway, as the sprockets will self center in the cam belt notches on engine startup anyway. Only result could be cams being off ideal timing a small amount. It will NOT AFFECT TENSION and you can't show me how it would, whereas I could show you how it WON'T. Only thing affecting tension is the tensioner, which needs to be checked several times while setting timing and belt. It is CRUCIAL that engine must be rotated several times after the work is done and everything tight to recheck camtool insert and tensioner indicator position to make sure there is still proper tension on belt. I have had to retension tensioner before after belt rollaround to bring tension back up because cycling let it even out and drop off. Sometimes couple more times. I roll around and watch tensioner to see the highs/lows that occur as belt cycles to get better idea of the average tension. If you set tension in one spot and it's a tight spot, you could very easily have zero tension on much of the belt run, not good. Of course, all pulleys must be smooth rolling or belt tension problems too. I'd be willing to bet that those "six month later" problems were from not rechecking tension and did not have enough, you must have a certain amount to make belt run true and straight. Also, a worn pulley bearing can allow pulley to lean slightly and it can start steering belt sideways. Luck really has very little to do with it, but don't ask me, I've only installed maybe several hundred belts of that type on huge printing presses. Many maybe 20 times longer than that little toy engine part. Going around maybe twenty or more pulleys, and twenty times the load of those cams. None of those ever shredded either, unless they had many years of service already.
 
Since you know everything, you should call Ford. They would probably pay big money for somebody that knows more than anybody they have in the company. I guess that makes you super mechanic. Maybe somebody is impressed by the printing presses and other stuff you have claimed you worked on.
 
sigh!

sigh!

As near as I can remember the procedure is:

1. loosen the cam gears, use the 1" hex cast into the cams to hold the cam while loosening and tightening. DONT use the cam alignment tool, badly need cam parts can break off. I use an impact for the crank and cam. Much easier on this old man.
2. Install the alignment bar.
3. Install the timing pin and rotate the crankshaft clockwise (as you face the engine) until it stops.
4. install pulleys, tensioner, and timing belt.
5. Adjust the belt tension, Using a hex wrench to align the marks on the tensioner, then use 10mm wrench to tighten tensioner. BE aware too tight and the cam belt WILL walk off of the pulleys and shred the cam belt. I know this from experience. You don't have to relearn it.
6. Make certain that the crankshaft is still against the timing pin and snug up the cam bolts, again remember to put a wrench on the 1" hex on the cams so that you don't damage the cams near the alignment plate. The VCT on the exhaust cam will take care of itself. Don't worry about it.
7. Remove the alignment plate AND the timing pin.
8. Torque the cam bolts to spec, or if you are like me, use the same impact wrench to tighten them that you used to loosen them.
9. If you must check the alignment again, save your self the frustration. The valve spring pressure will rotate the vct for the exhaust cams and prevent the slots from lining up again. Don't worry, it'll be just fine
10. button it up, and if cam timing was your problem this should fix it.

This is the ford recommended method to properly adjust the timing AND the belt tension.

Good luck
 
well I did it with loosening the gears and it runs now, but has a very "lopey" idle - sounds like my cam'd z06 right now hehe.

if i plug in the vct connector it gets worst, if i unplug its okay enough to drive, but has stalled a few times and at high speed it runs/drives very well.

i took in it to figure out what was wrong when i first bought the car (800 bucks) and they said vct, once i got got cost to replace i left in shock lol. well pulling the timing belt off, the idler was down to the bearing - so i figured it was just the belt being wack.

now that the car runs differnt if i plug/unplug the vct soleniod makes me think that the vct is okay and im still off on timing? i even bought new plugs today just to make sure they were okay.

thanks to all that has helped! its very much appreciated !
 
I rest my case. More confusion does not equal better result. You are right, most people seem to think those toothed belts have to be much tighter than they do, still used to non tooth V type belts. Too tight will make it try to walk, all they have to be is taut, not tight. You really should roll motor around a couple of times to recheck your work, to even belt tension out, and to guarantee that marks reline up, they may move a little as belt settles into place. That allows you to view tension ups and downs too. If you use the range built into the tensioner, belt will be tight enough. To other, Ford doesn't pay enough, I made much more running the printing presses. And no, I don't know everything, that's what allows me to keep learning more. Getting mad because you're positive you're right is death. It closes your mind to improvements in thinking. I've been there too.
 
Thats why you leave the cam sprockets loose when setting the tensioner so they can turn, Then the tension is the same all the way around. No ups or downs in the tension.
 
AMC49 is 100% correct with everything he's said in this thread. I suggest you take his advice.

On later model Zetecs, the tensioner pulley has a mark that when lined up indicates proper position and thus proper belt tension. This makes is very easy. Also because of the offset of the pulley center, turning the engine over by hand clockwise should actually pull the tensioner in and place the belt under tension.

If you have an earlier model, then this is irrelevant.
 
OKAY I noticed the belt is walking to the edge of pulleys, and yet the tension is in the middle of the marks even with car running, so for :censored::censored::censored::censored: and giggles i loosened it up some and didn't change a thing. - any ideas?
 
Thank you kindly, Sir. I'd put that tensioner back in the range. Running to one side or other will not hurt if it's minor. If it goes OVER the edge though, that's when it starts shredding. Belt working against that corner edge starts fatiguing and fraying the internal fibers, later the edge falls apart. Did you change all pulleys? Sometimes one worn to allow a slight amount of lean out of true can start to steer the belt a little bit.
 
Sounds like a loose idler to me. Even a slight amount of play in the idler bearing can cause the pulley to become cocked to one side and make the belt want to walk. This is why it's always a good idea to use the Gates timing kit on these cars.
 
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