[ErikTheRed]

Ok, so I have the car in my shop and up on ramps, ready to change the timing belt and water pump--- and already I'm running into some issues. First off, do you guys do all the work from under the car, or from the top? If from the top, theres several hoses (a/c, power steering, etc) that are in the way, and even after removing the brackets, they don't wanna move much. Looks like I'll need to move these hoses, remove the serpentine belt tensioner, the crank pulley, and the passenger side motor mount just to get the timing belt cover off --- and then still won't have much room to work. If working from under the car, I'll need to remove the right front wheel and the splash guard and still won't have much room to work.

Can any of you post a quick step-by-step procedure for this? I've read alot of posts that say this is an easy job, but I can't see that its "easy" even just to get the cover off, much less working in there once it is. Thanks for any help!

 

[LOWETGT]

All that you mentioned, will have to be done. The items that are is your way of performing this job must be removed or relocated. I haven't done one on a 1.9L, but they are all essentially the same.
Drain coolant
Raise and support car
Remove serp. belt (note routing)
Remove tensioner
Support engine with a jack with a block of wood on the oil pan
Remove the engine mount
Remove upper timing cover
Remove the lower splash shields
Rotate crank to align marks if belt not broken
Remove the crank pulley(mark locations of things for easy reassembly)
Double check timing marks and loosen tensioner
Slide belt off and watch for movement of marks from org. location
Put new belt on so the marks line up after re-tensioned. I like to rotate engine several times by hand/ratchet to ensure the marks realign. Once happy with marks, reassembly is reverse of removal.

I had to do my GTs timing belt one day at work, had done in a lunch hr, about 40 mins, but I had done it before.

 

[EscorGo]

My '95 wagon has a capped hole in the fenderwell that is directly in line with the crank pulley bole. Didn't have to remove the shield. I don't think I even raised the car up. I still had to work over and under though. The engine needs to be supported when you remover the passenger engine mount.

Make sure you spin the motor by hand a few times and recheck the timing marks before you close it up,

 

[Jeffescortlx]

My '95 wagon has a capped hole in the fenderwell that is directly in line with the crank pulley bole. Didn't have to remove the shield.

They all have the capped hole in line with the crank bolt but, you still need to remove the splash shield to remove the crank pulley and line up the crank marks.

Remove acc belt (and maybe the tenstioner arm)
Remove tire.
Remove splash shield.
Remove crank pulley.
Remove motor mount.
Remove timing belt cover.

You can work around the A/C lines, just take out the mount bolts to give you some more wiggle room.
I normally remove the cruze gut's and move it off to the side.

Now you can get to the belt & water pump. Line up the marks on both the crank, and the cam. Install new belt & pump, then make sure marks are still lined up before intalling the rest of the parts.

 

[93lx4door]

when i done my t belt and water pump a few weeks back i found that its much easyer to remove the ac and power steering pumps

 

[ErikTheRed]

So are you working from the top of the engine or from underneath when removing/installing the water pump? (this will probably be self-explanitory once I get that far.) How much will the engine move once I have the motor mount off? Just an inch or two, or enough to give some work room?

I was able to move the timing belt cover enough last night to get a good look at the belt, which is loose as a goose..... TONS of slack in the belt, which tell me either the water pump pulley or the tensioner pulley has failed, the belt moved, and thats why the car is dead.

 

[juggalo]

at least these motors r not interference motors. when i replaced my timing belt and water pump i did not take out the a/c pump, steering pump, or the motor mount. i did it from the top but only got under the car to remove the crank pulley. i didn't have an impact gun but i did find a hole in the tranny and used a thick enough allen wrench to lock the flex plate while i unbolted the crank pulley.

 

[ErikTheRed]

Ok, I got the new water pump installed and I'm ready to put the timing belt on. BUT, I'm a bit confused on the "lining up the timing marks" deal. How do I know that by lining up the crank timing mark that the engine is at TDC on the compression stroke? How do I know I'm not at TDC on the exhaust stroke? Or does it even matter??

 

[Intuit]

Crank pulley is much smaller than cam. Crank turns twice for every one turn of the cam. One turn for the cam is one cycle. One turn for the crank is half a cycle. (sorta) One turn for the cam is one complete cycle (intake + exhaust,) mainly because each lifter/valve has it's own cam shaft lobe to operate off of.

All you have to do is make sure that the crank is lined up on it's mark, and the cam is lined up on it's mark. Once you set and lock the tensioner, turn the cam for two complete revolutions (1 extra to be safe) and check that both marks are aligned again. Recommend giving that spring on the tensioner some assist before locking it, as the belt will stretch and eventually make your timing a little sloppy.

 

[ErikTheRed]

Yeah ok, that makes sense. The valve events are timed by the cam gear, so as long as the cam gear and the crank are in sync, the timing will be correct. The CAM decides what the compression and exhaust cycles are, not the crank. Just gotta make sure the crank is TDC #1 and the cam is straight up (lined up with the marks) and the cam takes care of everything else. Gotcha.

As for the job so far, all I can say is, I need smaller hands. This is a BLOODY KNUCKLE job, and I have the scars to prove it. The most difficult part of the job has been getting the hoses off the old pump and on the new. Also, it woulda been nice had Ford used studs instead of the water pump bolts, as getting the gasket and the pump lined up with the holes and holding it all in place while trying to start a bolt is damn difficult with my big ol' sausage fingers.

Tomorrow I will line up the pulleys, install the belt, set the tensioner, and check everything 17 times before I put all back together again. Oh, speaking of the tentioner, I have read some comments that say to pry the tentioner against the belt before tightening the bolt, and others have said that its not necessary--- simply let the tentioner spring do the work, rotate the engine a few times, and secure the bolt. Which is correct? The instructions that came with the pump say to just let the spring do the work, but the instructions also say that the 1.9L Ford engine is an interference engine, which it isn't.

 

[denisond3]

I pry the tensioner against the belt -gently-. Not much pressure, maybe 10 lbs. And this is after I had first snugged the tensioner bolt, then rotated the engine two or 3 times. Then re-loose the tensioner bolt, and push back against it with a wooden stick. Then torque it down. Thats what I do with a new belt. With a used belt I wouldnt do that - would just let the tensioner spring provide the tension. A used belt wont stretch at all.

In fact thats about what i do with any car having a spring loaded tensioner for its rubber timing belt.

 

[Intuit]

Worn waterpump bearings place A LOT of extra stress on the timing belt. So it should be new. If not, spend the extra 30 bucks and save yourself the trouble later.

In addition to what Denisond mentioned, I think another reason why you find conflicted information could be because whether or not you experience the problem of belt stretching, is dependent upon your transmission and/or driving habits. Purchased various top-of-the-line more expensive timing belts and still had the problem. But drive a manual shift (naturally more jerky and 'torquey' than an automatic) and have a lead foot.

Also, didn't mention it initially because of a few concerns, but I've used the starter to turn it over after manually confirming that the timing marks stayed put. Holding the accelerator pedal to the floor, before begin cranking, prevents the injectors from firing and thus, the engine from firing or starting. (minus some rare anomaly like leaky injectors or mis-calibrated TPS)

 

[ErikTheRed]

I think I'll pry (or push) the tensioner against the belt just a scosh to be sure.

Funny thing, when the car was running (before the belt lost a 5" section of teeth), there was a horrible clacking racket coming from underneath the timing cover. This usualy indicates a failing water pump or tensioner pulley, and the failed belt only confirmed it. But holding the old wtaer pump in my hand and spinning the pulleys, I can't hear any racket and neither of the pulleys have excessive play. In fact, the pump pulley has ZERO play and turns just fine, while the tensioner pulley has just a slight bit of play but still rolls great. I expected to find something much worse, because its hard to believe there would be so much noise and then have the belt fail when I can see so little wrong with the old stuff. I dunno, maybe theres a huge difference when theres alot of pressure on the pulleys, which I can't replicate while holding it.

 

[LariRudi]

Just trying to learn

I think I'll pry (or push) the tensioner against the belt just a scosh to be sure.

Funny thing, when the car was .................... I dunno, maybe theres a huge difference when theres alot of pressure on the pulleys, which I can't replicate while holding it.

So, in addition to your OLD pump "seeming" "solid", are you saying you have the new one IN? and the car running? and the noise went away? or............... ?

Thx,

LarryR : )

 

[Intuit]

.... holding the old wtaer pump in my hand and spinning the pulleys, I can't hear any racket and neither of the pulleys have excessive play. In fact, the pump pulley has ZERO play and turns just fine, while the tensioner pulley has just a slight bit of play but still rolls great............

Pump turns fine and will not leak, but the pulley will angle on it's axis to slap the loose backplate. Verified this with my own pump when was way back at 120k. Didn't take a lot of force to move the pulley off it's access. Very easy.

 

[ErikTheRed]

Re: Just trying to learn

So, in addition to your OLD pump "seeming" "solid", are you saying you have the new one IN? and the car running? and the noise went away? or............... ?

Thx,

LarryR : )

Yes, the new pump is in, but I don't have the new belt on yet and the car isn't running yet, so I'm not sure if the noise is gone.

Anyone know the torque specs for the water pump bolts? Right now I just have em gute'n'tight.

 

[Intuit]

Per Haynes, 15-22 ft-lbs under 1.9L and 2.0 SPI. I HAVE to follow torque specs. Terrible with getting things either too tight, not tight enough, or unevenly/inconsistently tight.

 

[ErikTheRed]

Thanks for all the advice, fellas! I should have this thing buttoned up and running by tomorrow evening (depending on time, maybe even tonight) and I'll let you know how it went.

 

[ErikTheRed]

Project complete!!

Got everything back together, refilled the radiator and the overflow tank, and she fired right up! Sounds great, the "clacking" is gone, and it even seems snappier on the throttle than before. I haven't pulled it out of the shop and taken it for a drive yet, but it runs and sounds really good.

Is it normal for the new timing belt to make a slight whining sound? I'm guessing it is and will likely go away after the belt wears in and stretches a bit. Its not bad but certainly noticeable. I'm hoping I didn't get the belt too tight, I was paranoid about it slipping and then having to go back in and re-do everything. Ah well, we'll see how it goes.

Thanks everyone for the help! Now I gotta fix the damn cooling fan.

 

[ErikTheRed]

4 days of driving under the 'belt' now and all is well! Car is running fantastic, no water leaks, heater works better than ever, and that nasty clacking noise is history! Sounds and runs like a new car!

Thanks everyone for the help and advice. This website has been a great resource. I have a few other projects on the ol' Escort to tackle so I'll be hangin' around asking a few more questions!