timing belt! URGENT!

[cyrus]

can i get a quick explanation on setting the timing belt after removing.


i know the crank can turn when you're doing it.. is it like... spring loaded kinda turn? or turn if you put force on one side?

if i take off my timing belt, if i do it slowly, is the crank gonna move? what about the cam?

once this is done... if they do move... how can i reset them effectively and get them back to the correct position????


urgent.. very. wanting to start in an hour or so.

[monkeyracing]

Heya, they should really move much, if at all. Just make note of where they are, or, better yet, just set them to where they're supposed to be according to the repair manual.

[freshtiva]

The last two belts I put on I didn't even loosen the tensioner pulley. I hate putting that spring back on the tensioner. It takes a little doing but it can be done. Use a small flat bar, gently !! Get a sharpie and make some reference marks. If something moves you can always resort to the timing marks. Good time to get at other stuff when you are changing the timing belt like water pump, cam seal, crank seal, etc. if needed.

[cyrus]

Alright guys everything went great. I actually was asking because my water pump went out on me sunday night. needed to fix it asap. so i went and got a new bosch pump yesterday and slapped it on there last night. lower timing belt cover is rubbing a bit... this will just melt back right? makes a bit of a high pitched whoosh noise but other than that i think i've got it all going. thanks for the help. very great pics monkey. where'd those come from?

and yeah you're right fresh. was easy peasy... wasn't near as hard as i thought it would be. ^^

[monkeyracing]

You didn't loosen the tensioner pulley? How'd you even get the belt on there? I usually just loosen the bolt, push it out of the way, and re-tighten the bolt to keep it out of the way. Pretty simple really.

Cyrus, the pictures are from the 1992 Ford factory service manuals. Those, in particular, came from the CDrom based version.

On a related note: fordcds.com is now out of action. The dude that was hosting it is being sued by Ford for an undisclosed sum.

[cyrus]

yeah i did actually.. i did just that. moved it and retightened for while i was working. just pulled the belt off long enough to remove the pump then put it back while i was working on the new one.

that really sucks about fordcds... i bet he's pissed....


and thanks for the help.

[25Horseplay]

The high pitched whoosh could be that the tensioner is too tight.

[cyrus]

OHH quite possible. i tensioned that sucker up good lol. used a pvc pipe to push it inward... maybe i'll loosen it tonight. =p i don't want it to snap..

[25Horseplay]

Or it could wear out the tensioner bearing too.

[cyrus]

that'd be bad.... hey is it bad for anything to just remove the timing belt cover permanently?

[freshtiva]

Youd get more dust, dirt and moisture around your seals and bearing.

[cyrus]

yeah... don't need that... i worked on it tonight. took the top and bottom covers off and redid the tensioner. put the covers back on a bit better this time... last time i had a lot of rubbing.. put those back and repainted my valve cover... the last time i painted... i did all blue and then it got partially taken off from degreaser and pressure washing on sunday... so this time i did more work on it... did a base of the blue, then taped off the raised edges and sprayed the whole thing gloss black. then took off the tape. the result, is a nice glossy black valve cover with the raised edges being a bright blue... not too shabby!! lol put my new billet bolt covers on it too. then painted a few other small things. turned out nice. im happy with it. we'll see how it does tomorrow on a few drives.

[jglutz]

Becarfull with the tensioner. If you follw the torque spec in the book, you can reach torque with out the head of the bolt contacting the inner casting on the tensioner. At the factory they put loctite on the bolt and it will reach torque prematurely, thus the head head of the bolt is nit seated. It is very important taht the bolt is tight, the sping is only an aide in this design to get the wheel in place. in this design the tensioner does not slide during normal use. I never have had the problem with the spring coming off. The trick is to take a piant marker and put a mark on the timing belt and cam sporket then the belt and lower sporket. when reinstalling just aligne the marks and its perfect. When the belt is off don't turen either the crank or cam, this could result in a bent valve. The safest thing to do is remove the spark plugs, and take a wrench and turn the crank to TDC. If you are not at TDC when the belt is removed, the valve springs could turn the cam out of postion.

[cyrus]

i see. thanks.