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Another Timing Belt Question

96_ContourGuy

CEG'er
Joined
Jul 8, 2007
Messages
31
Hi, Haven't been in the group for a long while, but hope you guys can help with a timing belt question with my '96 Zetec. I've read just about every post on this subject. A few posts mention a timing belt tensioner spring, but those posts dont mention it for the '96 model year. A few other places I looked don't show one, or, they say that you need it after the FIRST service.

My tensioner pulley shattered this week - right after I was in there last week for a broken serp belt tensioner. AGH! Got it all apart, and didn't see a spring, or anything else that indicated that one was ever there.

Is this part required? I have the part numbers and can get it locally; just need to know if I need it or not.

Thanks
Rick
 
i honestly never used it on my 97 and never once had a problem because of it. i always just pushed the tensioner hard against the belt and tightened it down at the same time.
 
Thanks for the reply. I shot up to the dealer today and picked up the spring and bolt. Talked to a tech; he said he had always put them on in the past. So, I'll stick it on just to play it safe...

Rick
 
It's not strictly necessary, as most tensioner springs aren't, as long as the basic tension roller bolts solidly in place. However, it's a really BIG help to get belt tension right, without it you're guessing. There's no official belt tension figure, at least that I've seen. Those belts don't require a whole lot, the '98 and laters with the sprung tensioner roller itself will drop back down to about zero tension once belt has lived a long and full life. On mine at belt change, the belt slipped right off sideways, even though vehicle ran fine. In your case with the earlier model, spring will get you right without having to second guess how much tension, if you worry, you'll make it a wee bit tighter which is fine for now but may shorten belt life over the long term. Another Ford grand idea, let's nix these springs and just give the assembly line guys a tension device to set it right when put together. Lemme see, that's 250,000 springs saved @ 50 cents each, why that's 125,000 dollars saved! I'll get a bonus for that! Real world though, dealership mechs order the spring to fix your car, makes it easier and quicker to shove the job out the door. "Heck, I can't find the shop belt tensioner, do YOU know where it is??" Now you get to pay later for a part that should have been included on your new car, and I'd bet a dollar that the spring by then goes for more than 50 cents! When you mount all them parts and get 'em right, roll the motor around a couple of times (NOT BACKWARDS, never backwards!) and loosen tensioner again to make sure that ALL the slack is taken up.
 
I nixed the spring, took it back, and got my $16 refund. It got to be a real pain in the butt to install. I couldn't find any tension specs anywhere, so I made it a bit tight, ran the car for about 30 seconds and it whined somewhat. I backed the tension off just a bit, and it was fine.

The job of replacing the belt/tensioner/pulleys are not as big of a pain as I thought it'd be. It sucked, because I was just in there a week before to change a busted serp tensioner. This tensioner was broken as well. I'm betting they were both the factory parts. The only thing I thought was ridiculous was Ford's use of Torx bolts on some of the fasteners - but, that gave me an excuse to get on the truck for the new set that I always wanted!!!

The cam alignment tool is not readily available at any of the major parts stores or the dealer, and is a must-have. I tried using a file, but all mine were too thick. I don't know if you're allowed to mention websites here on the forum or not, but I got mine thru usatoolwarehouse.com, a fine purveyor of specialty tools.

Overall, I'm really impressed with the car. At 140K miles, it runs great, uses no oil, is easy on gas, and all that. I'm a GM guy, and never owned a Ford. Now I have two in my driveway (daughter's '99 escort). I'm seeing Ford's "better idea" each time I go under the hood. At least with GM, you KNOW right off that it's going to be a trainwreck when something needs a repair...

Thanks again for the replies.
Rick
 
My experience is limited to the later zetecs but I thought you leave the bolt loose and turn the engine over twice with the new belt installed, and because of the offset of the tensioner pulley bolt, the rotation applies tension. On mine there was a notch on the block that lines up between the two notches on the tensioner when it's set properly. For me two crank rotations set it dead on.
 
Earlier models had a different design tensioner, you had to purchase a spring. For cam alignment tool, I used hardware store 3/16 piece of keyway stock about 9 inches long. Add a couple of cheap Autozone feeler gauge sets. Take them apart and add one .012" or .013" feeler gauge to the piece of keyway under both cams to add up to .200" total which is the total thickness of the Ford tool. 3/16" is .186-.187" or so. Put the added feeler gauge strip on TOP of the keyway so keyway stays flat on valve cover surface. DO NOT RELY ON KEYWAY TOOL TO HOLD CAMS while turning motor, will wrap keyway up like a pretzel!
 
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