pre98 timing belt faq

Here are the instructions for timing belt service from the Ford Service Manual for 1995

From the information I have read here the timing belt would have a service interval of 60k, but Ford revised it to 80k since there were few reports of breaking belts

some on here have had their timing belts snap, I myself changed mine at 104k and the belt looked new to me

if is up to you when and if you would like to change your timing belt, parts ran around $300 for me, pullies, tensioner, belt, accessory belt, spring, etc

As always use these instruction at your own risk, make sure you use the proper tools and equipment for this procedure

Also included are cam sprocket removal and installation instructions

There are differences between pre and post 98 engines; I believe this is in the number of pulleys and or tensioners, but there might be other differences also that I do not know about





















Notes:

1. Make sure engine is at TDC before starting
2. Remove water pump bolts before removing accessory drive belt
3. A jack under the engine can take the place of the three bar engine support
4. Impact wrench can be used on crank bolt, but I believe it is torque to yield
5. When removing crank bolt step on the brake and put the MTX in high gear, or put a screw driver in the ring gear of a ATX
6. Replace all pulleys when changing timing belt, my tensioner was about to split in half after 104k
7. Cam alignment tool not needed, if you don’t take the cam cover off you should be fine, I did but didn’t use the alignment tool and had no issues
8. Cam sprocket holding tool not needed, cam will move small amount, index the cams and crank before removing the timing belt
9. Changing the water pump is your choice
10. Tensioning spring is needed for correct install for the tensioner, bolt can be optional
11. Take note of the torque specs, alot of stuff in in inch pounds

Great info ty

Thanks to Bill, with teamfordparts.com I now have some small parts I could not find locally. Here are the part numbers as of 1-07 for those in need.

Step 3.
Tensioner Spring = F5RZ-6L273-A
Tensioner Spring Retaining screw = W700001-S1309

I broke 2 T50 bits trying to get one of the Idlers off of the Water Pump. Solution = New Water pump. I was already replacing the idlers, but I still needed the Idler retaining bolts with T50 heads.
Idler Bolts w/T50 Torx Heads = F5RZ-6K282-A

Thanks to the moderator for posting the repair manual. As per Raider's post the timing belt idler tensioner spring and stud part numbers were updated. My local ford dealer charged $18.00 for the stud and $10.00 for the spring. Tried a few aftermarket sources without success. My 96 2.0L is an automatic, removing the starter seemed like a lot of work to get a jam point to prevent the crank from rotating when removing crank pulley bolt. My 96 had a thin metal plate between the oil pan and tranny. Remove the two oil pan to tranny bolts and two small upper screws at each side. With plate out of the way there was a good jam point. The ring gear looks pretty light weight so get a nice firm point of contact.

broken timing belt

broken timing belt

Do you know how much resistance there should be in the rotation of the camshaft pulleys or how I can tell w/o taking the head off if my valves got bent when the belt broke. thanks fitzy67

the Zetec is a non-interference engine so the valves should be fine.

a compression or leak down test can tell you the condition of the valves.