Should I get a timing kit or just try to retension my timing belt?

[99Mystique ATX]

Alright guys, i'm fairly new to the zetec and haven't seen this issue, maybe i'm not searching for the right thing.

When I bought the car there was a tapping sound coming from the timing belt area. Upon a further inspection today when I had the car in the garage and removed the timing belt cover, I noticed that the belt didn't seem to be tensioned properly. There was quite a bit of slack in the belt itself. If I apply pressure to the belt with the car running it stops this tapping sound.

What i'm wondering is if I can just retension it or if I need to buy a the timing kit and replace the belt and everything. The belt itself looked to be in pretty good condition. I really don't want to dump a lot of money into the car right now until I know I have all the issues worked out and it's going to be a good reliable car.

Thoughts?

[zorrex]

Gah, it is highly possible the last time the belt was replaced, that, well, ONLY the belt was replaced. To be on the safe side I would buy a whole new kit if I were you, and if it is feasible in terms of money. The Gates kit (can be had for a decent price from Rockauto, plus with the discount posted in General Discussions!) has been reliable for people.

[2000ZxT]

If the timing belt has never been changed before you should definitely get a whole timing kit. From Rockauto.com they are $91 IIRC, TCK294 (2 idlers) or TCK294A (late model (1 idler)).

[BrApple]

if you are going to go into the timing cover just get a kit and replace everything. the belts normally stand up pretty well, its the pullies that will fail. so make sure you change them.

also its normal for the belt to slap the timing belt cover. use some washers to space it out and you will be all set.


also there should be some play in the belt. maybe 1/4 inch iirc. anyway to tighten the tensioner on a pre98 you use a pin and spring which doesn't put alot of force on it so it could be fine.

[99Mystique ATX]

It's not that I can't afford to buy the kit, it's more that I don't want to sink a ton of money into the car then have more issues to sort out with it. So I wanted to try to see if I could fix it without putting any money into it.

So it's normal for the belt to slap the timing cover huh? I've got more play than 1/4", More like 1/2-1" that I can freely move the belt up and down.

Maybe i'll just get a kit and then replace the timing belt and tensioners. Doesn't seem too hard to do. I need to pick up a 95 ford cd now...

[2000ZxT]

$90 is not much money to ensure your car runs smooth for a long time. The idlers and tensioner are the weak spot, not the belt, as BrApple stated. What happens with unmaintained Zetecs all day long is the idlers/tensioner go bad, the belt starts to slip off and rubs against the clutch cover until it snaps in half eventually. It's the belt going bad, but the only reason it would go bad in this circumstance is due to faulty pulleys.

I'm pretty sure I could put a new belt on with out even touching the tensioner if you have a 1/2" of play. Thats ridiculous, your supposed to have about 1/8".

[BrApple]

make sure you check the pullies. at 104k my tensioner was about to split in half

[99Mystique ATX]

Dang, that's not good. Yea, i'm thinking it's my best bet. The car has 171k and other than supposedly having synthetic oil changes every 3k the guy I bought it from was clueless as to any other maintenance the car had.

I guess he bought it and had it for like 2 months then it was in the accident that damaged the tie rod.

I'm going to register the car and then have the front windshield replaced on wednesday so after that, I may start tearing into the timing belt components and see what I find. I really didn't want to spend the extra money on it but I think it's going to prove to be a pretty reliable car once it's all fixed up.

[2000ZxT]

Please just buy the Gates timing kit. You will not, I repeat, will not ever regret the decision to do so. If you car has 171k you would be crazy to not replace everything imo.

[99Mystique ATX]

Oh calm down, I ordered it shortly after I last posted...

Got it on ebay for $93 shipped. Best price on rockauto was 116 less discount but plus shipping, which ended up being like $118...

Now I get to learn how to do a timing belt...