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DDarn T-Belt shredded while at light-NEW belt

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EscortRacingNY

New CEG'er
Joined
Dec 8, 2005
Messages
24
Location
New Paltz, NY
Ok, so earlier tonite after putting the contour back on the road, went to put gas in the ar, then pulled into traffic, car dies. After trying to recrank car, realized T-belt must have snapped, pushed car into lot, waited for friend to help flat tow, and while waiting, saw Tbelt fragments in opening near valve cover.

Now belt and pullys all new 2 months ago, ran 15 min every 2 wks, so i think defective belt?


Got a new belt andtensioner but now the belt is walkin close to the ctr cover
afraid it may start riding. I am curious if i need more tension?
 
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Always possible but not likely. Especially if quality brand belt. Look at pieces if any and see if one edge really eaten up. Edge riding will tear one up in nothing flat.
 
slim chance of defective belt

slim chance of defective belt

Take it from my experience its NOT the belt!! An improperly adjusted belt can shred itself in a very short period of time. I found two things that caused shredded belts. 1. Too tight of tension WILL cause the belt to walk towards the timing belt cover and shred itself in short order. 2. Some engines had a bottom idler that also guided the belt towards the outside as well. To fix my problem, I removed the bottom idler, followed the ford timing instructions to the letter (including loosening both cam bolts), used the timing tools. Once I did all of the above, my cam belt shredding days were over. Damn frustrating to say the least.
 
There you go. You tell 'im. Those belts pretty durable when in there right. Don't blame belt or you'll do it again, as you will be locking your brain into a track that will make it hard to find the problem. Nothing personal here, but most of the time it's the install quality that does it. One other thing, don't turn engine backward at all when installing, if you do, and the next thing you do is tighten the tensioner, belt will not be tensioned right. You should always roll motor around 2-3 times after timing done and recheck the tensioner to make sure proper tension. Proper direction is clockwise on crank sprocket.
 
andreslobo said:
Take it from my experience its NOT the belt!! An improperly adjusted belt can shred itself in a very short period of time. I found two things that caused shredded belts. 1. Too tight of tension WILL cause the belt to walk towards the timing belt cover and shred itself in short order. 2. Some engines had a bottom idler that also guided the belt towards the outside as well. To fix my problem, I removed the bottom idler, followed the ford timing instructions to the letter (including loosening both cam bolts), used the timing tools. Once I did all of the above, my cam belt shredding days were over. Damn frustrating to say the least.
Click to expand...

Is there a way to get Ford's instructions online?
 
What year car

What year car

What year car is yours? In 98 they changed to a adjustable exhaust cam. The procedures will be different for pre 98 cars than for 98 and later cars.

In the how to sections are pretty good instructions. Just make certain that you use the timing tools available for about $20 and loosen the cam bolts per instructions so that you can set the tension properly. Having only done 98 and later cars the tension is set manually, I don't know about the earlier cars, but suspect it is manually adjusted as well.

Best of luck and don't be afraid to use an impact gun to loosen and tighten the crank bolts and cam bolts, much easier than the instructions in the how to section.
 
over tightened tensioner pulley?

over tightened tensioner pulley?

I recentley changed my T-belt on my ZTech. I read that it is possible to over tighten the tension pulley causing premature wear. It could also be a bad belt too though. Good luck, fitzy67
EscortRacingNY said:
Ok, so earlier tonite after putting the contour back on the road, went to put gas in the ar, then pulled into traffic, car dies. After trying to recrank car, realized T-belt must have snapped, pushed car into lot, waited for friend to help flat tow, and while waiting, saw Tbelt fragments in opening near valve cover.

Now belt and pullys all new 2 months ago, ran 15 min every 2 wks, so i think defective belt?
Click to expand...
 
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sso i got the new belt on yesterday, but now the belt is "walking" dangerously close to the center cover, and i need to know why

Could being a hair off base time cause the shift on the belt as it idles roughly?
 
EscortRacingNY said:
sso i got the new belt on yesterday, but now the belt is "walking" dangerously close to the center cover, and i need to know why

Could being a hair off base time cause the shift on the belt as it idles roughly?
Click to expand...
The tension is wrong which is causing the belt to walk. It is not an automatic tensioner on the iming belt and must be properly adjusted.
 
striker2 said:
The tension is wrong which is causing the belt to walk. It is not an automatic tensioner on the iming belt and must be properly adjusted.
Click to expand...

I just dont know how the tension could be off,since I followed the instructions to the letter, hence why its a bit off time, unless its supposed to be close to the ctr cover

I also tightened up the tensioner bolt and it seems it gave it a bit more tension?
 
You need to make sure the bolts in the cam sprockets are loose when setting the tension. The sprockets are not keyed and will spin on the cam when loose. If the tension is not right the belt will walk.
 
Dec1000 said:
You need to make sure the bolts in the cam sprockets are loose when setting the tension. The sprockets are not keyed and will spin on the cam when loose. If the tension is not right the belt will walk.
Click to expand...


the cams were unbolted and was loose i even went cntrclockwise when installing the belt.


Like i said, i cant see why i am having this problem, or maybe im paranoid.

If anyone knows how far away from the ctr cover it rides that would help, cause it may be just normal.
 
Does your car have a bottom idler

Does your car have a bottom idler

The belt tension is absolutely critical, you need to snug the tensioner bolt down but loose enough so that it moves freely when you adjust. If in doubt adjust it a little on the loose side.

If you have a bottom idler, removing it may help, did in my case. Some cars had em, some didn't.

Having said all of that, if the edge of the belt is past the edge of the cam sprocket you are in trouble. On the edge, you should be okay.

If you used the timing tool, the bar AND the crank pin, I doubt your timing is off. If it runs alittle rough at idle check to make certain that your plug wire tips are dry and firmly on the plugs.

Best of luck
 
CLOCKWISE, not counter clockwise. Counter clockwise will loosen up tension and put slack in belt. There's no need to turn counter clockwise AT ALL. You turn clockwise to put any slack in back (left side run of belt) where tensioner can eat it up to make tight. Turn the other way and you stack up slack in between crank and cams, meaning you have mistimed if you tighten tensioner next. Way the engine pulls belt means it must only be turned one way, same as direction it runs. You can occasionally turn other way, but you are asking to jump time as it is much easier to do so in that direction. Again a function of the way belt system is designed. Regardless, last time turning MUST be clockwise before you tighten tensioner, unless you like doing this over and over.
 
andreslobo said:
The belt tension is absolutely critical, you need to snug the tensioner bolt down but loose enough so that it moves freely when you adjust. If in doubt adjust it a little on the loose side.

If you have a bottom idler, removing it may help, did in my case. Some cars had em, some didn't.

Having said all of that, if the edge of the belt is past the edge of the cam sprocket you are in trouble. On the edge, you should be okay.

If you used the timing tool, the bar AND the crank pin, I doubt your timing is off. If it runs alittle rough at idle check to make certain that your plug wire tips are dry and firmly on the plugs.

Best of luck
Click to expand...


so if it rides the edge of the sprockets, im fine?
 
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