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Timing Belt and VCT Questions

Scotts

Be Gentle I'm New Here
Joined
Oct 27, 2009
Messages
3
Location
South Mississippi
I have searched and researched until I am confused and overwhelmed with information. My girlfriend’s 1999 Contour had a CEL for a day three weeks ago. She said it ran fine with no problems and went away the next day. I found a stored DTC 1383 (VCT over-retarded) when I checked it a few days later. I cleared the code and it has not returned. She’s had no further problems with it. It is a 1999 2.0 (built 09/1998) with 220,000 miles on the original timing belt.

I will be changing the belt next weekend and have many questions:

DTC 1383 – Is this from the timing belt being old or could it be a problem with the VCT gear or solenoid? Do I need to change any of these parts?

Do I need to change the crank and intake gears?

Tensioner – Have seen articles that show tightening with a hex wrench and others that refer to special bolt and spring kit from Ford. Which one will this car have?

Idler – Kits from parts stores have a tensioner and two sizes of idlers. Ford Parts shows a choice of 48mm or 70mm idlers. Have seen a write-up that said use one and trash the other. Most photos seem to show only one idler but I have seen one that appeared to show the second idler located just above the crank. Should I use the Ford parts? If so, which idler do I need or do I need both?

Water pump – Have seen references to plastic and metal impellers. Which do I need and where can I get it?

Will change the A/C compressor due to a slow leak while my hands are dirty. Any tips or recommendations?

Also on the parts list: PCV valve, hoses, thermostat, valve cover gasket, plugs, and wires. Am I missing anything?

I don’t want to throw unnecessary parts at it but want to make certain it is reliable and safe. I want to make sure I have all parts on hand as the nearest parts stores are 30 miles away. I usually work on Powerstrokes, 4.6’s, tractors, and sawmills. It’s been a long time since I changed a timing belt and have never done one with VCT. Any advice and assistance will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for your help!
Scott
 
Get the Gates timing kit from Rockauto. Has everything you need. You will need to get a valve cover gasket. Replace waterpump to. 1383 is a timing problem. If there is a problem with VCT you usually get the 1381 code. It is nice to have the cam alignment tool and crank pin, sells for about $20 to get everthing aligned to make sure the timing is right.
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120487650271&viewitem=&_trkparms=tab%3DSelling

There is a video that will show you exactly how to set the timing on a VCT Zetec. You can try my free text/pic version first. Some people find the video more helpful. http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=51692

To figure out what timing kit you need, remove the lower dust cover from the timing belt. If there is a small idler pulley to the right of the crank gear, then you need the early kit with the smaller upper idler and the small lower idler. If there is no small idler next to the crank gear, you need the later kit with the large upper idler. There may still be a hole next to the crank gear for a lower idler, but if it isn't there, then you don't put one there. The later models did away with the smaller lower idler and used one larger upper idler. That isn't the only difference. They also moved the upper idler towards the center of the engine a bit.

When you set the tension on the belt, you hold the indexing tab (explained in the how-to I linked you to on this forum) in place with a 6mm allen wrench while you tighten down the 10mm bolt on the tensioner. There is a TSB from Ford that fixes the slack and walking issue on VCT equipped Zetecs. I need to put this in the the text how-to. I'll do that now so you can see how to set the cam gears neutral to the new belt. There is no reason to replace the cam gears unless they are damaged. However, if you have a two part lower crank gear (it'll have a separate washer behind it) then you should get the one-piece replacement from Ford. This is also explained in the how-to text.

There is no reason to replace the water pump unless it needs to be replaced. It is not a timing belt driven pump and does not need to be removed to do the timing belt.
 
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