Timing Belt Change???? - CEG Archives

Anyone have any thoughts on when the Timing Belt should be changed? I have a 97 Mystique with the 4 Cyl Zetech and 89K miles. I read in one place it should be changed at 60K, another at 120K (which seams WAY too long to me.)

Any thoughts?

Also, How hard is it and where can you get the tools?

Supposedly, Ford says the Zetec timing belts last longer than 60K or "the life of the car". I have heard variuous opinions, however.

I would get a new one if you want to keep your car. Somewhere in the archives, are "how to" posts. Others my chime in.

Thank you. Any Idea how much work it is to change the thing? Can you get the tools at Autozone?

Check a shop manual. I think you may just need simple tools, nothing fancy.

Most Zetec owners say they have not needed to change it, but if in doubt, take it out.

well this is one thing unlike that water pump for the duratec that does last the life of the car. Excpecially when you concider most people keep a car to 110k and then ditch it. Well I changed my belt at 104k and the belt looked very good when compaired to the replacement one. only marks on it were from slapping the timing cover.

The main reason for changing it was the tensioner was making alot of noise. when we got it out it was going to crack in half soon. plus with the pullies worn down the belt was not centered on the cam gears.

job can be done with basic hand tools and some good know how. make sure you support the engine and index the cams when you pull the belt off. They will move alittle but but not much, was about one tooth of the gear. also make sure you get the spring needed to tension the belt, stupid one use $7 spring....anyway. take your time and check things out and it wasn't to bad. get the Ford Service manual and it outlines every step and had pictures and such, it is a great reference point

Thanx! I have the Haynes manual and it is OK. Probably get the Ford for something this big.

I have the chiltons manual and it does a good job of explaining step by step what to do, although it is broken up into sections (i.e. one section for removing the cover, another section for removing the belt, etc.). Looks like the only special tool that is required is a balancer puller to remove the crank pully. the other thing that can be difficult is removive is the bolt from the crank. depending on which way the motor rotates, you could put a breaker bar on there and tap the key to loosen it. i have done that before for other cars.

My wife has a 95 Mystique with the Zetec engine and it has about 110K miles on it. The car died on the freeway on friday. i peaked under the timing cover and had her hit the key and i could see that the belt was not spinning so i assumed that the belt broke. I just got through putting in a new cv shaft and ball joint and i was not up to doing any more work myself on the car just yet so i sent it out to be fixed. It cost me $165 for labor so at that price i thought it was worth it for me not to hassle with it. the belt was $23 at Advanced Auto Parts/Part America.

I found out however that the belt did not break, instead IT WAS THE TENSIONER THAT FAILED. I guess the tensioner must have been binding some so when it was torn down the mechanic found the tensioner pulley was broken in pieces. That was a dealer item and cost me $73! Believe it or not the belt lived through this! Since it was apart I had the new belt put on anyhow.

Anyhow, the good part of the story is that there was no engine damage and after repairing the belt/tensioner the car runs good again. The Chiltons manual claims that it is an interference engine but i think it must be wrong. For one, Ford does not have a recommended replacement interval which I think they would if it were interference and damage could result, and the second reason is that www.gates.com does not list it as an interference engine.

If you can handle the inconvenience of being stranded when the belt breaks I say wait for it to break then replace it - no harm done. If not, I'd say replace the belt and tensioner at about 100K miles. I have heard other people on this forum complain about the tensioner breaking. Assuming the aftermarket belt is as good, replace the next one at another 100K or replace it at 75K if you feel it lower quality.

the tensioner on my car was close to splitting in half when we changed the belt at 104k. But I knew something was up since it was making noise on start up, so you pick if you wait or change it sooner, might be better to do it sooner then later

Originally posted by brapple:
the tensioner on my car was close to splitting in half when we changed the belt at 104k. But I knew something was up since it was making noise on start up, so you pick if you wait or change it sooner, might be better to do it sooner then later

What type of noise was it making?

it was a creaking / chattering noise upon a cold startup

it was very appearent that something was making noise on the front of the engine

when I got it out it bearly spunand the cracks were almost to the outer edge about 180 degrees apart

I would say if you have over 100k just change the belt and all the pullies for the belt. they had worn down anyway and the belt wasn't centered on the cam gears anyway

Originally posted by brapple:
it was a creaking / chattering noise upon a cold startup
...............
I would say if you have over 100k just change the belt and all the pullies for the belt. they had worn down anyway and the belt wasn't centered on the cam gears anyway

hmmmmmm....My Contour rattles when I start it. I've read the old posts about the timing belt on the 95's slapping against the timing belt cover, and I'm fairly certain that's what this noise is. However, the car does not make the noise for the first 5 or 10 seconds; then, the noise starts, and continues for 3-5 minutes.

I'm confused about the silence for the first 5-10 seconds. Any ideas? The timing belt looks good.

this noise I heard was not the belt hitting the cover, I did have that also

it was rather noticable that something was wrong

At my shop where I work all day, we NEVER let cars go past 90k miles. And if the OEM manual sais less, then we recommend less. Especially since so many engines these days are 'interference' engines, meaning that valve to piston collision and damage MAY occur. The reason I say MAY is because with interference engines, damage doesn't always occur. Sometimes if the motor was just idling when the belt failed, then it may not ALWAYS cause damage. But if it failed at cruising engine speeds, interference motor will always bend valves. I'd check with an OEM Ford manual to find out if the Zetec is for sure NOT an interference motor, because just that simple lack of knowledge is a difference of several hundred dollars in repair costs. I DO have an OEM Ford CD Rom at work that would tell but I'm not there so I can't give you the data right now. But for something like a timing belt, I would just put a new one on for how many miles you've got.