Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Zetec Maintenance timing belt

my belt rides pretty close to the edge, should i replace it along with all pulleys? about how long do ya'll think it would take to change it, crank shaft pulley, water pump, thermostat, and pcv valve at same time with my dad (mechanic) helping me? i have to save up a good bit of money before i do it all so i can get the h2o pump, udp, and timing belt parts.

My daughter's 'Tour just had the belt replaced at around 88,000...it was making quite a racket...sounded
like it was trying to fly out of the engine. I think the tensioner was replaced as well.

My Mystique has just over 90,000 on the original belt. What I'd like to know is why the owner's manual
AND the factory service manual say absolutely nothing about any interval for changing the belt?

The dealers I've asked all say 60,000 (do they just want my money?). A co-worker with a Trooper says his
manual indicates the belt MUST be changed at 60,000 or serious engine damage occurs (its not a zero
clearance engine).

No one around here can tell me if the Zetec is a zero clearance engine or not! If the belt breaks, will the
engine just stop like my old Escort or a friend's K-car? Or will bits of engine come flying out in all directions
like the 4th of July?

no1 knows for sure, but supposedly u'r engine will survive a broken timing belt.

IIRC from discusions before the original service interval was 60k miles but when Ford saw that the belt was doing good and there weren't many failures they pushed it back to 80k. But I think I have heard the line for the life of the car, and most likely most people would not keep a car past 100k so if the belt lasts that long it has lasted the life of the car.


I knew something was up with the tesnioner because in the morning I could hear it making noise when the car was started. Also I think the accesory belt tensioner is making noise now...

my father and I only changed the timing belt but it took us about 4 to 5 hours taking our time and making sure everything was right

i had acc. tensensioner pulley changed to get rid of some noise. if i had a breaker bar i would have done it myself, doesn't look too hard to do other than it's cramped space.

In my case, the belt looked good as new at 52,000 but one of the idler pulleys was already worn all to hell.

i get a high idle at first when i start car, a little higher then i would expect most cars do. also the engine is a bit noisier than a stock zetec, could this be from bad timing belt pullies?