88 ford escort problem (timing belt)

Is there any "quick and easy" way to replace the timing belt on an 88 ford escort (1.9L engine). Mine recently broke and when looking at it there is very little room at the bottom to fit the new belt in. can anyone give me any tips that would save me a bunch of time instead of having to almost tear down my whole engine to repair it?

Reply to
skoalman
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Well.... it's a prety straight forward job that takes less than 3 hours in the shop (I think "book" time is around 2). There is a plastic guard that has to come off as does the front crank pulley. Motor mount needs to be undone and the engine supported. There's what appears to be a metal cover at the top of the motor at the front... IIRC, don't bother with this....

Oh, hell... why not just buy a shop manual.... Haynes and Petersen are less than 20 bucks...

Reply to
Jim Warman

It's not a hard job. You will have to remove the crank pulley, 1 bolt and it slides right off. There's a special wrench for the tensioner bolts, but you can modify a cheap 10mm box wrench to work. Replace the water pump while you're there, that's usually what takes out the timing belt. You don't have to remove the engine mount but doing so gives you a little more room.

Reply to
Tom Adkins

You can undo the engine mount by the belts and use a floor jack to raise and lower the engine as needed. Lower the engine to remove the pully, raise the engine to do the tensioner, etc. I watched a someone do mine years ago, planning to do it myself soon.

Replace the water pump or when it goes you will lose your new belt if the pump seizes. Also replace the accessory belts while you are in there. If the belt broke make sure the cam and crank shafts are properly aligned and the distributor is pointing to #1 cylinder.

Reply to
sleepdog

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