Hey Folks, can anyone tell if there is a right or wrong way to reinstall a timing belt?? It's a 1991 1.9, the timing belt lost a few teeth and slipped, my question is....if I follow the directions and line up the timing marks on the cam and crank shafts like the manual shows....how do I know the cam isn't off by 180 degrees??
Is there anyway to check without having to try starting the car?? Or do the plugs fire at both TDC's?? The electronic ignition has me confused as to how it's set (no distributor) and I can't seem to find any other information on it. Thanks
Be careful putting your finger in that hole. You may end up with a shorter finger. If memory serves me as long as the cam mark is in place you shouldn't have a problem, however to be sure do the following. Place your index finger against the hole of the #1 cylinder (closest to the passenger side) Turn the engine over until you feel the piston coming up on the compression stroke. This will feel like a big gush of pressure on your finger. The piston needs to be at the top of the stroke. If you can get it close to the top then you will be able to finish the process by looking at the crankshaft marker and aiming it straight up. This will be top dead center. (one other way is to remove the valve cover and turn cam until both valves on the #1 cylinder are closed then bring piston to top of cylinder). The camshaft pulley has a small arrow mark that also gets placed straight up. There should be a small mark on the head to line it up with. When installing the new belt, be sure to remove all slack from the right side (front of car). Then release the spring tensioner and retighten. At this point you want to turn the engine over three revolutions to be sure the timing is correct. After turning over check to be sure the marks are still correct.
I just finished my timing belt change, What I did in my 95 Ford Escort LX 1.9L Engine is that I installed a remote start switch ($14 from auto zone) and let it crank the crankshaft and let it come to a stop when the crankshaft sproket arrow mark aligned with the oil pump cover mark, then turn the camshaft sproket using a wrentch and socket to align.
Iam not a pro. But I think there is no way you can go wrong here. when u allow the crankshaft to rotate using a remote start, its that the sproket mark will come to a stop only on the correct position. If u use a ratchet and socket on the damper bolt, it might be different. Else I was extremely lucky at that time when I did. I asked the same question concerned about the 180 degrees. Since I didnt get clear, I decided to take a chance (what else I will loose a $700 car?) and it worked well for me. Experts please correct me I am wrong here.
I tried rotating the crankshaft manualy using the ratchet and socket but coulnt be able to plug the sp#1 hole while doing that. So I installed the remote start switch after removing all the sp plugs and wires from distributor and the batterly hooked up. Connected the remote start at the stater solonoids big wire and small wire. It all worked up well for me.
By the way u didnt mention what car is yours. Lukily mine was an non-interfering engine so no damage to the cam heads.
Thats the answer I was looking for, thanks for pointing it out PC PODD....when you don't work with these things very offen some of the stuff is easy to forget....
A lot of good points there Sam, I'm hoping the belt only slipped a couple of teeth but knowing how to check which stroke the plug fired on was bothering me, now if I can get the number one plug out....god they seem to be stuck tight as can be, I was afraid if I pressed too hard I'd break them, same thing happened with my truck, I've been told it's something to do with the alum. heads....btw, the cars a 91 Mercury Tracer that I've only had for about a month....thanks for the infor....
Oooops, after thinking about checking the timing the way you folks are saying....I remembered that wont show me the firing stroke, how can I tell when the electronic ignition is ready to spark the number one plug?? The manual says it has no moving parts, is there anyway I can test which plug it's going to fire??
The vehicle has an electronic cam sensor. It is just like a distributor without the top portion. It's driven from the camshaft. If you set the camshaft sprocket the way we stated the cam sensor will automatically be set and will fire on compression stroke. As long as you get the timing marks set properly you won't have a problem.
Thanks very much John for the help, car started without a problem and maybe even sounds a little better then before....at first it had me a little worried but I remembered it was sitting for the last two weeks and needed a few minutes to warm up, after that....just great.... Thanks to any and all who gave me advice, and no, I didn't use the number one cylinder to "clip" my fingernails....laughing....Mikal For anyone interested or who has friends who collect Wee Folk drawing....visit
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