Timing Chain on a Ford

I have heard that it is advisable to change the timing chain on a Ford engine. I have a Scorpio (1996) 2.0 8v which has dome 73,000 miles. I spoke to Ford Service manager who stated it is not worth doing, his analogy was that "if you thought a gearbox may last 80,000 miles would you change it just in case? or let it run it's course" He went on of course if you want it changed for the sake of it we will. Any thoughts as I would hate to have to change the engine through bad advise. Robin

Reply to
Still_21
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A timing chain will give you some warning if it's on the way out. Did the manager chappy have a listen to it?

Si

Reply to
Mungo "two sheds" Toadfoot

This has been discussed at length several times in the past..

The chain on the I4 has a propensity for sudden disaster anytime after around 60k miles.The head is not actually an interference design, however when the chain snaps, it invariably wraps around the crank sprocket, jams against the case and snaps the nose off the crank rendering the engine scrap.

The basic problem is marginal lubrication, so if its had regular oil changes, and the chain is absolutely silent at all times including cold start (the tensioner is hydraulic and a stretched chain will make a noise before oil pressure reaches tensioner) then you could in theory (and hope) leave it more towards 80-90k or so.

Ford do a kit for around £160 which includes the triangle shaped guides, tensioner arm, cover gasket and various bits and bobs. For a reasonably competant home mechanic its a 3 hr job requiring a fair bit of dismantling, but pretty straight forward.

The general tips are dont drop anything, else you'll be taking the sump off to recover them (not easy- cross member in the way) mark the cam sprokets up with extra marks as these have to come off. Be sure to torque especially the crank pulley and cam sprockets up to the correct figure after.

Tim..

Reply to
Tim (Remove NOSPAM.

There is no noise, to my ears only, it was just a question to ask as I had heard it's advisable. The car has been regulary serviced and the engine is very quiet. (I do sometimes get a whine, but when she gets out it goes!!) Robin

Reply to
Still_21

dismantling,

i bought the whole kit (including oil pump chain and tensioner and front cover and all sorts of other stuff) for less than £120 it is a fiddly job though, and not to be tempted unless you have easy access to someone who knows what they are doing (even a phone call might do the trick) just make sure you get the front pulley bolt out before you decide to make any other plans :)

air cleaner/pipe assembly off rad fans out crank bolt out belt off dizzy off rocker cover off front cover off bottom pulley off (needs a puller) lower front cover off time engine up (crank at TDC, cam sprocket either side at more than 180 degrees where the little white lines meet the head, not opposite each other) undo the bolts that hold the guides in place and the tensioner sprocket as well (little circlip, don't drop this) undo cam sprockets (T55 torx) pull chain out through the top once you have removed the bottom oil pump chain and main crank sprocket remove the "bomb" tensioner (£25 a time and once it goes off, you need to buy another one) you also need to remove thewoodruft key from the crank (not easy as you can't see it where it is) when you refit the chain, place the "bomb" where it needs to go and hold it in place by way of a carefully placed screwdriver slotted in through the front of the engine in the sprocket for the tensioner wheel refit the new chain guides (remembering to use locking thread compound on the bolts you are refitting) the new chain will come with copper links on it and these line up with the bottom pulley sprocket and the cam sprockets easy once you've figured it out once it's all back together again, fit the bolts back in the sprockets you are turning (remebering to remove the screwdriver that is holding the bomb at bay) turn the engine through a few revolutions and make sure the timing marks are where they should be (the copper links won't be so you need to make sure you are certain of the marks on the pulley's/sprockets) while you are turning the engine over (by hand, via the crank pulley bolt) the "bomb" should go off and lock everything back into place and then you refit everything you removed, remebering that you need to put silicon crap on the rubber gaskets don't wash them down with any sort of degreaser crap as the rubber will expand, remove the rubber before you clean them down and if you fit a new lower cover you will also need to grind the bolts down by at least 1/4 inch as they will be too long

if you want to renew the oil pump chain as well then this is advisable at this time (it's only another £20 odd for the chian and tensioner and everything)

it's all straightforward stuff, but it's just fiddly and oil and crappy allow a day to do this, and if you finish early you can relax :) it kills you back though

Reply to
dojj

I stand corrected then, if there are no warning rattles.

Si

Reply to
Mungo "two sheds" Toadfoot

That's as bad as MSF Ford that said a heater in a car didn't work due to the thermostat! He didn't understand how the heating system worked and didn't even know the matrix was blocked. A lot of so-called mechanics can only plug computers in now, or change bits - they haven't a clue how to diagnose! I had an oil seal changed, so they took the gearbox out and changed the clutch, then forgot to put the new oil seal in !

Reply to
klf

Erm, that can quite often be the case. Was on my s**te old Escort anyway.

Reply to
SteveH

Its very hard to give positive advice on a newsgroup - think about it the timing belts on the new fiestas are suppose to last 100 thou miles, would anybody leave theirs that long?

Bill

Reply to
Bill

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