A couple other notes:

The accessory drive belt (serp belt) idler after 70k miles had a shot bearing. Do you know how to remove it, since there isn't enough room between the block and the unibody rail to remove the bolts?? Jack up the engine about a foot?

The sneaky Ford guys put a plastic (what else?) bushing in the middle of the idler bearing. If you pull the bolt out of the idler WITH the bushing still up on the bolt, it allows you to pull out the bolt another 0.020", thus allowing removal of the idler without removing the engine.

Also, after only 70k miles, my valve cover gasket was leaking oil into the plug wells and filling them up. Of course, the local Ford dealer didn't stock it but he could order it - at 20% over retail, of course. THEY DON'T STOCK A #^$%#^%$#^$#^% VALVE COVER GASKET ?!?!?!?!?!

I would normally order everything from Steve of course - but my car is all apart. So I found a dealer about an hour away that Steve sent me to previously who had the parts and really helped me out - had a runner drop them off at my work addy. Except he sent me the wrong gasket and they don't have any of the right ones on hand. So Kevin at Tousley is going to overnight me a couple.

Buy the Ford timing belt tools.

When you are lining up the crankshaft with the cams and you have the Ford line-up tools inserted, spin the crank (CW) to make sure the crank is ON the pin, as in hitting it. THIS IS CRUCIAL! If the belt moves when you tighten up the cam bolts, the crank moves (relative to the cams!) and your alignment is screwed up.

When you spin the engine by hand to check everything, turn it from the crank - NOT the cams. If you spin it from the cams, the belt isn't tight in the right places and screws up the timing. Ask me how I know......

When you open up the intake cam gear VCT housing thing, it will barf oil all over. The manual just says remove the cover. Barf.

 

Okay, I'll bite.... why are you removing the timing gears to do a belt??? :dunno:

 

Sounds like a load of fun... makes me look forward to doing mine soon...

 

Okay, I'll bite.... why are you removing the timing gears to do a belt??? :dunno:

Not removing, but loosening so that the gears turn freely (as the manual emphatically states), because the old belt is stretched - sliding a new belt on the cam gears in the old position is a great way to get a CEL. The VCT is VERY sensitive, and getting it off just a tiny bit will throw a code. I followed the shop manual exactly, and had zero issues except a few places where they could have been clearer, which I will add some commentary above about.

 

Sounds like a load of fun... makes me look forward to doing mine soon...

Except for the exotic tools, it was easier than some other T-belts I've done. If you read the procedure thru and have your tools in hand it can be done in 2-4 hours. When I do it on the track dog SVTF I'm sure I can get it done in a couple hours.

Here is a great deal on the Torx stuff: Buy it now and have it ready!!!!
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200310552_200310552


The old 70k mile belt looked fine, BTW, but you really can't tell much from looking.

 

Bringing this back up. Northern doesn't seem to carry that kit anymore...at least not that I see online.

Anyone know of another good kit that has both sizes?

 

Because the old belt is stretched - sliding a new belt on the cam gears in the old position is a great way to get a CEL. The VCT is VERY sensitive, and getting it off just a tiny bit will throw a code. I followed the shop manual exactly, and had zero issues except a few places where they could have been clearer, which I will add some commentary above about.

I still don't understand what that has to do with taking off the cam gears. The gears shouldn't have moved on the cams, regardless of what the belt does.

 

Dang, sounds like you had an adventure.

The SVT vc gasket is as you found out different from the regular Zetec, It's an SVT after all.

As for the T-55's, They are all over the car. You'll need them to do a clutch as well.

When I was helping a guy do his clutch we picked up a couple t-55's at autozone.

Always buy two as Torx bits tend to break.

 

I still don't understand what that has to do with taking off the cam gears. The gears shouldn't have moved on the cams, regardless of what the belt does.

Well, it makes sense to me. Pin the crank and the cams in perfect alignment, loosen the intake and the exhaust gears to let the belt go exactly where it wants relative to the crank without affecting the crank/cams alignment. The spring tensioner puts the right amount of tension in the belt with no resistance from the gears.

But I am sure there are plenty of folks who do just what you are describing and maybe they get a CEL, maybe they don't if the belt hasn't stretched much and the cogs on the new belt slip right into the gear teeth just like it was. But I've never (30+ years) had any T-belt just slip right in. Always had to tweak a gear to get a new belt on.

 

Dang, sounds like you had an adventure.

The SVT vc gasket is as you found out different from the regular Zetec, It's an SVT after all.

As for the T-55's, They are all over the car. You'll need them to do a clutch as well.

When I was helping a guy do his clutch we picked up a couple t-55's at autozone.

Always buy two as Torx bits tend to break.

Like I said, the goofy fastener tools were really the issue, with no mention beforehand from the manual. The Zetec alignment tools I got from you worked quite well.

Yeah, I was SUPPOSED to get the SVT gasket today. If I had to order one, I'd have ordered from you. Interesting that the SVT gaskets are almost 1/3 of the price of the standard Zetec!! So I bought two (two cuts the price of overnight shipping in half....).

 

Well, it makes sense to me. Pin the crank and the cams in perfect alignment, loosen the intake and the exhaust gears to let the belt go exactly where it wants relative to the crank without affecting the crank/cams alignment. The spring tensioner puts the right amount of tension in the belt with no resistance from the gears.

But I am sure there are plenty of folks who do just what you are describing and maybe they get a CEL, maybe they don't if the belt hasn't stretched much and the cogs on the new belt slip right into the gear teeth just like it was. But I've never (30+ years) had any T-belt just slip right in. Always had to tweak a gear to get a new belt on.

I wasn't describing anything, I just asked why you needed to loosen/remove the gears. I've never run into that problem myself, but your answer makes sense.

 

Did you replace the timing belt tensioner and idler pulleys when you changed the belt? Or did you just do the belt itself? I have a new belt and the tools, just wondering if I should wait on the funds and do the tensioner and idler too.

 

On these cars, from what I've heard, the tensioner and idler usually go bad as often as the belt - maybe more.

DEFINITELY get a new idler and tensioner.

 

Man, I just bought the gates kit and thought about it this morning! So thanks for the post, it was a life/time/car/aggravation saver.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...0552_200310552

That is a nice little kit, i have a torx set from the saturn interior and clutch, but not any External sockets. The autozone near me didnt carry the E18, and a google search found them 8-10 bucks; the sets not a bad idea. 22 bucks aint a bad life investment... unless gas disappears.

Buy the Ford timing belt tools.

I did a google search and found lots of different stuff, which are you talking about?

 

For the SVTF there is a two piece kit from Ford. Call Steve and he will get them to you.

So I guess now I'm ready to tackle the P1381 trouble code on the other SVTF (trackdog). First thing I'm going to do is set up the timing just like the book says. Hopefully my CEL will go away!

 

For the SVTF there is a two piece kit from Ford. Call Steve and he will get them to you.

So I guess now I'm ready to tackle the P1381 trouble code on the other SVTF (trackdog). First thing I'm going to do is set up the timing just like the book says. Hopefully my CEL will go away!

The 1381 code is a VCT check error code for over advancement of the VCT mechanism. You'd have to have a malfunctioning VCT system, or the cam would have to be REALLY off (as in, a few teeth) to get that code. Being off a degree or two or a half tooth on the cam should't trip that code.

But, stranger things have happened, so I'd still like to hear if that solved it.

 

From what I've learned on the "other" forum, the over-advanced VCT codes are very, very common when anyone has been inside the timing cover. P1381 is very common after a T-belt, and it doesn't have to be off much - certainly not a couple teeth, but much less.

I am hoping the T-belt was done and they just didn't get it right. So far the previous abuser didn't get much of anything right.

 

Great advice and warning on tools. I'm bookmarking this thread for future use...

 

The DD that I did the T-belt on Friday is still running great.

Ripping into the track dog SVT yesterday to get rid of the P1381 code learnt me a few more things.

First, the exhaust cam bolt can downright seize - have an impact wrench available for that T55 Torx. The Torx depth on that bolt is very shallow and you can't get the Torx bit deep enough to keep the bit from ****ing and popping out if using a ratchet. I used an impact while holding the cam with a wrench.

Second, the cams were indeed way off. I reset the cams where they should go, leaving the timing belt in place, rotated the engine and re-checked the timing, reset the trouble codes, and bingo. The car barely ran at all. I noticed that the VCT housing had no oil in it when I removed the cover screw - could be a bad solenoid.

 

The 1381 code is a VCT check error code for over advancement of the VCT mechanism. You'd have to have a malfunctioning VCT system, or the cam would have to be REALLY off (as in, a few teeth) to get that code. Being off a degree or two or a half tooth on the cam should't trip that code.

But, stranger things have happened, so I'd still like to hear if that solved it.

I’m not so sure about you statement that it can be off a degree or two. Mine some how got off during the process of changing the belt. (also I used the ford directions)

I have tried several times to get back in time, we have event checked the cams after I ran it for a few days and I was able to set the pin back in and install the cam alignment tool. But my car runs pretty darn good, the SC may help with that so I’m not going to mess with it until I totally eliminate the VCT altogether.

 

yup timing is cake walk. i already had the torx due to me spending more money on snap-on tools them what my i payed and put in my SVTF, oh well

 

Okay, the track dog got a full T-belt kit last night. Learnt some more lessons.

While the DD lined up the first time, the track dog took a dozen iterations to get the cams lined up right. I don't know why, but every time I re-aligned it, it got closer to staying in alignment.

I noticed when I opened it up, the T-belt was riding on the outside edge of the gears - the middle timing cover and the serp crank pulley were holding it on the gears. The previous abuser had installed a FC underdrive pulley, and the soft aluminum backside had been eaten up by the T-belt to about credit card depth. This worried me, but when I replaced the tensioner and the idler, the new belt stayed on the gears where it should be. The old idler bearing was pretty loose in the cage, and definitely needed replacing; this leads me to believe that some of the pre-mature T-belt failures are due to the idler and/or tensioner ****ing and running the belt out into the cover or the serp belt crank pulley, destroying the belt.

 

Good info for all. Do you think it is ok to run with the timing cover off? I have for a while now. I guess if a rock got in there, we could have a major problem, but is there any other risk? E-

 

ive never laughed so hard at a rant posting btw. sry.

but your rant about the VCT gear barfing oil all over was too funny.

 

^^^^Wait, there's more! If you saw my other thread, you see that some idiot spent a whole day troubleshooting his DD SVTF because when he swapped VCT solenoids, the DD wouldn't hardly run with either solenoid, but ran great just seconds before the swap.

Ended up the #4 plug wire had missed the plug. What happens when your engine has only 3 of 4 plugs firing? It runs like crap, and no amount of cam timing is gonna fix it!!! Ask me how I know?!?!

 

lol. im sry for you.