How do I remove the time belt??

Hello, now I know the problem with my escort, Its the timing belt, how do I remove it??....what tools do I need? and if somebody already did so, how long does it take, is it true that the air conditioning hoses have to be removed?....and the tire? most important ....IF IT IS OUT OF TIME ...HOW DO I ALIGNE IT AGAIN??, WHAT IS THE PROCEDURE TO PUT IT BACK IN PLACE??...........The timing belt was messed when parts of the drivebelt that ripped got stuck in the cranck (pulley),and they had to be forced to get the litle pieces out..........please if anybody knows a tip/trick, let me know, 1994 ESCORT 1.9.........THANKS A LOT.

If you don't want to buy a repair manual check out your local library. Read the step by step instructions and become familiar with the job before proceding. Manuals may have pictures and diagrams which you will find to be a great help.
A friend of mine had a late 1980s Escort and it took about an hour.

Yes, you need to get a Haynes manual. It only costs around 15 bucks, and you can pick it up where you buy the timing belt. The timing belt is not hard to put on, yes the tire has to come off, no you don't have to mess with the a/c. The manual will tell you how to retime the pulleys, and it is essential to this job if you have never done it before.

I just did the timing belt on my 1990 Ford Escort with the 1.9L engine. It took me about 5 hours. If you go to www.autozone.com they have the service manuals on line for free. Replace the timing belt if you suspect it jumped time. They are cheap enough. On my Escort I had to remove the motor mount and drop the engine a few inches so I could gain access to the bolt that holds the pulley. The tension pulley has to be loosened also. Use the timing mark on the crankchaft pulley to line it up on the TDC or top dead center mark on the timing belt cover. The cam gear has holes in it. One of the holes has a litte point or an arrow facing up which has to be lined up with what looks like a drill mark on the head. The mark on the head is behind the plastic cover. If you loosen the two bolts that hold the cover behind the cam sprocket, you can pull it forward just enough to see the mark on the head and line it up with the little arrow or point in the hole on the cam sprocket. This is a non interference engine so if you screw up you shouldn't do any damage but it will probably ping. Check out the web site for the full details of how to do this job from start to finish. Take it step by step and you'll be just fine. Good luck!

Thanks to you all, as soon as we do it (this weekend) I will let you know how it went, I bought the manual and with yur helping advices I think we will do it OK, THIS PLACE IS GRRRRREAT!!!!..........THANKS! :)

Thanks to you all, as soon as we do it (this weekend) I will let you know how it went, I bought the manual and with yur helping advices I think we will do it OK, THIS PLACE IS GRRRRREAT!!!!..........THANKS! :)

try to take pics as you go I havent seen anyone with real pics of the timing belt replacement yet. I'd sure be interested to see it.

When I changed my timing belt I don't remember pulling the tire off. What's the reason for that?

Well, we are starting to work on the timing belt, Frafreg is right ,Autozone has a very detailed instruction page on how to change the timing belt on the 3 different engine models (1.8.1.9,2.0), and there are pictures and diagrams too,I'll let you know guys how things came out this afternoon, thanks to all. here is the link to that specific page on autozone:

http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/13/b1/0d/0900823d8013b10d.jsp

Loubenia

I removed the tire on my 1990 Escort because it made it much easier for me to see the bolt holding the crankshaft pulley, and the timing gear behind it. It is always best to see what you are doing rather than just doing it by feel. I think that Ford should have put a hole in the wheel well so that it would not have been necessary to have to remove the motor mount and drop the engine down a few inches. Just my opinion.


When I changed my timing belt I don't remember pulling the tire off. What's the reason for that?

I removed the tire on my 1990 Escort because it made it much easier for me to see the bolt holding the crankshaft pulley, and the timing gear behind it. It is always best to see what you are doing rather than just doing it by feel. I think that Ford should have put a hole in the wheel well so that it would not have been necessary to have to remove the motor mount and drop the engine down a few inches. Just my opinion.

I havent seen it yet but couldnt you do so and then put a rubber graommit in the hole when not in use?

Yes, that would be a good idea provided you did the necessary rust proofing and undercoating to the hole you cut. I thought about that but then I realized that the next time I would have to do the timing belt would probably be in another 60,000 miles. That would put my 1990 Escort at 100,000 miles. At that point, my Escort will probably be ready for the boneyard. Although, I hope not.


I havent seen it yet but couldnt you do so and then put a rubber graommit in the hole when not in use?

My 93 has a hole AND a grommet there!..Judging from a reasonablly close inspection and the quality of the work,grommet.This is a LARGE punched hole.Factory stuff only.Enough grunge on it/around the lip/when I pulled it off..looked like it had been on there forever.

That would put my 1990 Escort at 100,000 miles. At that point, my Escort will probably be ready for the boneyard. Although, I hope not.

There was a post on here a while ago and you'll be surprised how long these cars last. If you take care of it should go a while.

Gas prices being what they are now, I'm hoping my Escort lasts forever. I do all the maintenance myself. Gas mileage is between 35 to 40 mpg if I keep it under 65 on the highway. I'm a field service engineer in computers and I use this car every day to drive from one customer site to another with all my computer parts and equipment so it gets a workout. I have had two Toyotas that I used the same way and each of them ran over 300,000 miles before I drove them to the junkyard with the original engine and transmission and no overhauls. The body just rusted to nothing. Mechanics tell me that I shouldn't expect the same results from a Ford. I hope they are wrong because I like this car. I guess I'll have to be the judge of that as time goes on. I wish it was OBD II so I could capture more data from the on board computer. OBD I is real light on information when you have to troubleshoot a problem. The tools to get more in depth data from the EEC IV are expensive.

At last My Baby is like new!!!..........I am so very happy, I had to drive our 83 F-150 -pick up for the days the Escort was sick and let me tell you, the gas was killing my wallet!!!!...........everything came great, no problems at all, thanks to all for the great help and the advices, sorry I did not post before but my husband had eye surgery on Monday (the day after they fixed my baby).....now everything is fine and my car is taking me everywhere without a problem, gas prices may be high but I am saving a lot if I compare what I was spending on the PICK UP................THANK U' ALL!!!!