Ford Escort 93 drive belt / clips / trans oil plug / Ignition leads

[cheesyhoward]

I have a Ford Escort Zetec 1.6 93/L hatchback (104000 miles). I need to change the drive belt because as you can see from the picture (taken from underneath) the current one is on its last legs. I am having problems identifying the tensioner pulley. One of the smaller pulleys arrowed in purple I think is the water pump.



I also need to check / fill up the transmission oil. Is the area indicated in green the location of the filler plug? The picture is viewed from the front of the car. The car has manual transmission.



I have a slight water leak where one of the rubber tubes joins the radiator. However as you can see from the picture the screw on the jubilee clip is rusted and wont move. Are there any good techniques for removing the clip in this situation?



Lastly I need to change the spark plugs but I am having some problem getting the Ignition leads off. Do they just pop off or do those little flaps of rubber work as a pincher?



Any help is much appreciated.

[A. Souphound]

You say "Drive belt" but fail to mention which drive belt you want to replace. ??
Transmission Plug: If the view is of upper front driver's side that's it.
4/21: AMENDED RESPONSE: Filler plug has a flat surface with a cut-in 3/8" sq. box or a raised plug for a 7/16 wrench. Do NOT mistake any other bolts for the filler. Damage to the transaxole could occur if the wrong bolt is removed. The car must be level when checking the transmission fluid.
Spark Plug wires: Twist them and pull up at the same time. If they haven't had dielectric grease put on them when they were installed...the boot sticks to the sparkplug.
Hose clamp: Put some WD40 on it and let it soak awhile, use a socket or a box end wrench and try to tighten (clockwise) it slightly until it moves, then turn it back counterclockwise to loosen.

[bigrod118]

well, I dont nkow much about the zetec, but that tranny plug, doesnt look like a tranny plug to me, tranny plugs to drain it are bolts, thats not a bolt. and for the pulleys, you have the three that are purple. the top one or your cetner arrow, is my guess for the water pump, four bolts give it away. and the other two, my guess is that the right one would be the tensioner pulley since it apprears to have the most room to move it to create slack, the other one doesnt look like it can move much. and your hose clamp is pretty rusted and while tightening it a bit to break it free is a good idea, but thats way too rusted to get a socket on, so id say get a new hose clamp thats the right size, and get a wire cutters, tin snips anything sharp and try to cut off the old one, snap it off, something and just get a new one. and yeah wiggle twist pull with everything you have, just weasel it out of there.

[cheesyhoward]

drive belt done. The tensioner was the small pulley next to the crank. plugs tomorow weather permitting

[chevyn0va1]

Originally Posted by cheesyhoward

drive belt done. The tensioner was the small pulley next to the crank. plugs tomorow weather permitting

I like how you took pics to better show what you were talking about wish more people could do that.

[cheesyhoward]

I am just changing the spark plugs and about to tighten them home. The torque setting required is 15Nm however my torque wrench only goes down to 28Nm. Each revolution of the handle is 14Nm therefore is it possible to approximate the setting as shown in the picture? I guess this may not be very accurate because the wrench would be rated down to 15Nm if it was going to be accurate.



When not using a torque wrench the Haynes book recommends 1/4 turn for CVH and PTE engines or 1/16 turn for HCS and Endura-E engines. It makes no mention for Zetec engines. Anyone know?

[A. Souphound]

Originally Posted by cheesyhoward

I am just changing the spark plugs and about to tighten them home. The torque setting required is 15Nm however my torque wrench only goes down to 28Nm. Each revolution of the handle is 14Nm therefore is it possible to approximate the setting as shown in the picture? I guess this may not be very accurate because the wrench would be rated down to 15Nm if it was going to be accurate.



When not using a torque wrench the Haynes book recommends 1/4 turn for CVH and PTE engines or 1/16 turn for HCS and Endura-E engines. It makes no mention for Zetec engines. Anyone know?

You say the torque setting required should be 15Nm....Normally sparkplug torque has a range. My information for the 1.6L engine is 7-20Nm (14Nm nominal) Of course a beam type torque wrench would be more suitable. IMHO what you propose on one revolution below the 28Nm (approx. 14Nm) should be within tolerance. Be sure and put a drop of oil on the sparkplug threads to prevent galding.

[cheesyhoward]

Ok thanks for that. The plugs are in and tested ok. It has been 30k since they were last changed. I have taken some pictures of my old plugs so I can get some opinions on my engine condition. Plug no1 (nearest crank pulley) has a slight whitish appearance on one side and the other is slightly black.

the other side


Plug no2 has the so called normal grey / brown deposits.




Plug no3 has some crusty white/grey power on one side (as shown in picture). The other side has a slight white glazing.



Plug no4 has a similar appearance to plug 2.


Is there anything wrong with the appearance of plug 1 and 3? If so what would be the recommended course of action?

[A. Souphound]

Originally Posted by cheesyhoward

Ok thanks for that. The plugs are in and tested ok. It has been 30k since they were last changed. I have taken some pictures of my old plugs so I can get some opinions on my engine condition. Plug no1 (nearest crank pulley) has a slight whitish appearance on one side and the other is slightly black.

the other side


Plug no2 has the so called normal grey / brown deposits.




Plug no3 has some crusty white/grey power on one side (as shown in picture). The other side has a slight white glazing.



Plug no4 has a similar appearance to plug 2.


Is there anything wrong with the appearance of plug 1 and 3? If so what would be the recommended course of action?

1, 2, & 3 look good..... the heat range looks good.
#4 looks like it was mis-firing or, you could be getting a little oil past the valve seals giving a little more ash buildup, but nothing to worrry about.

[cheesyhoward]

ok thanks a lot for the help