99 escort broken timing belt

[plawecb]

How much damage have I done to my engine if the timing belt broke? Wil I be able to just put a new timing belt on or will I have to overhaul the engine?

[GTP Dad]

There are two schools of thought on this board about the 2.0L engine. The Ford people told me that this is an interference engine and if the belt broke that there would be damage to the engine. Several members have successfully repaired this engine after broken timing belts with no damage to the engine. I would put the new belt on an do a compression check. If the compression is good then there is no damage. If the compression is low then you will need to repair or replace the head as you probably bent several valves.

If you weren't turning the engine at high RPM's when he belt broke I doubt you will find any damage to the engine.

[Paul78zephyr]

Originally Posted by GTP Dad

There are two schools of thought on this board about the 2.0L engine. The Ford people told me that this is an interference engine and if the belt broke that there would be damage to the engine. Several members have successfully repaired this engine after broken timing belts with no damage to the engine. I would put the new belt on an do a compression check. If the compression is good then there is no damage. If the compression is low then you will need to repair or replace the head as you probably bent several valves.

If you weren't turning the engine at high RPM's when he belt broke I doubt you will find any damage to the engine.

I do not agree. The 2.0L SPI engine (SOHC) use in all non-ZX2 '99 Escorts is NOT an interference engine and no damage will occur if the timing belt breaks while running.

Paul

[drifter24535]

how about the DOHC engine?? is it a interferecne engine and when should the belt be changed

[Davescort97]

Originally Posted by drifter24535

how about the DOHC engine?? is it a interferecne engine and when should the belt be changed

No it's not. To my knowing only the first generation from '81 to '86 had interference motors. The book just says check every 60,000 miles. I'd change it before 90,000 because a lot of people on this forum have had them break at 99,000 + miles.

[drifter24535]

thanks!! I bought a Chilton repair manual and it has very little info on the DOHV engine (99 escort ZX2)