2.3L ('83-'97) Timing Belt Won't line up

[joemag7]

I got a '97 Ranger 2.3l w/ 130kmiles
I have good mechanical knowledge, understand engines well enough, but have never changed a timing belt.

I started this project a little over a week ago, but to make the story short I put in a brand new rear timing belt cover last weekend just to find out that the brand new belt won't line up.

The crankshaft is at 0 degrees, the diamond on the oil pump pulley is aligned with the diamond on the rear cover, and the arrow on the camshaft pulley is lined up with th arrow on the rear cover.

Now when installing the belt; starting at the crankshaft to the oil pump lines up perfectly then while keeping the belt tight when I get to the camshaft pulley a tooth of the belt lines up right on top with a tooth of the pulley.

I've adjusted it in both directions, but either way the arrow on the camshaft pulley clearly does not line up.
While holding the new belt side by side with the old belt, the old one is perhaps an 1/8 inch longer, I just assumed that to be from years of use.

The part number from the new belt reads "TX276"

Thanks in advance for any help.

Joe

 

[joemag7]

Some Pictures

Just because pictures always help I went and took a few

click here

 

[Crepiduse]

Are you on the compression stroke or the exhaust stroke TDC?
Also, I'd recommend changing that water pump while you're there.

 

[joemag7]

Thanks for the reply;
I set all my marks with the timing belt removed (that's part of the longer story)
It's not a big deal with this type engine, but what is puzzling is that the old worn out, stretched out belt keeps all the marks aligned while the fresh new belt keeps the one mark off?

 

[Bryan22]

valves control which stoke it's on. if the cam is where it's supposed to be it's compression . remember when you tension the belt it is going to move. just get it as close as possible when it's tensioned.

if it's still way off....just looked online gates belt i found was tx210 not tx276. maybe you got the wrong belt?

 

[joemag7]

valves control which stoke it's on. if the cam is where it's supposed to be it's compression . remember when you tension the belt it is going to move. just get it as close as possible when it's tensioned.

if it's still way off....just looked online gates belt i found was tx210 not tx276. maybe you got the wrong belt?

Thanks for your help Bryan and even taking the time to do research.
About the valves being what makes the difference between compress and exhaust strokes at TDC is what I was wanting to say above, but of course never want to sound un-appreciative to anyones help.

I was also curious about a mistake at the parts house, so I got the number from the Ford dealer and cross referrenced it with a couple suppliers and the "276" number was there in the their part numbers of the belts they carry.

I was even planning on comparing my belt with others at the supply house and also upgrading from my "cheap O" to a "Gates" belt while I have a few extra bucks.

But instead I kept researching online yesterday and found a couple threads that really helped me out with my initial problem and I'm happy to say that after 2 weeks I drove about 5 miles last night and plan to get on the freeway today.

I'll post in the next thread the entire long story, just to help anyone else out there, it was a great learning experience for me in a couple different ways.

Oh and I apologize for my 'long wind-ed-ness', I know it is not proper forum etiquette.

Thanks
Joe

 

[joemag7]

The Fix

To better explain the repair I need to go into my longer story;
My belt never broke initially, rather one day while the truck was running I heard intermittent "tapping" from under the hood, I determined it was the timing belt and decided to replace it.

I have a Haynes book and followed the steps carefully. Because I don't own an impact gun/wrench removing the crankshaft drivebelt pulley bolt was very difficult. I finally had to use some good 'ol ingenuity(involving a heavy rope wrapped around the pulley).

Unfortunately my great idea resulted in the rear timing belt cover breaking into several pieces and also resulted in the pulleys moving thus losing my marks, so I did my best to use the pieces to line up all my marks again and I put everything back together, then started the engine and heard significant "ticking".

I shut off the engine right away and got on a forum (a different forum from here) to ask what it may be, at which point the asholes over there scared me shitles about the damage I may have done, called me a moron and pretty much said they were Gods compared to me.

So the truck sat while I gained courage and saved money and also had to buy a new rear cover from the Ford dealer. I put the new rear cover on(which was the most difficult part of this whole project), then tried to put on the belt, but the belt didn't line up, so then I came here with my question.

Well along with my research yesterday I read a couple different guys had the same problem with the "ticking" sound after changing the belt, apparently it's caused from not priming the oil pump before starting the engine, but can be fixed by driving the truck about a mile or so. (The proper way to prime the pump is to turn it by itself at normal speed with possibly a drill until you feel resistance)

So that was exactly what I did last night, put everything back together, ran the truck (after it warmed up) through a whole range of RPM's while I drove it through the neighborhood and at 1.4 miles the "ticking" sound could no longer be heard.

Sorry about going so long in one thread, but I did want to share this experience I gained so hopefully others can know now too.
I also wanted to point out that I am a contributing member of a couple different forums in my electrical field and have always come to Forums for any different problem I may have(that's the great thing about men and their experience/knowledge, they always wanna share it with anyone that will listen), but now I know there are some guys on Forums (with beatiful black vintage corvettes for sale in their avatar) who only wish to ruin peoples "can do" spirits.

And for all the guys who do their best to help other guys in need without gettin anything in return; here's one on me

Thanks
Joe

 

[Earl43P]

Way to go, Joe.

Always nice to get "the rest of the story".

Glad you found this place, and welcome!

 

[Bryan22]

so how did you get the marks lined up?

what was the story there?

Also i would go back to that forum where the guys were picking at you and tell them all what a bunch of ignorant jackasses they are. The lima 2.3 is a non-interference motor. It's nearly impossible to damage the motor by lining the timing up wrong.

Lots of people have had their timing belts break on a 2.3 tow it home put a new belt on and go again.

Ya so basically i'd thank all of them for being ignorant enough to steer you clear of any of their future advice.

 

[joemag7]

I never did get them lined up perfectly;
I split the difference between everything and then the marks didn't look near as bad, so I just told myself to stop being so anal and just get it back together and try it out.

My Dog was probably the happiest the truck is on the road again, so me and him took a nice long cruise yesterday to make sure everything was fine.

And I already tore into that guy yesterday for spouting off about something he knew nothing about and bashed him on a few other threads where he had the first response. Apparantly he's a Moderator so I'm probably no longer allowed, but then again that's what proxy servers are for right, haha perhaps next time I got some steam to blow off I know where to go.

Something else I've been curious about; the name "Lima"? does it have to do with Lima Ohio? I think I saw something about that place somewhere.
The UAW sticker in my window is from Louisville Kentucky plant(which is another thing I love about my Ranger being that I'm also a union worker and union supporter)

 

[Crepiduse]

Who's the one that didn't know?

 

[Bryan22]

dunno where lima comes from just what everyone calls this family of motors. haha. good question though, maybe someone knows.

 

[joemag7]

Who's the one that didn't know?

Somone from a completely different forum I signed up at when I first had a question about this project nearly 3 weeks ago.

Yeah, the jackass in his first sentence said "get out your credit card and take it to your nearest mechanic, you have done enough damage already"

While in his avatar he has a '78 vette in perfect condition for sale in a pristine garage to boot.

I told him, along with many other things, that we are not all yuppies out there with collector cars for sale in our garages. Some of us were hit pretty hard with this current economy and others always do my own work because I have the tools the ability and the willingness.
But beside all that, when you are part of a forum and someone has a question you either don't say anything when you don't know anything, or you answer the guys question.

Now I'm gettin heated all over again, sorry about that

 

[Crepiduse]

Lima Engine is a Ford Motor Company automobile engine plant located in Lima, Ohio. The factory was opened in 1957 as the site of production of Ford's MEL V8 for the Edsel car. It subsequently produced six cylinder engines (the 170/200/250 family), the 385-series 370/429/460 big block V8 engines, the 2.3/2.5 L HSC/HSO (Pushrod) four cylinder engines for the Ford Tempo, Mercury Topaz, and Ford Taurus and the 2.0/2.3/2.5 L OHC four cylinder used in Ford Mustang, Ford Aerostar, Ford Ranger and Mazda B2300/B2500 compact trucks. Today, Lima is divided in half. One side produces high-tech aluminum engines, and will be the prime site for production of the company's next-generation 3.5 L Duratec 35 V6, while the other side produces the old cast iron Vulcan V6 for the Ford Ranger. This engine is currently scheduled to end production in 2008, with that side of the factory refurbished for future production.

 

[LearjetMinako]

If it makes you feel better. My 2.3L engine has the same problem. After lining up all the marks, the timing belt would be a half a tooth off on the cam. The first 2 times when I aligned the marks, I retarded the crank a half tooth. This last time around, I advanced the crank a half tooth. Either way, no problems. It doesn't really matter too much with this engine, as long as you got it as close as possible.