timing belt when bang on highway!

[fireguy12117]

yup, my dumb arse let it slip my mind in a really big way that i needed to address the timing belt on my 98. well, it forced its hand today on the way home from work on the highway. coming over the top of an overpass and i heard a "whump" and suddenly found myself piloting a dead vehicle...may my timing belt with 226,000 miles on it RIP.

got the truck pulled off the highway by a friend, and then towed home 35 miles, sitting in the drive way, mocking me, as i read TRS on how to fix this pig.

obviously im in for a challenge on the crank pulley, but the engine free wheeled for quiet a bit before i got it shut down. I might be a little foggy on how to make sure im at the right point in the rotation for the crank to know im at true TDC as opposed to 180 degrees off and have the mark say TDC? if thats even making sense or a possibility. basically, how to make sure im truly back in time...?

 

[scotts90ranger]

There should be a timing mark on the 3 pulleys on the front (all 3 need to be in the right location). If I remember right the keyway on the crankshaft points up, and the cam and oil pump pulleys have marks on them that line up with something else.

If I retimed my Ranger in the sand dunes when my belt slipped with just hand tools and no internet just memory to go on, you shouldn't have a problem

 

[Mark_88]

Yes, the 98 isn't much different than earlier Rangers as far as difficulty to change a timing belt...but...there is more junk in the way sometimes.

Someone posted a pretty good instruction on how to change the belt on a newer one...but I can't remember who or when...the search button helps in cases like this and I can try to search for you and post a link...there is probably a YouTube on it also...just a matter of finding the best and most convenient link...

When I first changed mine I thought my truck was mawking me also...but that all changed the moment I opened the hood and stuck the Johson bar in with a huge socket to cover the crank pulley nut...after that there was nothing but cooperation...even though I didn't need to remove the crank pulley...

EDIT: That wasn't hard at all...lol...

This is from a 97 2.3 but very similar...may even have the same accessory level...

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=86520&highlight=98+timing+belt+change

 

[fireguy12117]

So just to clarify, its ok that the motor free wheeled? I called a shop just for giggles and he says it's the type of motor that can be damaged if this were to happen, but i seemed to get the idea here that its not a problem, that the piston won't make contact with valves...

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[alwaysFlOoReD]

It looks to be non-interference;
http://www.agcoauto.com/content/List_Of_Interference_Engines
http://www.aa1car.com/library/timing_belts_interference_engines.htm

 

[Earl43P]

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=86520
Just replace the belt. ^^


Free-wheeling didn't hurt it one bit, it's a non-interference engine.

 

[fireguy12117]

wonderful, thanks!

i have it torn down pretty far, crank pulley bolt out, but now i cant figure out how to get the pulley off. the articles i saw last night don't seem to match up to what i got in terms of space, and then secondarily i haven't a clue how to rig up the puller i rented...

ima be searching around for some tips, but any here would be helpful.

 

[fireguy12117]

Nevermind folks. Sorry for replying to my own post but this pulley has threaded holes inside i didnt see before. Chased em, put puller on and hand tightened the puller. Pulley slide off. That timing belt sticky that i keep reading is a life saver as are all these replies!

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[cobra93]

I had the same thing happen to me.
After the battle with the harmonic balancer bolt, I wound up using the starter to finally break the bolt loose.

I figured I would need the HB puller so I dug it out and put it on.
When I got it hand tight the balancer moved and I slid it off.
This was the only thing that went well.

Good luck, you're on the home stretch.

 

[fireguy12117]

I got lucky i guess. The bolt popped loose with a breaker / cheater bar and once i figured out the puller the pulley literally slide off. I did get tripped up on there being both timing marks on both pulleys but i finally remembered that somone posted up about that. Once I realized that everything came together. The assembly process was uneventful and firing the engine was anticlimactic. I took a test drive and everything is back to normal. 9 cars and 20 years of owning em, ive never been towed until this happened. All in all very pleased with the outcomes. Thanks for everyone's input here!

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[tomw]

fireguy, you were unlucky in some respects. Most times the belt fails when you go to start the engine. The teeth that are getting stripped off will get et by the teeth of the crankshaft sprocket. The cam does not want to rotate and compress the valve springs, and the force needed from 'still' at cranking speeds is enough to strip the teeth.
Most times, going down the road, the cam force needed is over a shorter time span, so the teeth don't feel the load for as long a time frame, and live... until you get where you are going, and then when you want to leave, too bad...
I did one in a parking lot w/o removing the damper, on a turbo t-bird. Worked the belt in, around and behind, and got it going. Brother didn't have a dime for a tow, so called me. I think that belt was in it when he finally sold it after cleaning up the valves and replacing the valve stem seal. Or we could have splurged and bought a brand new one. Don't remember, but replacing the seals, and lapping the valves brought that Bird to life real well.
tom

 

[Mark_88]

Good to hear this worked out for you Fireguy...mine broke halfway through an intersection one day coming home from work...before I realized what the problem was I bought a whole bunch of replacement parts (around $250 worth) and by the time I figured out what was wrong I had them all installed...of course, the store wouldn't take this stuff back once it was out of the packaging...dang!

My first time took me about 4 hours (not counting the first hour or so of parts swapping) but I was being really cautious and didn't have a clue what I was doing...that was about 20,000 posts ago and now I can change one in about an hour on a carbureted engine...have yet to do a FI engine so will have to see how that goes when the time comes...

Anyway...thanks for the update...