Advice on AUY cam belt replacement

[gusty66]

Broke down on way home from holiday with the water pump failing, I have to replace it myself so I will also do the cam belt at the same time, I have the Haynes manuel and I have found a cam belt / water pump kit from gfs (eBay page 380779886777)and I will also need to get a cam belt locking tool (eBay 221409466502). Can anyone tell me if these parts are any good and any exspert advice will be welcome.

[insanitybeard]

You might want to take a read of this thread.

[gusty66]

Thanks, is there a step by step for setting the timing?

[insanitybeard]

Not above and beyond what's in the Haynes really, and I don't have access to the Ford procedure on ETIS. What I can tell you is that once you've got to the stage where you are looking at the timing belt before removal with the covers and crankshaft pulley off, you need to make sure the camshaft is in the correct position- if you go off of the crankshaft mark only then it's possible to have the camshaft 180 degrees out- see the below picture, the camshaft pin goes in at approx. the 8 O' clock position (circled orange) but ensure the 'notched' window (circled green) is at the 12 O' clock position, if the crank is 360 degrees out it will be at the 6 o' clock position:

[attachimg=1]

Once you have the camshaft in approx. the right position, and before inserting the pin, look at the crankshaft sprocket and you should see a timing mark at approx. 12 O' clock position, it's not clear in the below picture as it was only taken on a mobile phone but if you view it full size you can JUST make out the mark (I've circled it red- note that the crank isn't locked in this picture nor positioned correctly), this must line up precisely with the corresponding mark (notch) on the crank locking tool when fully installed, which is at 12 O' clock. The special tool will fit with the sprocket in any position, it is only by the marks lining up that you know it is locked in the correct position. The tool should slide all the way back and the edge of the tool should be flush with the sprocket when fully installed- if it's not then it's not installed properly, there is a hole in the engine block above the sprocket where the extended pin on the back of the locking tool engages.

[attachimg=2]

Once you've locked the crank then you can do the camshaft, try to loosen the 3 camshaft sprocket bolts (NOT the centre bolt- it's the 3 bolts that sit around the centre bolt over elongated holes) before inserting the locking pin into the cam sprocket so you don't force the sprocket against the locking pin as you do this. You can then release the tensioner and remove the belt. By loosening the camshaft sprocket bolts so that the sprocket is free to move relative to the camshaft, the idea is that when you tension the new belt with the tensioner, the timing is not altered.

Of course it's possible to use no special tools at all and adopt the 'paint pot technology' method that seems to be fairly common, the downside of this is that it's not especially accurate! 

Hope this helps.