I have a 2000 Ford Escort ZX2 with 133,000 miles, it broke down 7 months ago and I had to have the timing belt replaced and they also replaced the water pump. About 1-2 months later it broke down and sure enough it was the timing belt again, the mechanic had it for a couple of days trying to figure out what was making it break. He couldn't find anything elso wrong with it, so he replaced the belt again. The other day the car died on me again and once again it was the timing belt. Can you tell me if you have heard of this before in a ford escort? Please help?

FYI... if it even matters, the first two times I had the same mechanic fix it, this time I took it somewhere elso but I don't think it will make much difference because the first mechanic was a reliable family friend.



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(This post was edited by Hammer Time on Jun 16, 2009, 1:12 PM)

On these ZX2's, the most common problem is either the tensioner or one of the idler pulleys, usually the one all the way at the bottom. If there is any wear at all in the pulley, it will lean just enough for the belt to walk off the side or if it's not tight enough, the belt can jump.




78 Corvette Pace Car For Sale-18k mi orig-Florida

When I took the car in the first time they replaced a pulley because apparently the pulley was missing? I think the timing belt had already been changed about 3 years ago.

Something similar happened here a few years ago on a GM vehicle.
Car came in with broken timing belt; checked everything as per normal, looking for a cause other then just an old belt; all seemed good. Car left running ok; came back a couple of days later on the back of a tow truck. This time the belt wasn’t broken; but a number of teeth were missing (stripped) on the new belt; allowing the engine to go out of time.
Replaced it again; but this time we left the timing cover off, so I could see the actual belt turning and easily check belt tension after the engine reached operating temperature.
After shutting off the engine; I attempted to rotate the engine manually to check the timing. Found that it took twice as much effort to turn the engine, then what it did while installing the belt with the engine cold.
After removing the timing belt (engine still hot from running) we found the camshaft was the cause of the resistance. Once the engine cooled it turned normally; ended up having to replace cam shaft and bearings.
The only thing that made sense was that the cam; when it became hot would warp and cause it to bind.

Not saying that this is what’s happening with your vehicle; but maybe suggest that they check the amount of effort required to manually rotate the engine while it’s still hot?

Dan.

Canadian "EH"

I will mention that to them. I also just found out some more information... back the first time that I got it fixed they had to replace the timing belt, timing belt tensioner and pulleys and a water pump. I found out yesterday that this new place (without any of the history) said that they needed to replace the timing belt the tensioner and pulleys and the water pump was leaking and needed to be replaced. Is this really possible for all of the same things to break within 7 months of being replaced? Thank you so much for your help.

   
">Is this really possible for all of the same things to break within 7 months of being replaced?<"

YES - unfortunately!

T
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Tom Greenleaf - MetroWest, Boston