Are the 2.3/2.5 SOHC engines of an interference or non-interference design? I am looking at a total stripper 94 2.3 Ranger XL with 74K on the odo. Lukily it doenst have a/c or even power steering so a timing belt swap should be a cinch much easier than my old 1989 Toyota Corolla with in transverse engine.

Scott

 

2.3 is non interference, not sure about the 2.5

 

150K miles and never changed it. Sounds like I should add this to my to do list.

 

I had mine change around 70,000. Plan on doing it again at around 140,000. My dad has a 88 Ford Escort and has had the timing belt changed religiously and has never had a problem out of the car. Has almost 200,000 on it. So if that is any indication, I'll be changing the timing belt about every 70,000 miles.

Had a friend that had a timing belt break while he was driving it, and after hearing how much it cost to fix it, decided that I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

I talked to the Ford dealership about the LIMA 2.3/2.5 single overhead camshaft engine and was told they are all non-interference which means basically when the belt breaks and the camshaft and crankshaft fall out of time the pistons do not hit the valves. The worst thing that can happen is you will need to tow the truck to a suitable work place /dealership.

Nice to know. I neglected my timing belt on a beater 1989 Toyota Corolla DX 4dr. I was driving about three years ago and when she broke I broke out the HELM Factory manual and went to work took me and my neighbor a night to put a new belt on and index the camshaft. Ran great for another year till i sold it.

Scott

 

I replaced the belt on my '95 2.3 @ 174k miles - when I looked at it closely it had hardly any wear and no cracks. I suspect it would have gone 250k miles if I had the courage to leave it in. Yes, the crank bolt was a bear to get off. After spending an afternoon trying to jury-rig something to get the bolt loose, I bought an 800 ftlb 3/4 dr air impact wrench which took the bolt off in about 3 seconds. When replacing the belt, be sure to replace the belt idler bearing.

 

According to Ford,the belt is suppose to last the life of the vehicle. That is why in the manual they only advise you to check it, not change it. My '97 2.3 has 160,000 miles on it and the last time I checked the belt it looked like you described, no nicks, cracks or any wear. I do believe Ford may be right on this one, but then again who, when or what determines the "life" of the vehicle?

 

Ok boys I have a 1999 Ford Ranger with a 4 cyl. does mine have a belt or a chain

 

Tonyford, I agree that the belt will probably go indefinitely, but I'm not so sure about the idler/tensioner bearing. I replaced mine along with the belt, eventhough there wasn't actually anything wrong with it; it seemed to spin fine with no indication of any impending failure. Still, bearings have a finite life. The question becomes, what does Ford consider as 'the life of the vehicle' for purposes of determining when to replace this stuff.

 

yours has a belt

 

my trucks factory timing belt had 230k miles on it. i have to disagree with the idea that the life of the belt is indefinate. at about 200k or 210k my belt started smacking the timing cover and when i changed it there was no sign of damage, just a little wear. however, when i pulled it out, several of the teeth ripped off with no effort. the belts wear out over time since they are rubber. if i had it to do over again, i would not let the belt go that long. then again, i got a hold of the truck when my dad got a new one and my dad never changed the belt. in my opinion, it is not worth it to have the belt break out in the middle of nowhere or anywhere for that matter.
maybe ford hopes that if the belt breaks, the owner wont figure it out and get a new truck. i dont know why ford doesnt say to change it.

 

C'mon give me a break!! 230 thousand miles and you had to change the timing belt? I would think you exceed the "life" of the vehicle by about 110 thousand miles according to Ford. The Ford maintenance manual only goes to 120 thousand miles, which according to some mechanics at Ford is the "life" of the vehicle. We all know we put a hell of a lot more miles on our trucks than 120 thousand before we say good-bye.

Let me say this, if you got over 200 thousand miles on your timing belt you did very good indeed and really Ford is right, the belt lasted indefintely, it is just how you interpret the word "indefintely". What do you expect, these trucks to last "forever"? By the way, how long is "forever"??

 

im dead serious about the belt. obviously ford is wrong about the life of our trucks. ford just wants the life to be 120k so we can keep buying their vehicles. there is no definate way to determine the "life" since everyone doesn't take care of them the same. mine has over 240k now and is still going strong. to me, if the belt lasted indefinately it would have lasted until the engine expired. as bad as it was thumping, i cant imagine it to go at least another 100k miles without breaking. we will never know.

 

I have a 94 2.3L and at 188,100 the tensioner disintegrated after making the usual bearing in distress noises. The belt was still intact with no missing teeth. Replaced the shooting match. I can say that it restored the performance of the engine by quite a bit. Now I am fighting egr sensor codes (koeo 335) and a hego code (koeo 172). First time I ever had to run codes on it. I must say that I am impressed with the 2.3L engine's life span. 3000 mi oil changes and yearly radiator flush and air filter, that's all.

 

The factory Ford timing belt tensioner sucks. There's just no other way of saying it. It is a poor design both from a durability standpoint and the fact there's no good way of releasing tension on the thing without having the special Ford tool. A long prybar or screwdriver kinda works, but after replacing the head gasket (and consequently, the timing belt as well) on my SVO I just about wanted to shove my prybar up the rear end of whomever designed that abomination.

The newer round tooth gears and belts wear far less than the older square tooth counterparts. I suppose that's why Ford doesn't have any reccomendation of when to change the belt.