hello i have a 1991 Ranger with a 2.3 4 cylinder i replaced the crankshaft sensor i was trying to get the bolt off the harmonic balancer and the timing belt broke. i put the new belt on and seems like all the timing marks are lined up. but when i put everything back together and start the engine i get a constant ticking in the lifters and when i put the timing light on it with the spout connector off it is at 10 degrees not TDC.

am i missing something ? could someone give me a step by step walkthrough on doing it for the complete idiot ?


Thanks

if you want to email it to me the address is lblevins12@comcast.net

 

oh yeah forgot to say that i have coil packs not a distributor

 

It's supposed to be at 10 degrees BTDC, so that's right. I don't know about the ticking.

 

how come the book says to put the timing mark on TDC ?

 

I think you might be talking about the alignment when you install the new timing belt. You have to turn the crank to TDC so that the belt is correctly aligned with the cam. It hasn't got anything to do with timing.

 

ohhhhhhhhh i seeeeeeee guess i am screwed on the ticking then

Thanks Guys

 

Every since I replaced the timing belt on my 2.3L it is now backfiring through the intake when cold. When I turn the crankshaft to 10 degrees BTDC the camshaft mark in the timing belt inspection hole is lined up perfect....what gives?

 

Hey gdoggy, I don't have experience with the Ranger 2.3 specifically, but have had significant other experience with other vehicles (including an Escort). If the valve timing is delayed by ONE TOOTH, it will cause the problem you related (backfiring through the intake). Is it possible that the IGNITION timing should be at ZERO degrees for the timing belt to line up properly in the sight hole?? If it lines up perfectly with IGNITON timing at 10 BTDC, that might indicate that the cam is one tooth delayed. Is it a real PITA to access the belt?? If not, you could adjust it by ONE TOOTH, and see how things line up then. Also, when I've had vehicles in the past that I knew for a fact had valve (cam) timing delayed by a tooth, an easy way around it (temporarily) was to OVER-ADVANCE the IGNITION timing (it masks the delayed valve timing, reduces tendency to backfire through intake). [lblevins12, please forgive me for using your post ... wish I could offer YOU some insight].

 

Yeah, lblevins12, I'm sorry for hijacking your thread too, but it looked like it was pretty much answered, and I wanted him to know that he isn't alone in his timing belt fiasco. I agree that the cam tiiming could be off, but what is the purpose of putting the mark on the camshaft gear if it will never line up perfect? Also, all the manuals pretty much skimp on 2.3L engine info.....sometimes they just skip right over it....I'm lost. Does anyone know where lblevins12 and I can find the actual Ford method for setting the timing on this engine?

 

I'm not sure you can set the timing on that vehicle, but I don't think that is your problem anyway. When installing a new timing belt, make sure the crank is set at TDC (not at what you want the timing to be) and the cam is set at the index mark (or arrow in the casting, whichever it is on the 2.3).

 

That's what I did, but if I lined up the crankshaft at TDC and then lined the camshaft mark up it was exactly 1/2 a tooth off. It can never be right. How could that be?

 

Hmmmm - got me there.

I guess I'd try setting the belt one tooth back on the cam and see if it runs any better.

I'm sure someone else will have a much better idea...

 

hey guys glad everyone is putting in info so gdoggy i don't mind you taking over the thread the more input the better

 

OK guys, we gotta get this mystery solved....can someone please remove the rubber inspection grommet from their timing belt cover and line up the camshaft marks so we can see where the crankshaft mark lines up to? I believe that maybe lblevins12 and I may have our camshafts out of whack. I would really appreciate it if someone could look at this for us on a good running 2.3L so I can get mine back on the road, and lblevins12 can possibly get his ticking problem resolved. Thanks in advance.

BTW, like I said, when I line my camshaft mark up, my crankshaft is at the 10 degrees BTDC mark. With my SPOUT connector removed my timing is 10 degrees BTDC which is what the sticker in the engine compartment says it is supposed to be.

 

lblevins12, I'm still thinking about the "ticking" you've referred to. I can't figure out why changing the belt would even REMOTELY cause a malfunction that would result in ticking. Unless, it just sounds like a tapping lifter, valve, rocker, whatever, and is really something else. Can you be very specific about how the ticking sounds?? Do ALL the lifters tick?? Or does it sound like just one or two?? Is the ticking always exactly the same, or does it change & vary?? If you have a SINGLE tapping lifter, I'm just wondering if it could be a REALLY BIG co-incidence that the lifter just started ticking at the same time you changed your belt. This kinda wierd stuff happens to me ALL THE TIME!

gdoggy, about the timing belt not lining up properly ... did you ever remove the timing gears themselves during the process?? If yes, are you ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that you put them back on correctly (not backwards)?? I had a Honda Civic many years ago, and had the same problem you refer to. The marks WOULDN'T LINE UP when the engine was running correctly, and the engine wouldn't run correctly when they DID line up. Finally figured out that I had the cam cog on backwards. It only altered things by one tooth, which totally confused the issue when trying to line up marks. If you HAVEN'T had the gears off, or are CERTAIN that they were installed correctly, I think I'd put the marks such that the cam is on the "ADVANCED" side by half a tooth, rather than on the "delayed" side, and see if things improve. Don't know what else to suggest. Keep us posted though. I'm curious.