I have a 98 ranger, 2.5 L with a/c. I want to change the timing belt. Has 136k on motor and I see cracks on the belt. I got some info from a friend that says I have to evacuate the a/c freon and remove the compressor. Is there a way to loosen it and move it out of the way? I know nothing about a/c evacuation.

Thanks for any info.

 

Is it the timing belt or the serpentine belt that runs the ac, alt, fan, etc. That you are replacing. I don't think ya can see the timing belt with out striping the front of the engine and removing the timing cover.

 

U can unscrue compressor bolts and move it w/o hoses disconnection. So refrigerant will be saved.

 

It is the timing belt under the cover. Was gone today so just got home.

 

i just did the job on my 99 a month or so ago and all i did was move the compressor i never disconnected a line on the ac it was fine that way worst part was getting the bolt loose on the damnper wheel

 

Seems like the crank sprocket has to be removed. Does the bolt turn clockwise or counterclock wise to loosen? I can't get belt off bottom by crank sprocket and plastic guard.

 

Ya need to releave the tensioner to release the presser on the belt to get it off. Some are hydraulic and can be pushed in, others are spring loaded and have to be removed. I'm not sure which ya have.

 

The bolt is a standard right hand thread. It turns ccw to remove.

Put a socket with a breakover handle on the bolt. Put an extension on the handle so it will reach the frame. It can go either under the passenger side frame, or over the driver side frame, whichever has more room. Hold the wrench in place, and have a friend hit the starter. Remove the wiring to the coils before you do this so the engine will not start. The bolt should come right out.

Once the bolt is out, the pulley should come off with a little urging. It is not a press fit, but close to it. I just changed the belt on my Merk and used a pry bar behind one side of the pulley, and tapped the other side lightly with a hammer to get it moving. Once it was broken loose, I used another pry bar on the other side and gradually worked it off.

To prevent getting into timing issues, mark the belt as follows: Make two marks on the belt and camshaft cog, make two marks on the auxilary cog at a different spacing than the cam, make one mark on the crankshaft cog. Be sure and mark both the belt and the cogs.

After you have the belt removed, lay the new belt on top of the old belt and transfer the marks. Put the new belt on starting from the crankshaft up lining up the marks, and keeping the belt tight as you go. A helper is good for this as the belt seems to have a mind of its own when going around the various obstacles.

If you have trouble with the belt tensioner, let us know, but if you study it for a second you will figure it out. jd

 

Thanks guys for the info. I removed the bolt by jamming a breaker bar against frame and hitting the starter. Now my problem is the inner timing cover. I broke the bottom and need to remove it and replace with new one. How is the tensioner to remove? I also need info on starting over with the timing sprockets in the right alignment. Is there some info for the 98 2.5L motor timing belt procedure as if the belt broke while driving?


HELP

 

Usually, it is a good idea to purchase a Chilton's manual when doing this for the first time. Pix help.
The tensioner has two bolts. A 13mm that clamps the tensioner in place, and a larger 16mm(I think) that holds the tensioner spring. Remove the small bolt first, and the spring will push the tensioner out removing the tension. Then take out the spring bolt and spring and the tensioner will come off.

Timing: Crankshaft - The Woodruff key that holds the pulley in place will be straight up. The Woodruff key is in line with one of the teeth on the timing belt cog. One tooth to the right of this tooth you will see a mark on the end of the tooth. This mark will point to a notch in the crankshaft seal housing.

Camshaft: Find the tooth with the triangle, center it with the center mark of three at about 4 o'clock on the rear timing cover.

Auxilary shaft: Line up the diamond on the sprocket with the diamond on the cover. It should be at the top (straight up). jd

 

Finally got it all together, but now it pings when I accelerate. This did not happen before I changed the belt. What's up?


All timing marks were on after 2 revolutions of the engine.

 

Have ya reset your timing with a timing light yet. The Dizzy may need adjusted.

 

No distributor on a 98, and you cannot set the timing. Does the truck start and run ok, and not have a loss of power. You can get the timing belt off a tooth, and it will still start but doesn't run that well.

Try disconnecting the negative battery terminal for a couple minutes and re-set the computer. The truck may run kinda ragged until it re-learns the settings. Give it 30 minutes of driving time to re-set everything. jd

 

I just leared this in a PM from him and gave him the same advice. Thanks jd for correcting me. I,m pretty old school.

 

Still pinging and all marks on timing gears are right on. I put a timing light on and found it running at about 34 degrees BTC. How do I lower it to about 10 degrees?