Terrible mpg's = new interest in old ideas.

[mhmitszach]

Well, I'm going to call tygen tomorrow and have my dad check it out monday.

From my understanding, the belt stopped the shaft and as a result, when I tried starting the car, locked it up and bent it. You should've seen the belt, 1/3 of it was ripped down the middle.

And yes, the zetec is a non-interferance.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by mhmitszach

Well, I'm going to call tygen tomorrow and have my dad check it out monday.

From my understanding, the belt stopped the shaft and as a result, when I tried starting the car, locked it up and bent it. You should've seen the belt, 1/3 of it was ripped down the middle.

And yes, the zetec is a non-interferance.

I just can't imagine a nylon-reinforced belt bending the camshaft with only the power of the starter (about 3HP, I think) pulling on it.

I'm not saying that you're wrong, I'm just saying that you may have misunderstood what was said, or it wasn't explained properly. (No way to say that without it sounding mean, but you know what I'm getting at, I think.)

Ty's right, though... a pic would be greatly helpful.

Are the cam gears stamped steel or aluminum cast? I can imagine one of those breaking, I've had it happen before (with cast aluminum ones). I can even imagine a stamped steel one bending... I just can't see the camshaft bending/breaking without doing some serious other damage... there's a bearing surface RIGHT behind the cam gear, so the starter's power can't even get decent leverage on the 1" stub of a cam that it's pulling on.

[Tygen1]

I'm with ya, I can't see bending the cams, I've had mine out before and they are some beeffy units. The cam gears are steel, not stamped, more like die-cast. Theyre big and heavy. This car does have a Variable exhuast cam, I doubt the belt could damage it though....not saying it's not possible.

I've seen some pic's of ZX2's running around with about an 1/8 of a belt left. It's a very common problem. No start could be a hundred things.

You mentioned that there is no compression. Have them show you this, see it for yourself. I would be surprised if there wasn't compression. If you bent a cam, the motor probably would not turn over. So things still sound a bit fishy...

[Christ]

No compression would be a result of open valves... but there's no way that all four cylinders would have open valves at the same time, I don't think.

Even if there was, and the belt is off the gears, you can turn the cams to the marks and then test each cylinder by cranking the engine.

An engine will only build compression if the cylinder is closed, meaning all the valves have to be closed. In your case, if the cams are disconnected, they should be aligned using the timing marks, which would put cylinder #1 at TDC on compression (regarding the valves). Being that it's not an interference engine, it's safe to crank in this state - set the cams that way, then crank the engine and check the compression number for #1 cylinder - then turn the cams 90* and do it again for cylinder number 3, then 90*, cylinder 4, then 90*, cylinder 2. (I believe the firing order is 1342, make sure you turn the cams the right direction... the "mechanic" should already know this.)

Record the compression numbers that way, then report back.

[Christ]

Might also be time to invest in a Kevlar belt, designed for racing applications - if the timing belt is a common issue, I'd do it. Then again, being a Non Interference engine, I probably wouldn't really worry about it... if the belt breaks again, you'll just have to get it fixed again.

[Tygen1]

[QUOTE=Christ;128728]Twin cam timing belts (That's what stuck, the cam shaft) are a PITA to put on and time correctly at times. A single tooth off can stop a car from starting, and they often float 1/2 tooth under normal use... so that gives you an idea of the tolerance for error.QUOTE]

The Zetec is somewhat natorious for being hard to time by mechanics that are not familar with them. There are no timing marks, cept on the harmonic balencer. The Variable exhaust cam makes it more difficult because it should be slightly pre loaded, or you end up one tooth off and it doesn't run so good. It's easy to mess up the timing on it. By the third time I did a belt, I didn't need the book anymore. It's actually very simple once you know the process: Remove old belt and valve cover. Align harmonic balancer mark with engine mark. Set cams by sliding flat steel into the ends to hold in place. Make sure the tensioner is loose. Put on belt, make sure it is pulled tight on the exhaust cam side, slightly turn exhust cam to pre-load the VCT and align the belt ribs onto the intake cam pulley. Make sure to take out the exhuast cams holding plate before preloading or you'll bust off cam slot. Slide belt on all the way. Align mark on the tesioner with the mark on the engine and tighten it up. Done!

[Tygen1]

Originally Posted by Christ

Might also be time to invest in a Kevlar belt, designed for racing applications - if the timing belt is a common issue, I'd do it. Then again, being a Non Interference engine, I probably wouldn't really worry about it... if the belt breaks again, you'll just have to get it fixed again.

The belt would last almost forever if Ford woulda designed some decent idler pulleys. With the Zetec, it's almost always the idler pullies that kill off the belts. I've never seen a belt die off with good pullies. I get the cheapest belts possible because of this

[Christ]

[QUOTE=Tygen1;128744]

Originally Posted by Christ

Twin cam timing belts (That's what stuck, the cam shaft) are a PITA to put on and time correctly at times. A single tooth off can stop a car from starting, and they often float 1/2 tooth under normal use... so that gives you an idea of the tolerance for error.QUOTE]

The Zetec is somewhat natorious for being hard to time by mechanics that are not familar with them. There are no timing marks, cept on the harmonic balencer. The Variable exhaust cam makes it more difficult because it should be slightly pre loaded, or you end up one tooth off and it doesn't run so good. It's easy to mess up the timing on it. By the third time I did a belt, I didn't need the book anymore. It's actually very simple once you know the process: Remove old belt and valve cover. Align harmonic balancer mark with engine mark. Set cams by sliding flat steel into the ends to hold in place. Make sure the tensioner is loose. Put on belt, make sure it is pulled tight on the exhaust cam side, slightly turn exhust cam to pre-load the VCT and align the belt ribs onto the intake cam pulley. Make sure to take out the exhuast cams holding plate before preloading or you'll bust off cam slot. Slide belt on all the way. Align mark on the tesioner with the mark on the engine and tighten it up. Done!

My Twin Cam honda engines are easier than that... takes a 3mm allen wrench through a hole in each cam, toss the belt on and hold all the slack to the tensioner side, let the tensioner set against the belt, and turn the engine over twice CCW by hand. (Honda D-series engines turn CCW)

[mhmitszach]

Getting my car fixed was a joke. Pretty much had to have it fixed at the shop it was towed to because I got it there for free because my girlfriends brother worked there.

360 dollars later it's running. Drove it around 500 miles, Dad pops the hood. The mechanic ruined the valve gasket and I was leaking oil. Which means, I got to take a picture of my burnt up cams for you. Dad replaced the gasket but managed to lose a bolt and break another one in the top. So he "fixed" it by putting a ton of sealant in place of the bolt...0_o


The mechanic also managed to just straight up remove my splash guard. So I'm going to try and find a large piece of coroplast at some point.

I've been getting fairly decent gas mileage , according to scanguage, driving back and forth between home. 32-35 mpg with no real regard to speed but trying not to brake too much.

Going to try to start keeping track of gas mileage again now that I've got things straightened out and normalized.

I may not be getting great gas mileage but last weekend I drove ~500 miles for free. I actually made 3 dollars in gas... Thumbs up to ride share and having people pay for gas in exchange for a ride!

[Christ]

Originally Posted by mhmitszach

Getting my car fixed was a joke. Pretty much had to have it fixed at the shop it was towed to because I got it there for free because my girlfriends brother worked there.

360 dollars later it's running. Drove it around 500 miles, Dad pops the hood. The mechanic ruined the valve gasket and I was leaking oil. Which means, I got to take a picture of my burnt up cams for you. Dad replaced the gasket but managed to lose a bolt and break another one in the top. So he "fixed" it by putting a ton of sealant in place of the bolt...0_o


The mechanic also managed to just straight up remove my splash guard. So I'm going to try and find a large piece of coroplast at some point.

I've been getting fairly decent gas mileage , according to scanguage, driving back and forth between home. 32-35 mpg with no real regard to speed but trying not to brake too much.

Going to try to start keeping track of gas mileage again now that I've got things straightened out and normalized.

I may not be getting great gas mileage but last weekend I drove ~500 miles for free. I actually made 3 dollars in gas... Thumbs up to ride share and having people pay for gas in exchange for a ride!

I feel like I'd have been taking the car back to the mechanic straight away, and either making them fix it, or making them pay the bill to have it fixed at a reputable shop (they obviously aren't, if that's the kind of work they endorse).

Regardless, I wouldn't be going there again.