I'm doing a timing belt job on my 1998 and have a question about alignment. This question has only vaguely been answered elsewhere.

When I lined up my timing marks before removing the belt, everything lined up perfectly. When I put the new belt on, my camshaft timing is off by 1/4 tooth (see pic).



As you see in the image, the tips of the triangles don't quite point at each other anymore. I haven't put it all back together so I don't know if the timing is off. But before I proceed, I'd like to know:

How critical is getting the marks to line up perfectly? I ask because, elsewhere on the web, I found mention in a brief post that the marks rarely go back to their exact location but they should be very close. I can't find the link but that's about all it said. This was in relation to the 2.3l and not the 2.5l. In my opinion, my marks are very close.

My guess is that the new belt is tighter than the old one, which I believe was original at ~172,000 (a Craigslist special that didn't run when I got it 60 miles ago but that's an unrelated issue that I've fixed).

If you were in my shoes, what would you do? I've still got most of the front off so I could try to re-time it again (something I did already but that yielded the same result of being off by a hair). If you would re-time it, how would you go about getting the marks to line up perfectly?

After you put the now one on, did you turn the engine 2 or three times, and then loosen the tension pulley to make sure all the slack was out of the belt.

Hey, I think you're on to something. I believe I put the belt on, let the tensioner spring load the tensioner into place and then turn it. I bet I ended up letting the tensioner lock slack into place as I went straight from belt install to tension without any turning. I did the turning afterwards.
I'll be sure to update the thread once I get a chance to try it the way I should have done it all along (and the way my manual even told me too now that I look back on it-doh!).
I really appreciate your response.

I just did my belt 2 weeks ago and mine were probably more off than that and it ran perfectly

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96 Ford Ranger 2.3 - Loads of mods
03 DSG Mustang GT 5 spd- CAI, Flowmaster cat back, Sequential tail lights, 70mm T.B. 265/305
1992 GMC C1500 4.3 Long Bed 91K

Hey, thanks for the encouraging response. I'm going to try tweaking it according to the correct installation procedure. But, should that fail, I'll slap it all back together and fire it up.
Your ranger looks a lot like mine save for the teeth

Hehehehehe

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96 Ford Ranger 2.3 - Loads of mods
03 DSG Mustang GT 5 spd- CAI, Flowmaster cat back, Sequential tail lights, 70mm T.B. 265/305
1992 GMC C1500 4.3 Long Bed 91K

I'm having the same exact problem. I have tried adjusting it like 20 times, at least. I get all the marks lined up. Then I put the belt on and turn it and it comes out misaligned. I have found other posts with the same problem. What are we all doing wrong? I hate the idea of hoping it will be right and it not be, then take it all apart again I'm sure one of those many tries was right and just didn't look right.

Not that I have the answer as the OP but did you loosen the tensioner pulley after a few revs as a responder above indicates after rotating the crankshaft pulley twice? It's been too cold to try this on mine but if I hit 20 times and things still aren't lining up, I'm going to put it all back together and see how it goes.

I like the idea that's at the very end of the thread you quoted: just prior to putting the belt back on, misalign the pulleys that are going out of alignment by however much they're misaligning so that when the procedure is all done they hopefully all line up. Does anyone, however, know if this is a bad idea for some reason unknown by me?

Take it to a real shop.

Mine looked off by about 1/2 a tooth and ran fine.

The lima 2.3/2.5 engines are non-interference (valves don't go down past the highest point of the pistons) so there is no risk of engine damage from improper timing.

So firing it up to check isn't really a problem.

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Automotive Electronics Engineer
2000 XLT 2.5L A/T
Mods:
Explorer OHC
Explorer Autodim Mirrors w/ Autolamps
Explorer Sport White Face Gauges

Thanks for your experience. I'm thinking that once it's no longer -20 F outside, I'll try to adjust it a few more times and then just slap it all together and see how it goes. If nothing else, I'll try to get the camshaft pulley aligned perfectly and shift any misalignment to the auxiliary pulley, which I don't believe has a sensor (I may stand corrected on that one but am ready to learn the hard way) and shouldn't matter as crucially if it's off half a tooth for engine performance. I believe I'm off by about 1/4 to 1/5 of a tooth, which is probably 3-5 degrees out of 360. In terms of engine design, this should produce a rough idle, if not a no start situation. That it works for others at this tolerance and even worse might point to something else--perhaps there's play in the camshaft in some sense that doesn't affect the timing. But I'm really just guessing here. The degree that it's off is significant but I'm also thinking that it may align itself under load after the belt snugs out. But again, there's lots more about engines that I don't know compared with what I do know.

Oddly enough, the old timing belt was in great shape; it just looked old. It was the pulley on the tensioner that had blown bearings. It was making quite a loud whirring noise in cold weather that geared up to a high scream in warm weather (the scream could have been the extremely busted clutch slave cylinder or pilot bearing but can't be sure). But since I was in there, there was no better time to change the TB and water pump.

I'll definitely update the thread here once I get a few steps further.

Lol dude you're fine!!! I had an ASE master tech of 30 years help me and said mine was fine!

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96 Ford Ranger 2.3 - Loads of mods
03 DSG Mustang GT 5 spd- CAI, Flowmaster cat back, Sequential tail lights, 70mm T.B. 265/305
1992 GMC C1500 4.3 Long Bed 91K

Good to know.

As you have surmised, I can be anal about these things. But, lacking experience, I figure it's my best bet to make sure things work in the end.

At the same time, I wanted this question posted and answered in some fashion for not only myself but for others who encounter the same problem.

I got mine all back together and it started right up. It idles smooth. Something just doesn't seem right. I drove it around a little bit and it has power. I don't really know what it felt like before, because I took it apart right after buying it. The previous owner wasn't good about maintenance. I have to take it to get smogged and will report back again then.

Hope it passes its smog test. One of the few advantages to living in the upper midwest is that there's no yearly inspection of any kind in most states. But given the junkers that roll down the highway, it's hard to say how much of an advantage it really is.

I only drove my truck 60 miles before doing the TB but it was neither a Mercedes in terms of engine performance nor a Ferrari. I wouldn't expect much from the engine besides steady acceleration, a good idle, and somewhat smooth movement through the RPMs.

Things are warming up here finally and the plug wires should arrive soon (I broke the 2nd passenger plug when I pulled it off--the inside wire looked like the now replaced knob and tube wiring my house used to have in terms of color and faded appearance as if it had baked itself to brittleness over the years. Surely it wasn't that bad but it didn't take much to rip it off the plug, to which the wire had really attached itself). I'll duly update should I get it running.