So i go to change my timing belt and discover that my timing gears have no marks on them to line up with the marks on the plastic gaurd! anyone else encounter this? theres holes machined into the gears and one is longer than the others but that hardly seems like an accurate way to line up timing.

its a 95 2.3l rwd xl ranger btw

your time marks are engraved on the gears should have a triangle and a circle... your engine dose not time like the older 2.3

If you take the timing cover off you will see a triangle molded into the back half of the cover thats still attached to the block. then look for that elongated hole on the camshaft you mentioned you should see a indent / notch stamped on the plate that turns with the camshaft..you may be getting lost as i did looking for something " stamped" on the gear itself. and if you follow the Haynes book it tells you to take off the thermo. housing to get the cover off...with a little tugging you can skip that step..hope this helps..

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1996 ford ranger 2.3l reg cab 2wd auto.

Is that correct also for 94 rangers , because im going to change mine out soon and i just want to make sure what to do before taking the think apart

So all the marks should be on the actual timing gear , because i know theres a few marks , and then once its correct just put the new belt on and is that it

the etching will be on the belt gaurd that is built on to the gear.

slide the belt on, set the tentioner, and rotate the engine over by hand 4 times and confirm the marks still line up and you should be about done.

ok so basically im going to be looking near the gear for the mark , i think i know what your referring to the belt guard and the mark should be on those , is there going to be a belt guard with a mark on each line up spot

also i want to make sure im even understanding this correctly , you say put the belt on once i make sure the marks are lined up and then rotate the crank to make sure after its all still lined up

yes that is it

if you were closer.Id say drag your truck here and Id walk you thu it

yeah it is to bad im not closer not exactly right around the corner , someone told me it would take a while to figure it out considering ive never done it before