1999 2.5 ranger timing belt issues please help!!!!!!
 

my dads timing belt on his 99 ranger broke off the other day while he was driving it. we took everything apart and put the new belt on and the truck would not start at all. so we checked the timing marks again and put the truck at tdc and still the same results. now on the crankshaft when the keyway is at 12 noon the line does not match up with tdc mark on the cover. also on the oilpump pulley there is a diamond and a triangle mark on the metal behind the pulley and on the case it is a diamond. on the camshaft sprocket there is a diamond in the metal and on the case there is a triangle to match it up. we have been working on this thing for over a week now and just trying to get some input here......thanks in advance

Re: 1999 2.5 ranger timing belt issues please help!!!!!!
 

Hey, I just replaced one on this truck the other day. On the crank after you take the harmonic balancer off you should see a Dot and a Notch on the rear cover. The correct way to line this up is by having the Key way at 12 o'clock and the groove on the crank sprocket should be lined up centered with the notch on the cover. I have pictures i'll upload tomorrow if it would help

Re: 1999 2.5 ranger timing belt issues please help!!!!!!
 

There is a diamond and a triangle on the cam pulley, line up the two triangles, line up the two diamonds on the oil pump pulley, and the dots on the crank shaft. They made it kindergarten easy, just match the shapes.

Re: 1999 2.5 ranger timing belt issues please help!!!!!!
 

Ben, a couple of issues. Because the cam turns at 1/2 the speed of the crankshaft, it is possible to have the crank keyway at 12'Oclock and not have the cam/oilpump marks aligned visually. If it appears "off", rotate the crankshaft one more revolution and see if they now align. If you are aligning it for the first time, this 1/2 speed thing isn't important, but after the belt is on and tensioned, it will have a crank revolution where things are lined up and one where they are not. The cam has a diamond and a triangle on the metal ring behind the pulley. The diamond is supposed to be "about" 12 O'clock, but the mark you need to pay attention to is the triangle which should be opposite the triangle on the back of the timing belt housing. At the same time, there are a couple of diamonds to match on the oil pump pulley, one on the ring behind the pulley and another on the back of the timing belt housing. Not sure why it is critical for these marks to be lined up (oil pump) but maybe it is just to ensure the belt is properly positioned.

Now a second issue, if the belt broke while the engine was running....there may be engine damage as well...it all depends on whether this is an "interference" or "non-interference" engine and by that I mean whether the valves (if open) will strike the piston at TDC or not. When the belt broke, the cam stopped turning and one or more valves would be open at that time. Question is, did they strike the piston or not? Someone more familiar with this engine than I may be able to answer this question.

If a valve hit a piston, you have either a bent valve which now will not close, or a piston with a hole in the top...or maybe both.

Re: 1999 2.5 ranger timing belt issues please help!!!!!!
 

It is a non-interference engine.

Be sure to have the crank at TDC on the #1 compression stroke when lining up all the marks.

Re: 1999 2.5 ranger timing belt issues please help!!!!!!
 

Thanks for the info on non-interference Johnbaum13

Re: 1999 2.5 ranger timing belt issues please help!!!!!!
 

Agreed, the 2.5 is non-interference. Remove a spark plug from #1 cylinder and verify that the piston is TDC before putting the belt on otherwise you could be 180 degrees off even with the timing marks all lining up.

Re: 1999 2.5 ranger timing belt issues please help!!!!!!
 

Please excuse a dumb question, is it really possible to get the timing belt 180 degrees off? I take it that the cylinder #1 is the one closest to the front of the truck, correct?


Thanks,
Stan

Re: 1999 2.5 ranger timing belt issues please help!!!!!!
 

It really is possible if you have a crank ring triggered ignition.

Re: 1999 2.5 ranger timing belt issues please help!!!!!!
 

Not the timing belt but the cam can be 180 degrees off. The cylinder closest to the front of the truck is indeed the #1 piston. :)

Re: 1999 2.5 ranger timing belt issues please help!!!!!!
 

wouldnt the best way to do this would be to pull the valve cover off and watch the valves for the number one piston while you slowly crank it over with a long shaft screwdriver in the spark plug hole for the number one piston. this way you can be 100% sure the number one piston is at tdc.

Re: 1999 2.5 ranger timing belt issues please help!!!!!!
 

Hey everybody, just bought '99 Mazda B2500 SE 2.5 l4 90k miles - It should be the same non interference engine as on Ford? Has the factory timing belt, so I would leave it for another year or so.

Re: 1999 2.5 ranger timing belt issues please help!!!!!!