2000-2004 Ford Focus Zetec SVT Timing Belt Replacement (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004) (2024)

SAFETY FIRST!

Always disconnect the negative battery terminal before beginning to work

A 10mm wrench makes quick work of the battery connector

Jack up the car

When looking for safe jack points, refer to the owner's manual

Always use jack stands to support the vehicle!

Remove the four lug nuts holding on the tire. They are a 19mm

There are 2 snaps and one screw holding on the splash shield

The top two are a Phillips #2 located directly behind the tire

The one attached to the bumper is a Torx

Pull back the splash guard for better visibility

There is a cover protecting the Accessory Belt

There are two 10mm bolts holding this splash guard on, one in the front and one in the back

Relocate the coolant overflow and power steering resevoirs

There is one 10mm bolt holding the coolant overflow reservoir to the frame

There is a snap tab located behind the coolant overflow reservoir holding it in place

The power steering reservoir will just lift out

Both can be pulled gently to the side

There are four 8mm bolts holding down the spark plug cover

Gently lift it out of the way

The connector for the VCT Solenoid will need to be unplugged

There is a small metal tab holding the connector on

Use a screwdriver to pry upward on the metal tab or squeeze the metal tab and pull upward to remove it.

Be careful not to lose it!

The connector will just pull off

Pull the wire back out of the way

There are four 8mm bolts holding on the upper timing belt cover

This exposes the timing blet

This belt is cracking, indicating it needs to be replaced

Gently twist and pull straight up to remove the spark plug connectors

Do not unplug the other side!

Pull them gently back out of the way

Using a 15mm wrench, rotate the tensioner assembly clockwise releasing tension on the belt

A long wrench may make this easier

Slip the belt gently off the pulleys and out of the engine bay

On reassembly, check your owner's manual for accessory belt routing

There are three 13mm bolts holding the water pump pulley to the water pump

You can use a strap wrench to prevent the pulley from rotating

You can also use a flat head screwdriver to prevent rotation

During reassembly, snug the bolts to hand tight, install the accessory belt, then torque down the bolts

Gently remove the pulley

While it is not necessary to remove the water pump, it is a great time to change it!

There is one 13mm bolt holding the idler pulley in place

A little finagling may be required to get the pulley out

Don't lose the spacer washer on the pulley!

There are ten 8mm bolts holding the valve cover down

These bolts must be removed from outside to inside, working diagonally

On reassembly these bolts must be torqued in two stages, working from inside to outside

On the first stage, tighten to 2 Nm

On the second stage, tighten to 7 Nm

Disconnect the vacuum hose going to the intake

It is recommended that you change the valve cover gasket before reassembly

Remove the four spark plugs using a 5/8" spark plug socket

Using a block of scrap wood between a hydraulic jack and the oil pan, use the jack to support the engine

Do not lift the engine! Merely allow it to rest on the jack.

Mark the position of the motor mount relative to the car frame with a sharpie

There are three 15mm bolts holding the motor mount to the car frame.

During reassembly these bolts must be torqued to 48 Nm

There are two 18mm nuts holding the motor mount to the engine

It is normal for the stud to come out with these nuts

During reassembly these bolts must be torqued to 80 Nm

There are three 15mm bolts and one T50 bolt holding the middle timing belt cover in place

During reassembly these bolts must be torqued to 50 Nm

There is one 18mm bolt holding the harmonic balancer pulley in place

Care must be taken to not allow the engine to rotate counterclockwise during its removal

During reassembly the bolt must be torqued to 115 Nm

After the bolt is removed, the pulley should slide off

The pulley is keyed, and must be in the correct orientation during reassembly

There are two 10mm bolts holding the lower timing belt cover in place

The removal of this cover fully exposes the remainder of the timing belt

The following steps illustrate how to align the engine to Top Dead Center (TDC)

It is crucial that extra care is taken to ensure the engine is at TDC before reassembly

Never rotate the engine counterclockwise. Only rotate the engine in the direction of rotation, clockwise

You will need the proper bar and pin tool to check the timing.

Never use the bar and pin to hold the crank or camshafts. Doing so could result in permanent engine damage

With the timing belt removed never rotate the crankshaft or camshafts independently of one another. Doing so could result in permanent engine damage

After putting the harmonic balancer pulley back on (you do not have to torque it down), use the 18mm bolt and a wrench to turn the engine clockwise. The engine should move with relative ease, if it does not move ensure that the car is in neutral. Do not use excess force!

You may want to rest a wooden dowel in the spark plug hole of piston #1 to observe its movement

You will reach TDC when piston #1 is at its highest point and the exhaust valve is just about to open

This will occur once every two complete revolutions of the motor

When you are at TDC, the timing bar should slide into the slot in both camshafts

Since this is a 4 stroke engine, there are two times when piston #1 will be at its highest point. To be at TDC, we must use the intake stroke

During the compression stroke, the intake valve will have just closed. This is not TDC. The timing bar will not fit

If you overshoot TDC do not rotate the engine counterclockwise. Turn the engine two complete revolutions clockwise

Underneath the exhaust manifold there is a 13mm plug where the crankshaft stopper must be inserted. Use a wrench to remove the stud

Using the longer stopper, fully insert and screw it in until snug.

This will prevent the crankshaft from moving clockwise past TDC. With the stopper in place rotate the engine clockwise until it no longer turns. The crankshaft will be at exactly TDC.

This will not prevent the engine from rotating counter clockwise. Never rotate the engine counterclockwise

Do not use the stopper to prevent engine rotation. Always restrain engine movement with a proper tools

With the crankshaft stopper in place, rotate the engine clockwise until it no longer moves. The timing bar should slide into place with relative ease. We are now at TDC

If the bar does not slide in easily, check that you are indeed at TDC and not at the top of the compression stroke

If you are at TDC, the timing bar may still not quite fit. As the belt ages it stretches, causing slight variations in the timing. Using a proper sized open end wrench, you can rotate the cams slightly to get the bar into place

The camshafts are keyed to be held with open end wrenches between cylinders #1 and #2

The intake camshaft is a 1"

The exhaust camshaft is a 1 1/4"

Due to slight variations in the the spacing between timing belt teeth, we must loosen but not remove the camshaft sprockets. The intake sprocket bolt is hidden inside of the VCT gear, and the cover must be removed to expose it.

There is a T55 Bolt holding the exhaust sprocket in place. While holding the camshaft with a proper open end wrench, loosen but do not remove this bolt. This will allow the camshaft sprocket to rotate.

It is reccommended that you remove the timing bar while loosening to avoid damage to the bar or the camshafts. Do not use the bar to prevent rotation. Use a proper sized open end wrench.

There is a T55 cap on the VCT gear. Unscrew it to expose the E18 bolt holding the exhaust camshaft sprocket in place with a proper open end wrench.

There is oil in this gear! Be prepared with a small container to catch it in. Clean all of the oil from the gear and ensure none gets on your crankshaft sprocket

After all of the oil is drained, loosen the E18 bolt holding the intake sprocket in place while holding the camshaft with a proper open end wrench

During reassembly this bolt will need to be torqued to 120 Nm

During reassembly this bolt will need to be torqued to 37 Nm

During reassembly this bolt will need to be torqued to 68 Nm

With both sprockets loose, place the timing bar back into the camshafts to ensure they remain at TDC

It is recommended that the tensioner and idler pulleys be changed at the same time as the timing belt.

There is one 10mm bolt holding the tensioner pulley in place

There is one 15mm bolt holding the idler pulley in place

The belt should slide off

This is the hole where the tensioner pulley's tab should slide into on reassembly

With the timing belt off, you should be able to freely spin the camshaft sprockets without rotating the camshafts while the timing bar is in place

With the timing belt removed never rotate the crankshaft or camshafts independently of one another. Doing so could result in permanent engine damage

After rotating the crankshaft clockwise until it no longer moves to ensure it has remained at TDC, and the timing bar is inserted on the camshafts to ensure that they remained at TDC, we can begin to install the new timing belt.

Begin by installing the new tensioner, tightening the 10mm bolt until it is hand tight

Ensure that the tab on the pulley has fallen into its proper slot

Ensure that the tensioner adjusting washer is in the 4 o'clock position

Install the new idler pulley, torquing the bolt to 25 Nm

Starting on the crankshaft sprocket, slip the belt around it, working clockwise around the tensioner pulley, intake sprocket, exhaust sprocket, then idler pulley, all while keeping the belt under tension

With the belt installed, insert a 6mm hex key into the tensioner adjusting washer

Rotate the washer counterclockwise to tension the belt

During this process the tension indicator will move clockwise

Continue rotation until the tension indicator has reached the point where the mark on the tab is centered between the forks of the indicator

While preventing the tensoiner adjusting washer from moving, torque the 10mm bolt to 25 Nm

With the new belt installed and tensioned, we must now torque the camshaft sprockets

After removing the timing bar, while holding the camshaft with the proper wrench, torque the intake cam to 120 Nm

After removing the timing bar, while holding the camshaft with the proper wrench, torque the exhaust cam to 80 Nm

Remove the timing bar and crankshaft stopper.

Using the 18mm bolt on the crankshaft, rotate the engine 2 complete revolutions.

When you get close to the second complete revolution, reinsert the stopper pin. See Step #22.

Rotate the crankshaft until it hits the stopper pin.

Attempt to reinsert the timing bar. If it slides right in, your engine is 100% in time! Congratulations! Go ahead and try this check again in any multiple of 2 complete rotations just to be triple sure.

If the bar does not slide in, and both camshafts are off: First ensure you are at TDC. If you are, follow the procedure to reloosen the camshaft sprockets, adjust them, and retorque them. Repeat this process until you can rotate the engine two complete revolutions, hit the stopper, and have the bar slide right in.

Failure to ensure proper timing could cause permanent engine damage. Take the time to follow each step again as precisely as possible.

If the bar does not slide in, and only the intake camshaft is off, your VCT gear may have to be timed independently. See the next step for more information on this.

VCT or Variable Cam Timing allows the intake camshaft to rotate relative to the camshaft sprocket. The VCT system must be in positive dead stop for the engine to be 100% in time.

Failure to ensure the VCT system is in positive dead stop will result in poor engine performance and DTCs P1381 or P1383

With the intake sprocket torqued, and the timing bar removed, attempt to rotate the intake camshaft with a proper open end wrench counterclockwise while holding the VCT housing with a strap wrench. The intake camshaft should not move. If so, you are at positive dead stop.

Rotate the camshaft clockwise no more than 1/4 of a rotation. You will hear oil sputter and drain from the VCT system. Rotating more than 1/4 of a rotation could result in permanent engine damage.

Attempt this counterclockwise rotation again. When you reach the limit of motion, you are at positive dead stop.

If your VCT gear is at positive dead stop and your intake camshaft is at TDC (the bar slides in) then torque the cap to 37 Nm

See this forum post for more information on clocking the VCT gear

Once you are convinced you engine is 100% in time, begin reassembly following proper torque specs starting on Step #18 and working backwards.

Failure to ensure your timing bar and pin do not line up nearly perfectly 100% of the time could result in permanent engine damage.

Start the car up and let it warm up. Take it for a test drive, briefly running the engine all the way through to its highest RPM

If you get DTCs P1381 or 1383, see the previous step for how to alleviate them. If you see poor performance or other DTCs, it may be that you did not carefully verify your engine was in time.