Hi All,

Last year my Ford Focus Mk 2 1.6TDCi reached the grand old age of 130,000 miles and I decided to change the timing belt and other ancillaries (using Ford parts). I followed the Haynes instructions and all seemed to go fine. There was one side effect which was the engine sounded louder than it did before. I posted about this issue last December (https://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/113366-noisy16tdci-engine-opinions-required/) and got some great responses ( @TomsFocus, @Albert27 ).

I have since tried several things to resolve the issue but nothing seems to have worked. 

I have come to the conclusion that I must have messed the timing up and am planning on stripping the engine back to see how far the timing marks are off. I have a couple of questions about this and am hoping someone can help..?

1. If I do find one of the marks is slightly off can I move the displaced cog and realign it correctly or do I have to strip the engine right back and start again?

2. If I do need to strip the engine back are there any good guides on how to do this?

3. If I need to remove the timing belt do I need to fit a new one, even though the car has only covered 8000 miles since?

Many thanks in advance for your help,

Stophen.

 

After all this time I really wouldn't worry about it.

If you do check and find the cam a tooth out then you'll have to loosen the tensioner and belt to move it and then reset the tensioner afterwards.  Don't have to fully remove the belt, and unless there's any wear or contamination on the belt it doesn't need to be renewed.

 

Thanks @TomsFocus, I always appreciate your swift answers!

Yeah, I wasn't going to do this but as I am at home for the foreseeable future I thought I might at least have a look to see if the timing is out, and then maybe even polish it (the car - not the engine)!

Cheers, Stophen.

15 hours ago, Stophen said:

Hi All,

Last year my Ford Focus Mk 2 1.6TDCi reached the grand old age of 130,000 miles and I decided to change the timing belt and other ancillaries (using Ford parts). I followed the Haynes instructions and all seemed to go fine. There was one side effect which was the engine sounded louder than it did before. I posted about this issue last December (https://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/113366-noisy16tdci-engine-opinions-required/) and got some great responses ( @TomsFocus, @Albert27 ).

I have since tried several things to resolve the issue but nothing seems to have worked. 

I have come to the conclusion that I must have messed the timing up and am planning on stripping the engine back to see how far the timing marks are off. I have a couple of questions about this and am hoping someone can help..?

1. If I do find one of the marks is slightly off can I move the displaced cog and realign it correctly or do I have to strip the engine right back and start again?

2. If I do need to strip the engine back are there any good guides on how to do this?

3. If I need to remove the timing belt do I need to fit a new one, even though the car has only covered 8000 miles since?

Many thanks in advance for your help,

Stophen.

 

I wouldn't bother if you've gone 8000 and it's just a bit louder, it could just be normal engine noises. These are noisy engines.  Are you 100% sure it's louder?  Whenever I do a job on a car I hear noises I never heard before - a bit of DIY paranoia 😄  Did the timing all line up when you did the job originally? The fuel pump mark is irrelevant,  its not even part of the timing on these, so don't worry about that.  It would just be the cam and crank marks if there was a problem.

Thanks @Albert27, there is definitely some DIY paranoia going on but I figure as I have the time, and the weather is ok I would take a look!

I'm pretty sure all the timing did line up but I won't to check for my peace of mind!

Cheers, Stophen.

Hi, I'm just asking, have you changed the cam axle chain? Usually after a certain number of miles they are pretty worned out and may cause the engine to be noisier!

 

Oh well, that cam axle chain is named timing belt lol. nevermind

If it’s the older 1.6tdci engine it has twin cam. A belt goes from crankshaft to one camshaft. A chain goes from one camshaft to the other camshaft. I think that engine was changed from twin cam to single cam about 2009, not sure exactly.  When changing belt you don’t go as far as even seeing the chain. No idea if they ever get noisy

I would have thought that if you had got the timing slightly out you would have noticed a change in the fuel consumption.

Hi All,

Thanks for your comments.

I'm gonna check out my timing belt change after I finish testing my injectors.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Cheers,

Stophen.