Reading Before You Wrench
May Save You Time, Money

Posted 2/11/2010
By Jerry Rathman

Nowadays, not taking the time to read before you wrench could end up costing you a lot of time and money. Something as simple as replacing the crankshaft pulley and balancer assembly has turned into a major repair on some Ford engines and now requires a number of special tools.

"Something as simple as replacing the crankshaft pulley and balancer assembly has turned into a major repair on some Ford engines and now requires a number of special tools.”

On some 2001 to the present (2.0L, 2.3L, and 2.5L) cars with four-cylinder engines, the balancer and the lower timing gear are not keyed to the crankshaft, and are only held in time by friction using diamond washers between the flange faces. Because of this, the crankshaft and camshafts must be locked down before the pulley bolt is loosened. Failure to do this will result in the camshafts getting out of time and possible damage to the engine.

The crankshaft is held in place with a timing peg that is threaded into the block, just above the pan rail, behind the crankshaft position (CKP) sensor. This peg contacts a flyweight and prevents the crankshaft from rotating in the clockwise direction. It should be noted that the crankshaft could still rotate counterclockwise and that it must be held against the peg during pulley removal and installation.

The camshafts are held in place with an alignment plate that engages a slot machined into the rear of each camshaft. This plate will prevent the camshafts from turning. The slots are offset, so if the tool cannot be engaged, try rotating the crankshaft one complete revolution.

To remove the pulley, a special tool with pegs to engage the "spokes" of the pulley is used to hold it in place. With the pulley held against the timing peg, remove the bolt. Failure to hold the pulley in place while removing the bolt could cause engine damage. The diamond washers need to be replaced each time the pulley is removed to prevent the pulley from slipping out of alignment. Since the pulley is also the balancer, it must be reinstalled in the proper position to prevent a vibration. This is done during reassembly by threading a 6mm bolt through the hole in the 6 o'clock position of the balancer and into the timing cover.

When the pulley is installed, the crankshaft must remain in the top dead center position. A new pulley bolt should be used, and while supporting the pulley with the special tools, it should be tightened in two steps. First, torque the bolt to 74 ft-lb, then tighten it an additional 90 degrees. Then, remove all of the special tools at this time and rotate the crankshaft by hand two complete revolutions - stop if you feel any resistance. The engine should turn freely. Reinstall the timing peg and rotate the crankshaft until it contacts the peg. At this point, the camshaft alignment plate should slide into the machined slots of the camshaft. If it does, the engine is timed correctly. If it does not, the pulley will need to be removed and the cam timing reset.

All of the tools needed for this job are available from most tool suppliers.

Jerry Rathman is an Identifix Ford specialist. He is a Ford master and ASE master with L1 certification.

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