WQ Fiesta timing belt fun and games ...

[Forbear]

Hello good people, Charlie here and this is my first post.

Vehicle: Fiesta WQ, 5 door hatch, petrol, auto

Engine: 1.6L DOHC Duratec

Built: December 2007

Kms: 82k

My dear little Fiesta spat coolant from the water pump a couple of weeks ago so I watched a bunch of YouTube videos, bought the aftermarket parts and special tools, arranged some hoist time at a mate's place and set to work. The job took a few days of methodical work and went very well, or so I thought.

I drove about 25kms with a big grin on the face and returned to the mate's shed to pick up tools and so on. When leaving, the engine stopped suddenly and failed to restart. Investigations showed that the cams are not rotating when cranking. I pulled back the top plastic cover and can see that the timing belt is there and still firmly tensioned. Interestingly, the auxiliary belts do rotate when cranking, so it seems that the toothed 'sprocket' is slipping on the crankshaft.

Ok, I am resigned to doing the whole bloody thing again but I have an important question: Is this engine of the 'interference' variety? I have seen conflicting information and some heated debate on this forum and elsewhere.

I really don't want to remove the head to find out, so can anyone help with a definitive answer?

[Forbear]

Further information: I can confirm that the crankshaft bolt was loose. Apparently the compressor that drives the rattle gun had been turned off without my knowledge - my fault for not checking.

And I think my previous question about interference has been answered. I tightened the crank bolt to the point where it could grab the pulley and carefully rotated it until I came to an obstruction in both clockwise and counter-clockwise directions. I can only conclude that this means it is an interference engine.

So now, and this is a bit desperate, could it be that when the crank and cams become disconnected, will the cams immediately settle into a comfortable state of equilibrium and therefore not hit pistons? I don't recall hearing any metallic noises when the engine stopped.

Or am I dreaming?

[Forbear]

An update: Yes, I was dreaming.

I checked valve clearances and confirmed that the exhaust valves in cylinder 1 were not returning to their comfortable seats, so have now removed the head. This is not a job for the faint of heart, as anyone who has removed a Fiesta head will attest. The exhaust manifold is particularly difficult to access in such a confined working space. I appreciate the good fortune of having free access to a hoist. I can't imagine doing this job on the ground.

I bought the Haynes manual. It is as disappointing as every other Haynes manual I've seen. While blundering around on the 'net I found the correct Ford Workshop Manual PDF, all 1226 pages, with clear line drawings and instructions showing virtually everything I needed to know.

My previous mechanical experience has been with air-cooled VWs back in the day and currently a 50 year old BMW boxer motorbike so this is quite an adventure.

Anyway, the head is now with the machinist and the scrapes and bruises on my 75 year old hands and arms are healing, so all is good for now.

I note that my post has had over 240 views so far. Thanks for your interest.

Have a good one
Charlie

[Citroënbender]

A good effort so far, to right the ship!

It’s well worth either finding a suitable ring gear locking tool, or cobbling one up. The “slip and grip” type pulleys also often come with angular torque specifications which are pretty impressive - if you’re adding two lots of ninety degrees to a 1,5mm pitch crank bolt, that’s stretching it by nearly 30 thou. (Random example, not your specification.)

Also worth investigating is whether the big ends suffer in these engines if you have a top end failure. It’s a problem with Alfa fours of the same era, the bearings can get flat-spotted.

[Forbear]

Thanks for your response, Bender. Re the ring gear locking, I saw a neat trick on a YouTube video where a screwdriver can be poked into the teeth of the ring gear through a little window at the engine to transmission junction. It's right at the rear of the engine next to the axle shaft.

I'm not concerned about the big-end bearings. The only damage done when the motor stopped was to bend two itty-bitty valve heads.

Righting the ship? Yeah, my blunder had consequences and I am now doing expensive but appropriate 'penance' for my sins. Let that be a lesson for me, eh?