Help-car repair advice needed

bridget · #1 09/19/05, 04:41 PM

My car had been stalling out at traffic lights for 5-6 days so today I got off early and was on my way to my garage to have it looked at. A couple miles away while slowing down at a light it died. I had it towed anf they think it's the timing belt. 96 Escort, 87,000 miles, no major problems before.

The mechanic said it probably was the timing belt and will let me know tomorrow if it's that for sure. He said it's common to replace the water pump also when the timing belt is shot. Is that true?

I'd like to replace the Escort in 9/12 months if possible and wonder how much money I should spend

Valduare · #2 09/19/05, 04:45 PM

yes it is commmon to change the water pump when the timing belt goes out.

pcwerk · #3 09/19/05, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bridget

My car had been stalling out at traffic lights for 5-6 days so today I got off early and was on my way to my garage to have it looked at. A couple miles away while slowing down at a light it died. I had it towed anf they think it's the timing belt. 96 Escort, 87,000 miles, no major problems before.

The mechanic said it probably was the timing belt and will let me know tomorrow if it's that for sure. He said it's common to replace the water pump also when the timing belt is shot. Is that true?

I'd like to replace the Escort in 9/12 months if possible and wonder how much money I should spend

If money is tight just tell them to give it a tune-up. I doubt that its a
timing belt...if a timing belt breaks you are dead stop and not going
anywhere. Not driving around for "5 or 6 days". Make sure a new air
filter is included in the tune-up.
Many people would say that 87,000 miles is plenty time to change a
timing belt but if your going to sell it within a year...my 87 Escort that
my mom drives has never had the timing belt changed and it has 127,000
miles on it! Its not worth the cost at this point...the car aint worth $500!
[Btw, Escorts can be good cars if you find a mechanic you can trust and
a 96 is just getting going...] How long have you known this mechanic?
Do other people consider him trustworthy? He may be trying to get one by you.
james in houston

comfortablynumb · #4 09/19/05, 05:38 PM

if the belt jumped a tooth it would run like rewarmed poo poo... youd know something was really wrong.

if all it is doing is stalling out it could be a whole bunch of things.... bad fuel pump, clogged fuel filter... bad plugs... bad TPS...
its A 96, it can be plugged into an OBD2 scannner and whats ailing it will be instantly known by the code it shows you.

did he pull the codes from the computer? thats the forst step you need to take..

could be anything, and a fords OBD system has about a zillion things it could show you. (codes)
it isnt a time belt, if it was as ewas said, it wouldnt run or ir would run so bad (skipped tooth) you wouldnt get anywhere.

I vote you go to a garage and request an OBD2 scan to retreive the codes.

arky64 · #5 09/19/05, 06:00 PM

when it stalls does it start right up ,or is it hard to get started? i had that type problem a couple of years ago with my p/u and it was the fuel pump, finally quite and would not start back. timming belts break your done until replaced,and if jump your not running good, i would have other things checked first. ed

Ozarks_1 · #6 09/19/05, 06:09 PM

I'd begin by looking at a fuel problem ... either fuel pump or fuel filter. It's easy to overlook replacing the fuel filter.

Beeman · #7 09/19/05, 06:14 PM

If you have a good trustworthy mechanic I would wait for his diagnosis and suggestions.
As far as belt replacement,yes I would definetly replace the water pump if and when replacing the belt. The water pump is timing belt driven and they are prone to failure. When they fail they tend to lock up and proceed to shuch the teeth off of the new timing belt.

bridget · #8 09/19/05, 06:14 PM

The car won't start at all right now. It was restarting after shutting down at the lights until today. I heard a 'tapping' sound then it shut down when I took my foot off the gas at the 2nd light I stopped at.

What does a water pump actually do?

fordy · #9 09/19/05, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bridget

The car won't start at all right now. It was restarting after shutting down at the lights until today. I heard a 'tapping' sound then it shut down when I took my foot off the gas at the 2nd light I stopped at.

What does a water pump actually do?

...........The water pump , alternator , power steering pump and air conditioning ...are ALL Driven by the belt . The water pump circulates coolant (50% water\50% antifreeze) thru the passages within the block and transfers all the heat that the engine develops from hauling you too work

INTO the radiator which then , inturn , transfers that heat into the Air that is sucked thru the radiator by both the fan and the forward movement of the car . That heat that the engine develops thru the internal combustion process is really , WASTED energy . fordy...

mistletoad · #10 09/19/05, 07:32 PM

DS just got a free 96 escort because it stalled and the owner didn't want to pay to have it repaired. The problem was the fuel cutoff switch - take a sharp turn with a near empty tank, the switch cuts off fuel and the car will not restart until you manually reset the switch.

My 86 escort used to idle rough and stall at the lights - cleaning the throttle plate fixed both problems.

cfabe · #11 09/19/05, 08:48 PM

This car does have a timing belt that needs replacement. The reccomended service interval is 60k miles. It is not a terribly hard repair to do for a shop or an experienced shadetree. The water pump does not need to be removed on this car to service the belt. On some cars since you have to take the pump off it's reccomended to replace it at the same time, but not on the escort.

It is possible that the timing belt caused this problem. They can jump or slip a tooth before they break. On our escort, both times it broke it just broke suddenly with no prior symptoms. Also, if it has broken you should notice that when cranking the engine over the sound will be different because the cam shaft is not turning.

The new belt should cost around $40 for the 1.9L engine(more common) or around $80 for the 1.8L DOHC engine, and the book labor is 2.3 hours for the 1.9L and 2.8 hours for the 1.8L. If they quote you more than $250 I would call another shop.

If the car is in decent shape otherwise I would have it repaired.

Hope this helps, Chris.

**clovis** · #12 09/20/05, 08:01 PM

If this car has a broken timing belt, wouldn't a person be able to take the oil fill cap off the valve cover and look inside to the head to see if anything is moving while someone is trying to start it? If nothing is moving, I would say it is a broken belt.
I also agree that the engine should crank really fast, thus sounding different, if the belt is broken.
I have heard from many people that a 96 escort is just starting to go at a 100,000 miles, and you should expect 225,000 miles.
I would think that a broken belt wouldn't cost more than $350, top end. Any more than that, I would tow it somewhere else.
Don't know much about Fords, but a few thoughts.
clove

Ahne Homestead · #13 09/20/05, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clovis

If this car has a broken timing belt, wouldn't a person be able to take the oil fill cap off the valve cover and look inside to the head to see if anything is moving while someone is trying to start it? If nothing is moving, I would say it is a broken belt.
I also agree that the engine should crank really fast, thus sounding different, if the belt is broken.
I have heard from many people that a 96 escort is just starting to go at a 100,000 miles, and you should expect 225,000 miles.
I would think that a broken belt wouldn't cost more than $350, top end. Any more than that, I would tow it somewhere else.
Don't know much about Fords, but a few thoughts.
clove

An easier way to tell is to take the distributor cap off and crank the engine. If the rotor doesn't spin the belt is broken. Carl

deb · #14 09/20/05, 09:57 PM

You should check your air filter. Air filters can clog to the point they don't let in enough air for the engine to burn gas. When the car is parked, off and cool, unscrew or unsnap the top of the air filter holder. Put it off, then pull the air filter straight up and inspect it. Is it really dustY? did you have a dead mouse in it? bits of grass etc?

Your car manual will tell you the recommended frequency for replacing your air filter, but I live in a township with a lot of gravel & dirt roads and my airfilter usually needs replacing before the interval is over. I look at the filter, ask myself "Is this restricting airflow to the engine" and then get a new filter if I answer yes.

hope this helps
deb
in wi

thedonkeyman · #15 09/20/05, 10:27 PM

Fuel tanks get water, that requires an INLINE FUEL filter, the clear kind so you can SEE the RUST. Then there needs to be a POLY (plastic type) Tank to prevent water and RUST. My old Ford truck will get a POLY TANK SOON. I use an inline filter and change it often. If you have fuel PUMP problems you could go to an ELECTRIC PUMP (depending on the CAR or truck). Or on my VW BUG we put a longer push rod on the pump. Garages like to do things that are not what they should do to TAKE YOUR MONEY. Years ago my Aunt was traveling across the mid west when her car over heated and the shop where she stoped at told her that her Thermostat needed TRIMMING ?

gardentalk · #16 09/21/05, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bridget

The car won't start at all right now. It was restarting after shutting down at the lights until today. I heard a 'tapping' sound then it shut down when I took my foot off the gas at the 2nd light I stopped at.

What does a water pump actually do?

Sounds like you either over-heated your engine (did you ever see any steam near the engine?) or you are badly leaking oil.

WanderingOak · #17 09/21/05, 05:34 AM

I know with some cars, once the timing belt goes, the engine has a really nasty habit of slamming the pistons into the valves before it actually up and quits. These are called 'interferance' engines. I don't remember if the '96 Escort has this type of engine or not. If that is the case, and there is internal damage to the engine, it is usually cheaper to swap out the engine than it is to repair the damage.

Spotted Crow · #18 09/21/05, 10:24 AM

That just happened to hubby's car last week. Timing belt went, car dead stopped. the tensioner arm was still okay, just a couple of cracks. Mine went this week. Mine's a 96 and his is a 97 both Ford Contours. He's got 100k and I have 71K.

**clovis** · #19 09/21/05, 12:54 PM

Do the 96 escorts have a rotor and a cap? I have a 89 Buick that has HEI, so checking to see if the rotor is spinning would be impossible. I do not know if the Fords used HEI in 96. Would be easier to look into the valve cover to see if anything is moving.
clove

Walt K. in SW PA · #20 09/21/05, 01:13 PM

If it turns out not to be the belt, have them check the "electronic ignition module" at the base of the distributor. These symptoms sound a lot like what happened once on a Mercury Lynx I had.