arknev

I am new to making any kind of repairs to my car but this is the first time I have kept a car long enough to run the warranty out. I purchased the Haynes Repair Manual for my car when I changed the brake pads on the Escort 2 months ago. Three days ago I heard a knocking from the engine. With my brother looking under the hood while I started the engine, he saw that the Drive Belt (or Accessory belt) was bouncing from the pulley (the one on the crankshaft) against the engine and back. After a couple of seconds it began to stink so I shut off the engine. My brother said that the pulley was moving as if it was rotating on a bent rod (not sure of the terminology here). We also noticed that the belt was sitting to close to the engine. Exposing one of the grooves of the pulley as it rode on the edge closest to the engine. Here comes the interesting part. When we tried to remove the Drive Belt, we realized that the pulley connected to the crankshaft was sitting against the wheel well. There appeared to be no damage to the wheel well but the belt could not be removed. What could cause this? The car will still move so I don't think something is "broken" just loose. Any suggestions on the best course of action? Do I need any special tools? Do you have any tips? Any help will be very much appreciated.

Robert Martin

RonH

Check you motor mounts because the engine must have moved.

arknev

Thanks for the info. But I found out that the Crankshaft Pulley (or dampener) was broken. The groved portion of the pulley had moved along the rubber membrane and was lopsided (plus it was a 1/2 inch from where it should be). But I did notice something curious, the tensioner for the drivebelt could not be removed because it was too close to the body. So maybe the engine did move! Would replacing the engine mounts fix this? Would this shift cause or attribute to hard shifting?

Again, thanks,

Arknev

RonH

It could have an effect on shifting if it's out of alignment. There would be a strain on the axles. Get somebody to start it, put in D or R, hold the brake and give it some gas while you look to see if the motor moves backwards or forward a lot. If it moves too much or appears to, it could be the motor mount(s) are broken. Because of torque the engine will try to move and that's what the mounts job is, to keep it in position so everything is where it should be. If the tensioner is against the body something has moved.

arknev

Thanks RonH, I will indeed try that. I am going to a junk yard today to pull the pulley off another escort (haha, only $25 yah). I'll let you know what happened.

-Arknev