A friend in need is a friend indeed it is said. A good friend of mine owns a 2007 Ford Focus Zetec, which was just coming due for the timing belt replacement. While telling me the job was due, he seemed to have persuaded me to carry out the replacement for him at mates rates.

He said he would get the bits and even help me when I carried out the job. This was going to be a Saturday morning task, and I was hoping things would go smoothly. I have come across a few overtight pully bolts on these engines and didn’t want to encounter any extra problems on a Saturday morning.

Some assistance can often slow down the progress so I got him to go off and make the tea while I got into the job. The Zetec engine he had in his Focus had variable valve timing. This can sound quite daunting, but on the Zetec engine this means that the job is actually easier.

With the correct tools the cams are locked from the front, meaning that the cam cover does not need removing.

The job otherwise is the same as the normal Zetec engine and the belt was almost in place before the first tea break. When he came back and saw the covers removed he said he didn’t realise that the engine had variable valve timing. I did then point out that it is easy to determine the engines with variable valve timing, by the large bulges in the top timing cover.

You can download this story as a PDF, as well as other technical tips at TechTips.ie.

There are lots more Tech Tips to view, and they are all searchable, on TechTips.ie.