Variable CAM timing

PETERN906

MEMBER
MERCURY COUGAR

I have a pre-march 1999 mercury cougar with a DOHC 2.0 zetec motor with VCT, The check engine light came on one day after it started to run really bad, it would hesitate and felt like the timing was being retarded. I checked the timing belt and it was missing a bunch of teeth and about to break. I changed the belt using the cam alignment tools and put it back together, I started to drive it and it started chugging again and the check engine light came on. My question is how do you reset the sprocket with the variable cam timing, I loosened the sprocket retaining bolt on each sprocket and retightened them with the cams aligned, when I rotated the crank around twice, the cams didn't line up that anymore, they weren't that far off, but it was far off enough to make the car run bad, I can't seem to get it just right. Thanks pete

1 Reply

CHUCKLES8888

MEMBER
1 POST

I have the same problem and haven't fixed it yet so take this with a grain of salt. From What I've been able to find out, the problem is TDC for the crank. When yo have the damper off, the keyway should be at 12 o'clock. All the manuals say the mark on the damper is what you use. A Ford paper says you have to use the keyway position to find TDC...

https://www.2carpros.com/diagrams

This is what I'm going to use because surveying the internet turn up the same problems over and over again using the manuals. I'm thinking when you have TRUE TDC on #1 piston, the cam timing tool should work after you spin it 720 deg it should stay lined up.