Timing belt advice for new SHO owner please?

[D.G.89SHO]

Greetings everyone. Purchased my 89 SHO with approx. 130,000 miles. Previous owner had no idea when timing belt was last replaced, or if ever to his knowledge. Is it possible to check condition of belt to determine if replacement is necessary, or should I continue to drive until it breaks? What's the worst case scenario if it goes while I'm driving, will it cause further internal engine damage i.e, cams, valves, etc.? Any help that could be provided will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading.

 

[Emerald94]

If the guy who sold you the car isn't the original owner, ask him what the mileage was when he bought it. That will give an idea if you should replace the belt (recommanded every 60K).
The SHO is a non-interference engine so, in theory, if the belt breaks, it shouldn't do any damage. I wouldn't want to test that theory first hand though!
If you need to change the belt, you may also want to replace the water pump, CPS and front crank seal at the same time.

 

[sdpatt]

If you can determine from the previous owner that the belt has not been replaced in the last 60,000 miles, it would be in your best interest to replace it as soon as convenient. With a 13 year old SHO that has accumulated 130,000 miles, you should also plan on relplacing the other components mentioned since the labor to get to them is almost all the same. The associated parts for this service are shown below. It's not the parts that run up the cost, it's the labor.

Front End Engine Work

1) Timing belt
...Gates T248, RockAuto.com $32.81

2) Accessory belt(s)
...PS-WP, Gates K040500, RockAuto.com $10.48
...A/C-Alt, Gates K060445, RockAuto.com $11.41

3) Water Pump (rebuilt-lifetime warranty)
...A1 Cardone 57-1373, O’Reilly Auto Parts $61.45

4) Lower radiator hose (if desired, not usually required)
...Motorcraft, FordPartsOnline.com $12.87

5) Crankshaft position sensor
...Wells SU242, AutoZone/AutoZone.com $42.99

6) Front main oil seal
...National 710220, O’Reilly $7.99

 

[Denny]

To do the front main seal, do the the waterpump and timing cover and anything else have to come off first? I'm just wondering because I have the seal and timing belt for the second half of my overdue 60K but since I'm having a new cluth put in with the seals from the SHONUT kit, I was going to ask the shop if they could do the front one too. But if the pump and/or timing cover have to come off, should I just have them do those as well? I'm really just starting to leak oil now, before I wouldn't leave spots but now I am sigh all these problems. . .but hey it's a 12 year old car that hasn't been properly maintained. ..yet

 

[sdpatt]

To get to the front main seal, you have to do all of the disassembly to get the timing belt off, then you have to pull the timing belt pulley from the crankshaft. You can do this with the damper puller and two M6 x 80mm bolts. These are bolts are supplied with the MTX because there are two that hold the lower timing belt covers on. (The ATX owners aren't as lucky as they only have one of these bolts). This will let you see the main seal and to remove it, I drill a 7.64" hole in the center of its rubber/metal ring and screw in a sheet metal screw. Then you pulllllll with Vise grips to remove the seal. You can install the new one with thumbs and the handle end of a socket wrench. You can look at the seal in some of the service pictures I have taken. See them at the site below with the password; service

http://www.photoisland.com/servlet/GuestLogin?USERNAME=sdpatterson