12 problems related to engine belts and pulleys have been reported for the 1998 Ford Escort. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
1998 Ford Escort. The consumer took the vehicle to dealer to be serviced, and the service department noticed the rear coil springs were broken , approximately 1½ turns from the top. The consumer contacted Ford, and they told him the part was not under warranty. The coil springs were replaced. There had been no noticeable problems before this. The caplipers were replaced due them being frozen. The crank pulley and serpentine belt were replace.
Each time when vehicle splashes in a puddle of water the serpentine belt comes off.
The vehicle's belt tenioner assembly broke 3 time. The consumer had to replace the housing for water pump, timing belt tenioner and mico v belt.
Consumer states while driving on highway at approximately 50-60mph the engine's timing belt broke causing engine to stall. Ts.
Harmonic balancer for the king pin broke. Consumer states while exiting parkway, there was a loud vibration coming from the front end, the harmonic balancer was hitting into the wall of the vehicle, consumers husband checked under the vehicle to see what the problem was, his hand slipped and got caught between the belt and the balancer, resulting in his finger having to be amputated.
Crankshaft/ pulley came loose from mounting and shifting over, causing vehicle to lose all power. Piece that broke off jammed gear, and timing belt was changed and reset. Manufacturer and dealer did not know of a problem ,and didn't ofer to do anything. Warranty was expired. Part number and name is damper part# f7cz-6316-ba. The pully was lose and shifted half inch causing the belt to shread.
Harmonic balancer separated/broke causing serpentine and timing belts to malfunction. No previous problems with vehicle and luckily it occurred while vehicle parked with engine running. Original warranty "expired" less than 2 months prior. Understand now that this is a common problem from mechanics and the NHTSA website.
Dampner pulley came apart from crankshaft. Inside wall of vehicle was the only thing keeping it from falling out onto the ground. I notified Ford company that a 3 year old vehicle should not have parts falling off. They informed me that there was nothing they could do since the warranty had ran out. I am very unhappy with the attitude they have towards their customers.
Pulley had frozen and serpentine belt had came off. It was frayed. It then shot up into the timing belt. This caused the timing belt to jump & caused vehicle to stop. This is the 2nd time this problem had happened. The mechanic had repaired it the first time at 24,000 miles. The surpentine belts had to be replaced at 25000 miles and again at 54000 miles.
Because crankshaft dampner is defective serpentine belt was worn out and replaced. When it was worn out again in only 5000 miles the problem with the crankshaft dampner was found.
Cranshaft pulley broke, and then crankshaft pulley slid. Consumer lost power steering, and there was a loud noise.
Due to a defective balancer that came apart through the serpertine belt, engine head gasket to blew out, causing vehicle to, stall unexpectly which may have resulted in a crash.