The Ford Probe has not received a recommendation from Ford Motor Company as to the time interval between timing belt replacements. Strangely enough, they have registered this as an interference engine. This is curious, inasmuch as an interference engine is produced with very close tolerances in the area of valves to pistons. Should a timing belt failure occur, the valves would contact the pistons resulting in catastrophic damage. Common service practice (comparing all other similar vehicles) is to replace the timing belt at 60,000-mile intervals.
Raise the front of the car with the floor jack and place jack stands under the frame for safety. Remove the passenger side wheel using a lug wrench. Remove the inner splash shield using a socket.
Relieve the tension on the serpentine belt using a wrench. Place the wrench on the tensioner and pull it away from the belt to allow the belt to be removed. Place the floor jack under the engine oil pan.
Remove the passenger-side motor mount using a socket. Remove the crankshaft pulley bolt using a socket and ratchet. Pull the pulley off the crankshaft.
Remove the upper and lower timing belt covers using a 10 mm socket. Rotate the crankshaft sprocket clockwise until the semicircle cutout behind the crankshaft sprocket aligns with the arrow on the block at 12 o'clock. Make sure the camshaft sprocket mark aligns with the arrow at 12 o'clock on the cylinder head. If the camshaft does not align, rotate the crankshaft one more time and they will align.
Loosen the tensioner pulley bolt, push the tensioner away from the belt and loosely tighten the bolt to hold it in place. Remove the belt.
Install the new belt, keeping all the tension on the right side away from the tensioner. Loosen the belt tensioner and allow it to operate but do not tighten the bolt yet. Rotate the crankshaft two turns clockwise and realign the timing marks.
Tighten the tensioner bolt securely. Install the belt guide plate on the nose of the crankshaft. Install the lower and upper timing belt covers. Install the crankshaft pulley and tighten the bolt securely. Install the motor mount and tighten the bolts. Install the accessory belt using a wrench to move the tensioner away from the belt until it is installed. Install the inner splash shield. Install the wheel and tighten. Lower the car.
