Sorry if this might sound like a silly question. I've been a Nissan Z girl for 13 years, and am fairly new to the Taurus. Some of my Z's have interference engines and some are non-interference. I'm trying to figure out whether my 97 Taurus GL has a timing belt or chain. Believe it or not, I've called the service dept. at two Ford dealerships - one told me it has a chain and the other told me it has a belt. [sm=bangbang.gif] So, which is it?

One other question ... I haven't had any problems with my Taurus until just recently, so I believe it's time I bought a service manual. Haynes is the best for Z's (Chilton is worthless). Would you recommend a Haynes for my Taurus also?

 

I have the haynes for my ranger and I think it is fine.

Maybe it all has to do with what size engine it has as for as belt and chain. If I remember correctly back when I had a 93 ranger, the 4 banger was belt which I had, and the 6'rs were chain.

 

Thanks, Techmanbd. I'll try to locate a Haynes manual for my 97 Bull.

Can anyone else tell me whether my Bull has a belt or chain? In 6 days, I'm planning to travel across 1 state to work on my Z's to get them ready to transport here to FL at a later date, then travel over to another state to visit my family for Christmas. My Bull is 10 years old and has 78K original miles - no record of a timing belt replacement. So, you can see how important it is for me to know whether my Bull has a belt or chain. Please help!

 

Hi Malibu Barbie. The information I have on your vehicle shows there is a timing chain for all engines produced in the Taurus in 1997. Hope this answers your question and will ease some of your concerns. Good luck on the trip and have a good holiday.

 

I can confirm that, I'm looking at an AUTODATA TIMING BELT book, and the only thing they have for the taurus is from 1989-1995 the 3.0 and 3.2 DOHC engines have BELTS, and even the old ones say that they are a freewheeling enigine in which the possibility of valve to piston damage is highly unlikely.

 

[sm=happy046.gif] Thank you, guys!!! I was hoping it had a chain. This news just made my day!