Ford escort 1.6 16v zetec engine water pump broke so removed timing belt and water pump replaced water pump timing belt after some time replaced crank pully turned crank pully by hand seemed to lock up so my car will not start if i take out spark plugs i will turn over on key

SOURCE: 2000 Ford Escort ZX2 hot, 2.0 Zetec eng.

a friend of mine set the crankshaft, it turns out that the key-way is on top and is the mark for the lower part. we looked in the haynes manual for the top cam-shaft's. we never had a cam-shaft alignment tool but found a scrap piece of metal that worked perfectly for the cam-shaft alignment. the timing belt is on one side of the engine and on the other side of the cam-shafts are slots where the cam-shaft alignment tool, you have a 25% chance of getting it right and we got lucky on the 1st try, thanx any way.

SOURCE: how to do cam timing on a ford escort 1997 1600 16v zetec

set youre crankshaft on zero and put the belt on

SOURCE: Ford Escort 1998 fuel pump not working.

good old ford lol, try looking at the crank sensor its located at the front of the engine tucked in right hand side of exhaust manifold and gearbox, two pin plug, i have also known these to have no end of faults with the fusebox.
easy to remove, and solder the connections inside they all suffer eventually, if your not to handy with cars i recommend taking to a auto electrician, easy if you know how. Good luck Davelee

SOURCE: i have a 1998 ford escort 1.6 16v zetec but cant

you can't set timing on that engine. No distributor. Timing is controlled by computer. If it is throwing a timing retarded code, then your timing belt needs replaced because your cam to crank timing is off.

SOURCE: ford escort 1996 1.6 16v zetec fan belt snapped

It's too difficult to describe in words alone, and there are variables such as power steering and air conditioning which will alter the routing. You need photos and diagrams, but the ones which are available are copyright material so can't be posted on FixYa.

I respectfully suggest that you buy a Haynes Manual from either Amazon, eBay or your local car parts store. It's not expensive and will pay for itself with the very first repair.