Cam belt, phasing gear, solenoid and water pump.....

[Justin Smith]

For at least a year now I've had a rattle from the engine upon starting, though it only lasts a few seconds. Just recently the engine management system warning light came on and when I took it into the garage they diagnosed possible a cam phasing fault code, which, they said, linked in with the rattle on startup. They reset the warning light but told me it'd almost certainly come back which it did a week or so later. To cure it, they said, it would need a phasing gear kit (and solenoids(s) ? ), plus, whilst doing all that I should consider a replacement cam belt as it may not ever have had one and certainly hasn't for over 7 years ! They quoted £450 and also said if doing all that work they'd advise me to consider putting a new water pump on it (up to £100 more....). To be fair they also said it could quite easily drive around like it is for months or years with just the startup rattle and management warning light on. The latter starts to annoy very quickly though !

The car's only worth about £1000 (though it's obviously worth more than that to me), but which of the options, if any, should I take ? I take it that it is worth having a cam belt whilst having the other work done ? But does it really need a water pump ? They just said that was the most common thing they'd had go on a Focus.

[eddie eastwood]

Yes, change the water pump at the same time as the cam belt, if the water pump was to go later it would mean the same dismantling work would have to be repeated again with the same sort of labour charges. The recommended, by age, for a cam belt change is 10 years, yours is 14 years old now, if it has not been changed before.

[Justin Smith]

1 hour ago, eddie eastwood said:

Yes, change the water pump at the same time as the cam belt, if the water pump was to go later it would mean the same dismantling work would have to be repeated again with the same sort of labour charges. The recommended, by age, for a cam belt change is 10 years, yours is 14 years old now, if it has not been changed before.

Thanks for that, are water pumps on these cars that unreliable ? I've never known changing a water pump as a piece of maintenance ! What would be a reasonable additional charge for changing the water pump ? The problem is it all adds up, at an extra £100, that'd make it £550 ! I can't remember ever spending that much on an engine repair, and for a 14 year old car ! It is starting to get a bit of rust on it (so much for it being galvanised) that's what's putting me off spending on it.

[TomsFocus]

The waterpump on these is driven by the aux belt, not the cambelt, so doesn't have to be changed at the same time.

Honestly, I wouldn't spend that much on a car of that age...it's not my car though!

[Justin Smith]

16 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

The waterpump on these is driven by the aux belt, not the cambelt, so doesn't have to be changed at the same time.

Honestly, I wouldn't spend that much on a car of that age...it's not my car though!

I don't think the garage (who I've used for 30 years) were saying the water pump had to be changed, jut that they have had more water pump faults with that engine than anything else (apart from the coil packs, obviously....) so wondered if I wanted it changing whilst they were doing the rest.

When to stop spending on a car is a massive subject isn't it ! The car is probably only worth £1000 (to sell), but it's worth a lot more than that to me as I know what is wrong with it and, more importantly, what is not wrong with it, plus all the hassle of changing ones car..... Besides I've just put two new all season tyres on it which cost £160 ! ! Which reminds me of the old joke, how do you double the value of a Lada ? Fill it with petrol. But that is nearing the truth with my car and its hew tyres !

[TomsFocus]

5 minutes ago, Justin Smith said:

I don't think the garage (who I've used for 30 years) were saying the water pump had to be changed, jut that they have had more water pump faults with that engine than anything else (apart from the coil packs, obviously....) so wondered if I wanted it changing whilst they were doing the rest.

When to stop spending on a car is a massive subject isn't it ! The car is probably only worth £1000 (to sell), but it's worth a lot more than that to me as I know what is wrong with it and, more importantly, what is not wrong with it, plus all the hassle of changing ones car..... Besides I've just put two new all season tyres on it which cost £160 ! ! Which reminds me of the old joke, how do you double the value of a Lada ? Fill it with petrol. But that is nearing the truth with my car and its hew tyres !

Usually waterpumps are changed with cambelts because you'd need to go through the whole process again if the waterpump failed at a later date.  That's not the case with these engines so it's not really 'worth' doing it if it's not leaking.  You may even introduce a leak by disturbing an old pump or fitting a lower quality part.  It's your decision at the end of the day though.  

[JW1982]

Despite being driven by the aux belt the waterpump is installed behind the tensioner of the timing belt. In order to be able to remove the waterpump the timing belt tensioner needs to be removed first. Another point of concern is that it is very hard to prevent coolant from leaking onto the timing belt during replacement of the waterpump. Ford prescribes to replace the timing belt after it has been in contact with coolant.

Replacing the waterpump while replacing the timing belt is not really needed on this type of engine but it is considered to be good practise because it is relatively easy/cheap to replace the waterpump once the timing belt is removed and can prevent a lot of work/money in the future.