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MK8 ST Timing Chain


hilljamie17
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Hi everyone,

I was wondering why Ford decided to go with a timing chain on the MK8 ST. I'm glad they did I was just wondering why they did it, with the 1.0s being wet-belts due to less emissions and less noise. The MK7 ST was a cambelt so would anyone know why they changed to a chain? And with the right maintenance do you think the 1.5s will last longer than the 1.0s? I know a lot of MK7 ST's have lasted well even when tuned, so was wondering if people thought the same about the MK8 ST.

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1 hour ago, hilljamie17 said:

Hi everyone,

I was wondering why Ford decided to go with a timing chain on the MK8 ST. I'm glad they did I was just wondering why they did it, with the 1.0s being wet-belts due to less emissions and less noise. The MK7 ST was a cambelt so would anyone know why they changed to a chain? And with the right maintenance do you think the 1.5s will last longer than the 1.0s? I know a lot of MK7 ST's have lasted well even when tuned, so was wondering if people thought the same about the MK8 ST.

1.0 l is chain also now, has been for 12 months or so. 

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Chains tend to be for the life of the engine,  belts tend to have a lesser lifespan ( even if that is 100K miles ). 

Over the years things tend to go in cycles so I’ve seen my first and second car with a chain, then belts, now I have one with a chain and an EcoBoost with a wet belt.

Purely personally I feel a chain is a better option when it comes to durability.

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2 hours ago, iantt said:

1.0 l is chain also now, has been for 12 months or so. 

Oh okay I didn't know that. Personally, I think that's a good call by Ford.

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16 minutes ago, Aldridge Andy said:

Chains tend to be for the life of the engine,  belts tend to have a lesser lifespan ( even if that is 100K miles ). 

Over the years things tend to go in cycles so I’ve seen my first and second car with a chain, then belts, now I have one with a chain and an EcoBoost with a wet belt.

Purely personally I feel a chain is a better option when it comes to durability.

I agree 👍🏼

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1 hour ago, Aldridge Andy said:

Chains tend to be for the life of the engine,  belts tend to have a lesser lifespan ( even if that is 100K miles ). 

Over the years things tend to go in cycles so I’ve seen my first and second car with a chain, then belts, now I have one with a chain and an EcoBoost with a wet belt.

Purely personally I feel a chain is a better option when it comes to durability.

The 1.0 ecoboost wet belts supposed to last 10 yrs or 150k.

The chain driven later engines do still have a wet belt as well as chain. It drives the oil pump. Wonder how long those will last. . 

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1 hour ago, iantt said:

The 1.0 ecoboost wet belts supposed to last 10 yrs or 150k.

The chain driven later engines do still have a wet belt as well as chain. It drives the oil pump. Wonder how long those will last. . 

Just the 1.0 or 1.5 too?

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Both have wet belt for oil pump. But  1.5 vehicles built before Feb 19 had gear driven oil pump. I just checked. 

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25 minutes ago, iantt said:

Both have wet belt for oil pump. But  1.5 vehicles built before Feb 19 had gear driven oil pump. I just checked. 

I wonder why they changed it?

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I had a 1990 Granada Scorpio 4 x 4 that had a chain.   It was still going when I parted with it at 170,000 miles.

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1 hour ago, Bobr said:

I had a 1990 Granada Scorpio 4 x 4 that had a chain.   It was still going when I parted with it at 170,000 miles.

Oh nice! I’m a millennial so unfortunately I don’t remember much of cars back from the 90s but I love a lot of older cars compared to the newer variants nowadays, especially design wise. 👍🏼

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Had them on the mk6 st I do prefer a chain over belt. Really not keen on these wet belts 😢

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A chain is in all cases better than a belt especially a wet belt. I think Ford went to a chain system because of the extra load on the camshaft drive train due to the 350 bar HP pump fitted on later 1.0 and the 1.5 3 pots. I also suspect Ford knew that the welt belt had a limited life as it does tend to disintegrate on higher milage engines especially where the owner doesnt follow the service schedule to a T.

Another thought when a chain is on its last leg it becomes very noisy wheres a belt just lets go and thats it. Love that Ford left a wet belt on the oil pump on the newer engines kind of like leaving a granade with the pin almost pulled lol.

I have a HP pump from the new Fiesta ST and I was suprised how hard it was to push the plunger in a mm the older 200 bar pumps are easy in comparison. My intention was to use the higher pressure pump on my 2015 1.0 for extra fueling but changed my mind after playing with it.

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1 hour ago, Eatonm112 said:

A chain is in all cases better than a belt especially a wet belt. I think Ford went to a chain system because of the extra load on the camshaft drive train due to the 350 bar HP pump fitted on later 1.0 and the 1.5 3 pots. I also suspect Ford knew that the welt belt had a limited life as it does tend to disintegrate on higher milage engines especially where the owner doesnt follow the service schedule to a T.

Another thought when a chain is on its last leg it becomes very noisy wheres a belt just lets go and thats it. Love that Ford left a wet belt on the oil pump on the newer engines kind of like leaving a granade with the pin almost pulled lol.

I have a HP pump from the new Fiesta ST and I was suprised how hard it was to push the plunger in a mm the older 200 bar pumps are easy in comparison. My intention was to use the higher pressure pump on my 2015 1.0 for extra fueling but changed my mind after playing with it.

I am very glad my ST has a timing chain, I didn’t want to have my ecoboost for that long especially in the higher miles because of the history of wetbelts breaking. I’ve sold mine on about 20k miles so still got lots of life left in it as I always follow service history to the point. I’m hoping I can make the ST last a long time but time will tell how reliable the 1.5 is, thankfully nobody has reported any major issues, some minor oil leaks but whilst the warranty is intact it gives the peace of mind for now haha

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newer 1.0 ecoboost has timing chain instead of the belt due to the cylinder deactivation technology implemented on the latest ecoboost, with this feature, modification have been made to the crank shaft and the timing belt is replaced with a chain to support the increased mechanical load when activating and deactivating a cylinder, thats the main reason for using chain instead of belt,,,, 1.0 ecoboost without the cylinder deactivation technology still uses the belt up till now, like the 1.0 ecoboost inside the 2021 Ecosport.

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33 minutes ago, Eng_Ahmad1986 said:

newer 1.0 ecoboost has timing chain instead of the belt due to the cylinder deactivation technology implemented on the latest ecoboost, with this feature, modification have been made to the crank shaft and the timing belt is replaced with a chain to support the increased mechanical load when activating and deactivating a cylinder, thats the main reason for using chain instead of belt,,,, 1.0 ecoboost without the cylinder deactivation technology still uses the belt up till now, like the 1.0 ecoboost inside the 2021 Ecosport.

Personally they should use a chain on all Ecoboosts, in my opinion I think the idea of a wetbelt is useless

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59 minutes ago, hilljamie17 said:

Personally they should use a chain on all Ecoboosts, in my opinion I think the idea of a wetbelt is useless

don't forget that chains also have their issues, they stretch and can jump a tooth, they are noisy, and they hurt fuel consumption.

Although Ford says to change the wet belt at 150k miles, Ford dealer here in Egypt changes the belt at 140k km (87k miles), they say these are the instructions from Ford for Egypt !!

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58 minutes ago, Eng_Ahmad1986 said:

don't forget that chains also have their issues, they stretch and can jump a tooth, they are noisy, and they hurt fuel consumption.

Although Ford says to change the wet belt at 150k miles, Ford dealer here in Egypt changes the belt at 140k km (87k miles), they say these are the instructions from Ford for Egypt !!

Timing belts and chains both have issues yes. But personally I'd rather have a noisier engine with a tiny bit more fuel consumption and know that it may last longer. Most timing chains stretch due to lack of maintenance where oil doesn't get changed regularly enough. Ford do not state any change on the wet belt, they state 'the wet belt lasts the life of the engine, or 150k', the 1.0 Ecoboost with a wet belt is more or less a throwaway engine, it's a shame cause it drives lovely when they're well maintained. Not many garages in the UK want to change a wet belt due to the long labour and it would be a very messy job. My 1.0 Ecoboost had a wet belt and I achieved 38-40mpg. My ST has a chain and I'm achieving 37.5 mpg at the moment. The engine is not noisy, only when accelerating, but as you'd expect with an ST.

I care about the environment and fuel consumption but chain's are far better than a wet belt if you look after them well. Logically, a steel chain is far stronger than rubber, especially when it is bathed in oil, which can actually wear it down even more. I just think there's too many downsides to a belt, they crack when they're dry and they wear down when they're wet.

Don't get me wrong, the 1.0 Ecoboosts are lovely engines when they're newish, but I'm doubtful about them when they're over 10 years old. Who knows though, the 1.5s could be the same when it comes to ageing.

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would it be economical to change a wet belt on a 10 year old ecoboost fiesta? originally it was a lifetime belt before ford decided to change it to 10 years / 150k miles . if serviced to a t and engine cleaners avoided could it last a lifetime?

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Not sure if accurate but I’ve heard quotes up to £1000 for timing belt? But that’s just based on a quick google search.

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5 minutes ago, Nismex said:

Not sure if accurate but I’ve heard quotes up to £1000 for timing belt? But that’s just based on a quick google search, but it might not be accurate.

That's about the right area . 

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35 minutes ago, cjay1 said:

would it be economical to change a wet belt on a 10 year old ecoboost fiesta? originally it was a lifetime belt before ford decided to change it to 10 years / 150k miles . if serviced to a t and engine cleaners avoided could it last a lifetime?

It’s a hard question. Not many people bother; that’s why it’s known as a throwaway engine cause people don’t bother as the job is very expensive. I wouldn’t wait till 150k though I would honestly consider at 80k, as I haven’t seen many to last over 100k

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Would you spend 1000+ on a wet belt change or get a low mileage engine between £800 to £1500 🤔

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Low mileage is what allows the oil to break down and wreck the wetbelt...  Not sure that's worth the risk.

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