Why was this cover made to be so difficult to remove? The Haynes manual says that the auxiliary belt and water pump pulley must be removed first.

According to the paperwork I got when I bought the car, the belt was replaced in Feb 2016 at 105,000 miles. The mileage is now 125,000 so the belt is still within the recommended age and mileage limits. However I have never actually seen the condition of the belt.

It would be useful to be able to easily check the belt. I have seen some other cars where the top belt cover could be removed by simply undoing 2 or 3 bolts.

If I keep the car long enough to change the belt again, I would seriously consider cutting the cover into two pieces with a hacksaw before refitting. See red line in the image for where I mean I would cut it.

Am I right that these belts do not often fail? Quite a few of the other Mk2s I looked at before I bought this one had supposedly never had the belt changed. I have seen some others for sale with mileages around 200k.

The worst one I saw in person was a silver 1.4 hatchback. Every panel was damaged, the radio was missing, the seats were all stained and the interior smelled of wet dog. The mileage was 167k with zero service history. However it did have 10 months MOT, was running and could be driven away. I am sure someone did buy it for the £600 they were asking.

 

 

1 hour ago, AntonovAN12 said:

Why was this cover made to be so difficult to remove?

To get you ready for moving up to checking a 1.0 Ecoboost 🤣

1 hour ago, AntonovAN12 said:

Am I right that these belts do not often fail?

Normally they only fail once, then the engine is usually scrap.

On my previous 1.6tdci the top part of the cover was separate, but the lower part was difficult as it needs the crank pulley removing.  So when I was doing the belt I cut the lower cover in half so I could access the tensioner and water pump without removing the crank pulley. I never did need to gain access again before I sold the car,  but you never know so cutting cover to make life potentially easier in future sounds reasonable to me .   I might be more reluctant to do it in harsher climates - sand and dust getting in.

18 hours ago, unofix said:

Normally they only fail once, then the engine is usually scrap.

I should have been clearer that I was asking if they are generally known to prematurely fail? I know that the engine will be scrap if it does go, as these engines have interference valves.

I have changed belts in the past on both a Honda D Series petrol and 1990s Shogun 2.5 Diesel. Unlike the Duratec, these have alignment marks on the sprockets and engine, and the sprockets are aligned on the shafts with keys. Neither of those engines have a way of locking the crank or camshafts.

29 minutes ago, isetta said:

On my previous 1.6tdci the top part of the cover was separate, but the lower part was difficult as it needs the crank pulley removing.

The 1.6 Petrol cover is the same The cover in my first post is the top half. I am sure I have read of someone forcibly breaking the bottom cover off without removing the crank pulley. They then changed the belt and re-installed a cover from another engine that had been cut into two halves to fit around the crankshaft spindle.

That meant that they were able to simply align the sprockets with paint marks and replace the belt without having to loosen any of the sprockets or remove the rocker cover.

 

They just aren't designed as a 'checkable' item on this engine.  There's no requirement to do so in the service schedule.

It's assumed that a full new belt will be fitted at the recommended interval.  As well as for any other work requiring belt removal, such as head gasket.

 

I do feel reassured being able to see the belt.  I recall having a look at the belt on my 1982 escort mk3 1.6 ghia and found the back of the belt badly scuffed and worn.  Investigation showed that the rivet holding the tensioner pulley to the tensioner bracket was loose causing the pulley to be running at an angle and scuffing the belt. And it could have come totally adrift if left. I know it’s rare but you never know what’s going wrong in there.

if you undo the upper 4 bolts you can peel the cover back enough to reveal the belt at the front cam

2 hours ago, moops said:

if you undo the upper 4 bolts you can peel the cover back enough to reveal the belt at the front cam

That is useful to know. It is good to know that the belt is not rubbing on anything inside the cover. I have even seen some Fords on display at car shows being used with no belt cover fitted at all.

On previous vehicles I have owned, I used to remove the top cover every few months or before a long journey.

Unfortunately I once dropped a washer down inside the lower cover on a Honda D Series engine. Luckily I managed to get it out with a telescopic magnet.

After market clear top covers are available for that engine.