MK3 Wet Belt Issue Ecoboost

[stevejwalford]

Just wanted to know a little more about the wet belt issue that destroys the engine due to overheating.

My understanding is as follows:

• The Wet belt was suppose to last the lifetime of the car, however the belt deteriorates and bits of it start to brake off the belt and end up in the oil. This would then clog the oil pickup pipe which ultimately starves the engine of oil causing them to overheat. 
• Ford did recall them and if the engine was salvageable and had not overheated they would fit a thicker oil pickup pipe to try and stop it from getting clogged up

Could someone possibly tell me if my understanding is correct or not. If it is not correct could someone please tell me what was the issue?

Also, I may not have noticed so there may be a topic about which Ecoboosts had the issue i.e. engine sizes, years etc...

 

 

[ElCani]

You are confusing/combining two different 1.0 EcoBoost issues. 
 

The early MK3 Focus 1.0 engine had a crap degas hose as part of the cooling system. It would become brittle and crack, causing a loss of coolant. This, combined with an inadequate sensor system and an engine that is very sensitive to being overheated meant that engines were being destroyed almost before owners knew anything was wrong. Ford did a recall and replaced the hoses with redesigned ones, but these also have a tendency to fail. The best fix is to install the further redesigned hoses from the MK3.5. Generally, the risk of catastrophic engine damage from overheating remain quite high, with problems coming from leaking expansion tanks, rusting turbo coolant pipes and more. Fun! 
 

The wetbelt issue is caused by missed oil changes, wrong spec oil and engine flushes. The belt degrades and the fibres block the oil pump pickup and the engine is starved of oil causing large amounts of internal damage, usually destroying the engine. 
 

FWIW I’ve got a 2013 Focus 1.0 with 200,000km on it and… it’s fine 😃. But it’s a good idea to research all this stuff if you have one or are thinking no of buying one. Loads of threads about all of it. 

[stevejwalford]

So the wet belt issue is it across all engine sizes or just the the 1.0?

So really if you are looking for a mark 3 it is advisable to save up a few more pennies and get the newer MK3.5?

I hired a MK3 and it was a lovely drive and the interior is nice to but it didn't suit my lifestyle. I am a big walker and will often drive to where I plan on walking the next day, fold my rear seats down, fold out my memory form mattress and bed down for the night. I just find the MK2.5 more cosy I guess...

I will inevitably end up with a mark 3 I guess as cars don't last forever but I am not looking right now....

But if one that was looked after and was at a reasonable price came up... Then maybe!

[JW1982]

9 hours ago, stevejwalford said:

Just wanted to know a little more about the wet belt issue that destroys the engine due to overheating.

My understanding is as follows:

• The Wet belt was suppose to last the lifetime of the car, however the belt deteriorates and bits of it start to brake off the belt and end up in the oil. This would then clog the oil pickup pipe which ultimately starves the engine of oil causing them to overheat. 
• Ford did recall them and if the engine was salvageable and had not overheated they would fit a thicker oil pickup pipe to try and stop it from getting clogged up

Only the 1.0 ECOboost engine has wetbelts. All other ECOboost engines have a conventional dry timing belt (1.5 and 1.6 ECOboost) or a timing chain (2.0 ECOboost). 

The replacement interval of the wetbelts (the 1.0 ECOboost has a wetbelt between the crankshaft and the camshafts and another one between the crankshaft and the oil pump) has always been 10 Years or 150.000 Miles / 240.000 KM.  When the 1.0 ECOboost was introduced in 2012 Ford stated that the wetbelt was fitted for life. This however means the economic life expectancy of the engine which is something different than the technical life expectancy. 

In my opinion a correctly serviced 1st generation 1.0 ECOboost is perfectly reliable and on a car with this type of engine the wetbelts should easily last 10 Years or 150.000 Miles / 240.000 KM. Examples without a full service history should either be avoided or the wetbels should be replaced as a preventive measure.

Most cooling system problems on the 1.0 ECOboost can easily be prevented by preventive maintenance. On a MK3 the cooling system hoses can easily be converted to MK3.5 hoses which completely solves the degas hose issue (parts will cost approximately €60,-). Cracked coolant reservoirs can easily be prevented by replacing the reservoir and reservoir cap every 3 Years (parts will cost approximately €30,-).
 

I part exchanged my 2013 Focus MK3  1.0 ECOboost 2 Weeks ago. The car was fully serviced by myself conform Ford specifications. Only the prescribed Castrol 5W20 WSS-M2C948-B engine oil has been used. A few Months ago I took an oil sample and had it analyzed. The analysis showed no indications of wetbelt wear or any other wear. 

[jlawes20389]

If looked after properly, they aren't an issue as such. It's when they aren't looked after that the belts begin to present issues.

 

My focus I had from 3 years old and traded it in for a Kuga last year when it was 8 years old. The only problems I had with the car was the engine top mount needed to be replaced. The wet belt had started to deteriorate and bits were blocking the oil pump, I cleaned out the oil pump a month or so before I traded it in and had done a few thousand miles. Told the dealer of it and they didn't seem to care!

I replaced the degas hose for the MK3.5 version and that was simple enough. 

If I was downsizing from the Kuga, I would absolutely get one again as long as the service history was ok.

[unofix]

7 minutes ago, jlawes20389 said:

If looked after properly, they aren't an issue as such. It's when they aren't looked after that the belts begin to present issues.

So I guess you didn't properly look after your 8 year old Focus

9 minutes ago, jlawes20389 said:

The wet belt had started to deteriorate and bits were blocking the oil pump, I cleaned out the oil pump a month or so before I traded it in

Some poor soul will have bought that car thinking they had two years before needing to spend £1300+ to get the belts changed.

[jlawes20389]

I just realised that I didn't explain very well!

I couldn't verify that services were done correctly before my ownership. Had I known more about the type of engine before I purchased it, I would likely have gone for a different one. During my ownership it was carried out by a ford dealer, on time every year.

When I traded it in, the oil pump/belt was explained to the dealer as I wanted to be clear with them. They valued it accordingly I believe as they value they offered was around £1000 under what they normally would have offered apparently, or so they told me.

 

[mark19673]

Hi, I've just bought a 2014 Titanium X 1.0 with 28,000 on the clock with full service history.

Should I think about replacing the wet bet?

[unofix]

18 minutes ago, mark19673 said:

Should I think about replacing the wet bet?

No.

What you should be doing is getting it changed last week !!!!!

[DaveT70]

11 hours ago, mark19673 said:

Hi, I've just bought a 2014 Titanium X 1.0 with 28,000 on the clock with full service history.

Should I think about replacing the wet bet?

And the oil pump belt