1 minute ago, smr said:

On this 1.5 Ecoboost first registered in January 2019... not sure if its possible to know just by looking at this or if anyone knows whether the oil pump has a belt or is gear driven? I'm right in thinking all MK4 Ecoboosts are cam chain driven?

As said already many times, all Mk 4 1.0 or 1.5 Ecoboost petrol are chain cam.

A January 2019 is before the changeover to oil pump belt which (we believe) is late February 2019 so should be a gear drive.

Tom has beaten me to it in posting the pics above!😀

Just now, Eric Bloodaxe said:

As said already many times, all Mk 4 1.0 or 1.5 Ecoboost petrol are chain cam.

A January 2019 is before the changeover to oil pump belt which (we believe) is late February 2019 so should be a gear drive.

Tom has beaten me to it in posting the pics above!😀

Thanks, I'd need it confirming though whether it's a gear drive or wet belt. Is it easy enough to visually see to make sure?

12 minutes ago, smr said:

Thanks, I'd need it confirming though whether it's a gear drive or wet belt. Is it easy enough to visually see to make sure?

You should be able to see the timing cover using a mirror on a stick.

There may also still be a sticker on the engine showing it's build date.  But these often fall off over time, especially if they've been jetwashed.

5 minutes ago, smr said:

Thanks, I'd need it confirming though whether it's a gear drive or wet belt. Is it easy enough to visually see to make sure?

I've not looked at the Focus engine installation but on the Fiesta 1.5 ST you can just make out the ribs if you peer down the LH side (from the front) of the engine.

You could also check the build date of the engine which is on a sticker (as below) to the LH rear of the engine - you need to get a phone down there (don't drop it!) and take a pic. 

 

 

 

Just now, TomsFocus said:

You should be able to see the timing cover using a mirror on a stick.

There may also still be a sticker on the engine showing it's build date.  But these often fall off over time, especially if they've been jetwashed.

Is the build date a sure indicator for confirmation of the gear drive?

I have the VIN code which should show the build date? Has anyone got access to Ford Etis? 🙂

Just now, smr said:

I have the VIN code which should show the build date? Has anyone got access to Ford Etis? 🙂

Etis has been closed down unfortunately.

3 minutes ago, smr said:

Is the build date a sure indicator for confirmation of the gear drive?

Yes.  But unfortunately we (general public) don't know the exact date.  On the Fiesta I've seen it as 25/02/2019 for vehicle build date, but I have not seen confirmation of the same for the Focus, or know the engine build date, which will obviously be before the vehicle build date.

 

Just now, smr said:

I have the VIN code which should show the build date? Has anyone got access to Ford Etis? 🙂

Etis!?  It's not 2022 any more...  

Yeah I know it's not accessible to the public but I thought maybe it's open with elevated access or something. Was really helpful that.

2 minutes ago, smr said:

Yeah I know it's not accessible to the public but I thought maybe it's open with elevated access or something. Was really helpful that.

No it's been closed down completely and replaced with Ford Service Info, which doesn't have all the build info like Etis used to have.

10 minutes ago, smr said:

Is the build date a sure indicator for confirmation of the gear drive?

"As far as we know", but I doubt anyone would give a 100% guarantee on that! 

I'm not sure whether one is better than the other anyway. The only oil pump drive failure I've seen reported so far on the 1.5 Ecoboost (and bear in mind it's been around 6 years now) is of a gear drive, as mentioned earlier in the thread. It seems that replacing that is just as much a PITA as changing a belt.

 

 

.

Sometimes you can get the build switch over dates from looking at the owner's manual date ranges.

EDIT:

These dates usually match up with changes to production:

7 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

Sometimes you can get the build switch over dates from looking at the manual date ranges.

Good point, Alex.  Reminded me that build dates are also shown on the service sheets if there was a change in servicing requirements. 

Looks like the changeover date for the Focus was 2nd April 2019. 🤔  (Edit ****4th Feb 2019****)

Oil Pump Belt

Every 150 000 miles/10 years - Renew (LTS 21 716 5) Vehicles built from 02/04/2019 only

 

 

Edit - God damn 'mericans!  It's 4th of February, not 2nd April.  I've just checked the Fiesta service sheet which is shown below.

Oil Pump Belt

Every 150 000 miles/10 years - Renew (LTS 21 716 5) Vehicles built from 02/25/2019 only

If you put your VIN in to the owner's manual page, it will tell you which build date range your car sits in according to its manual too. Narrows it down a bit at least.

32 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

"As far as we know", but I doubt anyone would give a 100% guarantee on that! 

I'm not sure whether one is better than the other anyway. The only oil pump drive failure I've seen reported so far on the 1.5 Ecoboost (and bear in mind it's been around 6 years now) is of a gear drive, as mentioned earlier in the thread. It seems that replacing that is just as much a PITA as changing a belt.

 

 

.

I'm just assuming, probably incorrectly, that all the engine breakdowns/replacements on the MK4 Ecoboosts are due to the wet oil belt snapping or bits of debris getting into the engine and so thought that if there is no belt to disintegrate or find its way into the engine it'd vastly minimize any potential engine problems, and if so I'd consider the 1.5 Ecoboost if it's oil pump is gear driven, and for the same reason the 1.5 Ecoblue with there being only the one belt which is for the camshaft.

There are a handful of stories with the Ecoboost MK4s needing engine replacements if you look about - but it's difficult to know what the cause is as most people don't seem to know and just come back with a generic prognosis given by Ford once they've had a look at the engine.

The 1.5 Ecoboost I was interested in is a manual which is probably better still for reliability reasons but I'd still really prefer the automatic gearbox, that said with a 1.5 Ecoboost engine I'd imagine it's more engaging and fun and suits the car well. Anyway I've seen a video of it now and it's a bit scruffy looking, scuffed alloys and the paintwork isn't in great condition so I think I'll pass on this one.

If the 1.0 Ecoboost was reliable and didn't have a wet belt for the oil pump and had a chain instead I'd probably feel a lot more confident, but everything does seem to revolve around the oil pump wet belt if you just search '2019' or '2020' in fb groups... and this is why I'm just not confident spending over £10k on these 1.0L engines. Here's another one from last week:

 

 

I cannot understand why Ford didn't just use a chain for the oil pump, beggars belief really. Not like it would have put them out of business is it 

Well, not sure anyone can add anything useful to what's already been said over the 5 pages of this thread. It seems to come down to:

On 2/15/2024 at 2:49 PM, smr said:

 

Anyway, I'm looking for an Ecoblue

or look at something else altogether as suggested by @DaveT70 back on Page 1.

18 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Well, not sure anyone can add anything useful to what's already been said over the 5 pages of this thread. It seems to come down to:

or look at something else altogether as suggested by @DaveT70 back on Page 1.

Absolutely.

I will never buy another Ford, other than a Capri, if I'm flush enough in a few years

9 minutes ago, DaveT70 said:

Absolutely.

I will never buy another Ford, other than a Capri, if I'm flush enough in a few years

Not even a Mustang ?

28 minutes ago, smr said:

Not even a Mustang ?

God know, that 10 speed gearbox is doggy do too

Just now, DaveT70 said:

God know, that 10 speed gearbox is doggy do too

10 speed? 😮  The originals only came with 3...  

6 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

10 speed? 😮  The originals only came with 3...  

They were ***** awful too 😁

ST is chain timing and gear driven oil pump 😉

9 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

ST is chain timing and gear driven oil pump 😉

And you can get an auto!😀

And 5mpg fuel economy 😆