Ecoboost engine cambelt replacement

[Jonathon1]

I am thinking about getting the cam belt changed on my 2017 focus 1.0

Does anyone know if they are putting in the same rubber cam-belt or are they using a stronger material as in the VW tsi engines? I believe VW are using Kevlar which is supposed to be 5 x stronger than steel,  hence designed to last the lifetime of the engine. 

 

 

[unofix]

6 minutes ago, Jonathon1 said:

designed to last the lifetime of the engine. 

The Ford rubber belt lasts the lifetime of the engine. When it fails the engine is dead.

[Eric Bloodaxe]

Vast amounts of confusion over VW cambelt change intervals on the various forums, not least because VW group seem to have different recommendations in different countries, even within Europe. Also recommendations have varied between brand eg VW, Skoda, SEAT, even where the same engine is used.

They have historically tended to have 4-5 year/60,000 mile change intervals, however I have seen mention recently of 15 years for the very latest 1.5Tsi engines, provided the car is not being used in "extreme conditions".

VW belts are all "dry" however. I've not heard of any change of material used for Ford "wet" belts and the maximum recommended interval is still 10 years, though 7 years as you propose sounds a wise precaution.

[TomsFocus]

Kevlar reinforced wetbelts would not be effective.  They would still get damaged by contaminants in the oil like detergents and fuel.

[RayC333]

12 hours ago, Jonathon1 said:

I am thinking about getting the cam belt changed on my 2017 focus 1.0

Does anyone know if they are putting in the same rubber cam-belt or are they using a stronger material as in the VW tsi engines? I believe VW are using Kevlar which is supposed to be 5 x stronger than steel,  hence designed to last the lifetime of the engine. 

 

 

The issue with the Ford cam belt has nothing to do with strength. Issues lie with gradual deterioration, and eventual blockage of the oil pump pick up strainer, leading to oil starvation for various key components.

Apart from the original Ford branded belt, there are alternatives available from other major belt manufacturers. For instance I'm currently using a BGA TB2322 instead of the usual Ford/Dayco option and there are others.

[Bol]

17 hours ago, Jonathon1 said:

I am thinking about getting the cam belt changed on my 2017 focus 1.0

Does anyone know if they are putting in the same rubber cam-belt or are they using a stronger material as in the VW tsi engines? I believe VW are using Kevlar which is supposed to be 5 x stronger than steel,  hence designed to last the lifetime of the engine. 

 

 

You could buy a Contenental one.

Theoretically it is stronger.

[Jonathon1]

Interesting point about the Continental ones being stronger, I thought they were all the same. I live in France and my garage  has seen a number of early failures with the Citroen/Peugeot ‘Pure tech’ engines which have the same wet cambelt system. 

[unofix]

37 minutes ago, Jonathon1 said:

Interesting point about the continental ones being stronger

I've never seen any test reports on the different make of wet cambelts. I'd be interested to see the actual results. Of course as already said by Ray (see above) it is not the strength of the belt that is the problem, as most do not snap. The main issue is the belt disintegrating and the bits of belt clogging up the oil pick up strainer.

[YOG]

It appears that in response to the collective action in France, Stellantis are now taking action over timing belt issues.

Stellantis, ten years after the launch of the 1.2 Puretech engine (1.2VTi/1.2 THP in the past) who own the former PSA brands, namely Citroen, DS, Opel and Peugeot, are finally taking after-sales measures to address the problem linked to premature aging of the timing belt.

The Stellantis group justifies this reaction with the sentence: "Having customer satisfaction as one of its fundamental values, Stellantis confirms the extension of the warranty for certain 3-cylinder PureTech gasoline engines, in specific circumstances".

An interesting point is that Stellantis recognises that "the belt (supplied by Dayco) is a collateral victim and not the cause of the problem".

https://www.largus.fr/actualite-automobile/stellantis-1-2-puretech-une-extension-de-garantie-etendue-pour-le-probleme-de-la-courroie-30032881.html

[DaveT70]

I would use genuine Ford belts and only from a Ford dealer as you would be guaranteed to get the latest level of belt

[unofix]

7 hours ago, DaveT70 said:

as you would be guaranteed to get the latest level of belt

Other makes and types of belts are available from Ann Summers 🤣

[Alex.S]

On 3/25/2024 at 12:46 AM, RayC333 said:

The issue with the Ford cam belt has nothing to do with strength. Issues lie with gradual deterioration, and eventual blockage of the oil pump pick up strainer, leading to oil starvation f

I thought the oil pump issue was in Mk4s ? The car the post is about is a 2017. Timing belts snapping early for unlucky owners all the time just now in the mk3s.  

[TomsFocus]

17 minutes ago, Alex.S said:

I thought the oil pump issue was in Mk4s ? The car the post is about is a 2017. Timing belts snapping early for unlucky owners all the time just now in the mk3s.  

It's the same oil pump & wetbelt in Mk3 & Mk4.

[Alex.S]

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

It's the same oil pump & wetbelt in Mk3 & Mk4.

Bit confused here (not like me! lol) So mk3 has a wet timing belt And a wet belt for the oil pump? Or does one belt do both jobs? 

[unofix]

1 minute ago, Alex.S said:

So mk3 has a wet timing belt And a wet belt for the oil pump?

Two separate wet belts on the Mk3

Only a wet belt for the oil pump on the Mk4

[Alex.S]

5 minutes ago, unofix said:

Two separate wet belts on the Mk3

Only a wet belt for the oil pump on the Mk4

That’s a cluster f*** for mk3 owners

[TomsFocus]

Indeed.  Both belts really need to be replaced together on the earlier engine.

I fear there are a lot of used Mk3 Focus & Mk7 Fiesta owners blissfully unaware of the degrading oil pump belt as the service history shows their car has had a cambelt change...

[JW1982]

To be honest from a maintenance point of view the redesigned 1.0 ECOboost with a timing chain is not much better than the previous generation 1.0 ECOboost.

On the redesigned 1.0 ECOboost the oil pump belt is installed behind the timing chain. Changing the oil pump belt simply means that the sump, engine front cover and timing chain need to be removed to get access. Once removed it is good practice to replace the timing chain, plastic chain guides and chain tensioner.

Replacing the oil pump belt on the redesigned 1.0 ECOboost is basically just as labour intensive and expensive as replacing both the wetbelt and oil pump belt on the previous generation 1.0 ECOboost.


I suspect many future problems with these engines due to the fact that many owners and used car dealers do know that these revised engines have a timing chain but are not aware of the oil pump belt.