Hi - I was wondering if anyone could double check the interval to change the timing belt / cam belt (and water pump etc) on the 2014 1.6 Ecoboost Petrol Engine, and give an idea of a reasonable cost?

I've got a 2014 Grand C-Max, just coming up to 80,000 miles and will be 10 years old in August, so I looked into getting the cam belt done as had previously read it should be done after 10 years.

Local garage I usually use (at which I get it serviced and MOT'd every year) said they didn't have the tools to do it, as apparently these need specialist Ford tools to do, so suggested taking it to a Ford dealer.  Ford dealer then said they would need to inspect it before quoting a price (although they did say on the phone they had seen them from 700 pounds up to 1400 depending on whether it needs the water pump and a cover changing.  I mention the reason as it's coming up to 10 years and on the phone they agree that's the normal interval.  They also call me the day beforehand just to check I'm still coming, and again mention that it's coming up to 10 years so needs the cam belt changing.

However having now looked at it, they are saying the interval is actually 8 years rather than 10 - therefore it's "urgent" to get done ASAP - and the price is now £2,100 as it's 10 hours labour, and they'll need the car for a few days.

Is that reasonable? Did they just get the interval wrong when I called up to book it in originally? Everything I've seen online says 10 years, but have Ford brought it down to 8 because of some kind of issue?

Any help greatly appreciated!

I've just checked C-Max, Focus and Mondeo.  All still showing as 10 years or 125k miles for 2014 1.6 EcoBoost.

The non-turbo 1.6 Ti-VCT is 8 years or 100k miles.

10 hours labour sounds far too long as well.  That's more like 1.0 EcoBoost timescale.

Thanks that's somewhat reassuring.  Sounds like they might have mixed it up with a 1.0 when estimating the quote to replace it, and then mixed it up again when looking up the interval??  I'll ring a couple of other Ford garages on Monday to see if I get different prices!

This one seemed adamant I needed to bring it in for inspection before they'd quote a price.

After a bit more googling today it sounds like the 1.0 takes longer because more bits need to come off the engine to get to the wet belt, whereas the 1.6 has a more conventional dry belt that is easier to access, is that correct?

2 hours ago, tom5937 said:

Thanks that's somewhat reassuring.  Sounds like they might have mixed it up with a 1.0 when estimating the quote to replace it, and then mixed it up again when looking up the interval??  I'll ring a couple of other Ford garages on Monday to see if I get different prices!

This one seemed adamant I needed to bring it in for inspection before they'd quote a price.

After a bit more googling today it sounds like the 1.0 takes longer because more bits need to come off the engine to get to the wet belt, whereas the 1.6 has a more conventional dry belt that is easier to access, is that correct?

Yes, that's correct regarding 1.0 vs 1.6.

I'm not sure what cover they needed to inspect before quoting.  Perhaps they were checking for oil leaks on the cam cover, and will replace that if leaking, but I hope they'd tell you that specifically in addition to the standard belt change.

Definitely sounds like getting a couple more quotes from other places would be the best thing to do.  I'm certainly not filled with confidence from the first dealership!

So I've tried a few other options and there still seems to be some variation in what work is needed:

• Another Ford dealership - estimated it will be "upwards of £1500" as it's a "full engine out" and will take a "couple of days"
• One local garage who thinks it's 9 hours (based on what they see on their repair time database) and would charge £1,150 including VAT to do the timing belt, water pump and an oil change.  They say it doesn't need the engine out to be done, but still seemed to think it would take a long time as a lot needs removing off the engine.
• Another local garage who were sure it's a conventional belt rather than a wet belt, and would do timing belt, water pump for £1000 and crucially can fit me in during the school holidays when I don't need the car.
• My usual garage who have said they'll do it but they have to buy the tools so would charge £1,400

All of the independent garages have good reviews on google and based on speaking to them on the phone sound fairly knowledgeable.  I don't need an oil change as it had a service a few weeks ago so I'm tempted to go with the one that can fit me in on the day I want.  Anything else I should check?

 

To be honest replacing the timing belt on a 1.6 ECOboost is not particularly difficult or time consuming.

As an experienced home mechanic replacement of the timing belt kit (including tensioner and crankshaft bolt), auxiliary belts, water pump and vacuum filling of the cooling system takes me approximately 6 Hours including coffee and lunch breaks.

An experienced professional mechanic should perform this job even faster. 

The special tools involved are also easily available and quite cheap. Laser Tools for example offers a full kit that contains all required special tools to lock the flywheel, crankshaft and camshafts. This kit can usually be found for less than 75 Pounds.


In my opinion all of the offers you received are quite high considering the amount of labour involved and the costs of the required parts. In my opinion approximately 800 Pounds for parts and labour would be a fair price.

On 5/18/2024 at 5:20 PM, tom5937 said:

Sounds like they might have mixed it up with a 1.0 when estimating the quote to replace it

Yes, when you ask for quotes, don't mention the word "ecoboost" as everyone presumes you mean 1.0 Ecoboom

Just say a 1.6. N/A or Turbo the cam belt is the same

Quick update - had the cambelt, water pump and auxiliary belt replaced a couple of days ago at a local garage instead. They had the car from 8:00 to 5:30 so it seemed like an all day job. With genuine ford parts they charged me £1,050 inc VAT - half as much as the ford dealer quoted me.

I've used the car a few times since and it all seems fine.

So the upshot is, after having two ford garages both quote me for the wrong work (presumably because they didn't properly look up what actually needed to be done for the 1.6), I've got it done locally for half the price and in a single day rather than over 2-3 days that they estimated.

I've left the first ford garage a bad review as a result. Misquoting me was one thing, but telling me the interval was 8 years rather than 10 (which would have caused a mild panic were it not for the helpful replies above) really isn't on.