Hi everyone! I just bought a second hand 2016 Ford fiesta 1.0L Ecoboost yesterday with 73000 miles on the clock. Full service history by Ford until 2022 before previous owner began taking it to a personal garage. The car is 8 years and 8 months old. I know Ford says you can wait until 10 years to change, but independent garages recommend 8 years. How safe is it to drive this car, say for another 3 months so I can save up some money before paying for a replacement. Also I live in the Grantham area which is a small town with a decent number of garages so how much would a replacement of the wet belt and oil pump belt cost? 

£700-£1000 is a lot more common these days. 
 

You’re pushing your luck, but if you can’t afford it yet there’s not much you can do. If you know anyone handy with a spanner, have them drop the sump and clean out the oil strainer in the interim. 
 

7-8  years / 70k miles is the recommendation. 

The cheapest quote I've received in Grantham so far is £995, do you know any garages that'll do it for less? 

£995 is a decent price for this job at an independent  - try getting a quote from your nearest Ford dealer (Evans Halshaw?) and see what big number they come up with!

Tbh I'd be more concerned about the job being done properly - cam belt, oil pump belt and oil strainer inspect/clean - than saving a few pounds.

Few names I've seen in your sort of area, might be worth trying for a quote:

https://www.andrewscarcentre.com/contents/wet-belts

https://www.rmgranthamcambelt.co.uk/?

https://bearandbeegarage.co.uk/services/cambelts/

The Ford Goodwill Programme guarantees the belt for 10 years or 150,000 miles. I'm looking to get my belt changed up to 2-4 weeks before the 10-year mark and will get the MOT done at the same time. I don't see the point in getting it done any earlier, as if it does fail, which I don't see happening, Ford would cover 100% of the repair cost.

Good Luck with that, you will probably need it if you are to stand a chance of getting Ford to foot the bill. They have yards of small print and very clever legal people which I'm sure manage to veto 95% of any potential claims.

So far I've not seen a single person report back on the forum that they had their engine fail and Ford said  "don't worry, we'll pick up the bill for that".

Perhaps there are cases here on the forum, and I've just not seen them.

56 minutes ago, cjay1 said:

The Ford Goodwill Programme guarantees the belt for 10 years or 150,000 miles. I'm looking to get my belt changed up to 2-4 weeks before the 10-year mark and will get the MOT done at the same time. I don't see the point in getting it done any earlier, as if it does fail, which I don't see happening, Ford would cover 100% of the repair cost.

as above good luck with that;

I suspect they would require proof of timely servicing using approved Ford parts and oils etc. etc.

"previous owner began taking it to a personal garage". That might be a reason for Ford to get out of replacing your engine.

Which is fair enough, anecdotally it seems that incorrect oils, filters and not servicing in time seem to increase the probability of belt failure,

As said previously, it's a "goodwill programme" not a guarantee. Certainly on here (and the various other forums I lurk on) we've yet to see a case of anyone who's benefited. There's been very little publicity of the scheme from Ford, if at all, other than via  people who have had "unofficial" sight of the below document and kindly posted it for the information of others.

I hope it works out for you. We have actually had reports on here from people who've taken it to the wire, made a booking for replacement, and have the belt fail literally days before their appointment.

 

1 hour ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

As said previously, it's a "goodwill programme" not a guarantee. Certainly on here (and the various other forums I lurk on) we've yet to see a case of anyone who's benefited. There's been very little publicity of the scheme from Ford, if at all, other than via  people who have had "unofficial" sight of the below document and kindly posted it for the information of others.

I hope it works out for you. We have actually had reports on here from.people who've taken it to the wire, made a booking for replacement, and have the belt fail literally days before their appointment.

 

That letter is interesting, because it says that you can use an independent garage and you do not need to provide evidence of what oils were used.

Which is remarkably generous.

The concern I have with that letter is this first point. "concern only relating to wet timing belt". I could imagine that Ford could squirm and say there was a cascade effect which caused the timing belt to snap.

I wonder if people have managed to get an independent mechanical engineer (via their insurance?*) to verify the cause and insist that Ford replace the engine after failure?

 

* is engine failure that is not the fault of the owner an insurable loss?

1 hour ago, weesam said:

Which is remarkably generous.

It is, that's why some of us are a little dubious. 

Even assembling 10 years worth of full service history documentation could be challenging for other than the first owner, given that dealers don't tend to pass that stuff*on these days due to fears about data protection.

*Other than a main dealer stamped service book it you're lucky. Digitised service records are another problem.

For me, I am the first owner with all the paperwork. The car has been serviced on time every time, never exceeding 5,200 miles between oil changes, covering 36k in 9.5 years. I expect the belt could last well beyond 10 years in my case. But as the recommended replacement interval is 10 years, that is what I shall do. I believe most belt failures are caused by the use of the incorrect oil, missed oil changes, and engine flushes, none of which apply to my engine.

1 hour ago, cjay1 said:

I believe most belt failures are caused by the use of the incorrect oil, missed oil changes, and engine flushes, none of which apply to my engine.

There may also be an increased risk of failure if your low mileage also corresponds to short journeys as this can mean increased fuel blowby and moisture buildup, both of which will degrade the oil. 

Wet belts are not for me and can fail prematurely blocking sump pickuo and oilways. Change them very soon.

Ok so my wet belt is soon due due to age. is the below list a complete rundown of work required or should I ask for any other work to be completed at the same time?
-Cambelt & oil belt replacement
-Sump pan removal
-Thorough clean-out of oil and turbo strainer
-Vacuum pump seal replacement
-Oil and filter change
-Water pump replacement

1 hour ago, cjay1 said:

Ok so my wet belt is soon due due to age. is the below list a complete rundown of work required or should I ask for any other work to be completed at the same time?
-Cambelt & oil belt replacement
-Sump pan removal
-Thorough clean-out of oil and turbo strainer
-Vacuum pump seal replacement
-Oil and filter change
-Water pump replacement

If you're using a garage with experience of 1.0EB wetbelts, they should know what they're doing.

(And if you're not...I would recommend you change garage!)

Some parts are missing from that list, crank bolt, auxiliary belt, coolant, cam cover seal, injector seals, etc.  But as long as the garage have experience, those parts should be included with the work already suggested.

The exhaust flexi section often breaks when it's removed for the belt change, so you may find that needs to be replaced as well.