In the dim and distant past, the BL Mini (etc.) the timing chain was single row and tensioned by two rubber rings on the large pulley (they didn't last long, leading to the inevitable rattle)
The solution was a double row, duplex chain drive with new pulleys - a much better solution but obviously at a price.

With the obvious issues with wet belts, is there no sign of someone coming up with a chain or other replacement system for those who want to avoid the cost of regular changes (i.e. once fitted, forget about any risk of oil pick up clogging.
I suppose you could argue that it doesn't have to be done often so the rather large cost is part of the ongoing costs or running a vehicle or they aren't kept long enough to make it worthwhile? (CAR - Cash Always Required. BOAT-Bring On Another Thousand?)

Just sayin!

If there were room to replace the drive timing wheel with a chain sprocket, it could possibly be done but there would be unintended consequences. Firstly, belts are really good at absorbing vibration. The last thing you want is to do all that work and find that because the oil pump is solidly driven by the crank, it causes the oil to cavitate in the pump or shakes it loose for example. There might be balancing issues, too. These could be avoided by interposing a plate with an idler gear like a proper Christian oil pump ought to have but it won't be cheap. Most of the rubbish in the oil pump strainer is from the cam belt and there isn't a great deal of room to insatall a chain which will itself shed bits of metal, this time.

No, I think the best solution is to have an inspection port at the bottom of the sump beneath the oil pump pickup  that can be removed like that on a Beetle engine. It is cheap to install, and by removing the retaining screws at every service (Add one O ring and half an hour,) the pump strainer could be checked and cleaned annually. Get a sump, machine the round bit underneath and make up a circular plate to fit. Probably cost about £100 for a sump modified in that way as an exchange part assuming that there is enough meat to drill and tap the inside for suitable countersunk screws which would be Loctited to create an oil tight sump once the inspectio plate was fitted.

By the way,  when it comes to CAR and BOAT, My own experience:

Almighty Expense Really Often-Prodigiously Large Amounts Needed Every Service. (If the Good Lord had intended man to fly, he would have given him more money!)

I thought of a chain conversion kit for the 1.0 EcoBoost before.

It is just not as simple to convert a wetbelt engine to a chain.

In case of the original setup consists of:
- Camshaft belt pulleys with TI-VCT actuators.
- Crankshaft belt pulley. 
- Belt tensioner.
- Wetbelt.

A chain setup consists of:
- Camshaft chain pulleys with TI-VCT actuators.
- Crankshaft chain pulley. 
- Upper chain guide.
- Left chain guide with chain tensioner (oil pressure actuated).
- Right chain guide.
- Timing chain.

A lot of custom parts are required. You have to convert the camshaft belt pulleys to custom-made camshaft chain pulleys that mount onto the TI-VCT actuators, make a new custom-made crankshaft chain pulley and design and manufacture the plastic chain guides out of suitable material. This is just the easy part.

The 1.0 EcoBoost wetbelt engine does not have any mounting possibilities for the chain guides. This means that surfaces need to be machined, bolt holes need to be drilled and tapped and an oil channel for the chain tensioner need to be drilled. To do this properly the engine needs to be removed from the vehicle and disassembled.


I guess it would just not be economically viable to develop a conversion kit. The development and manufacturing costs will be quite high and the market for such a kit will be quite small considering the costs involved to modify the engine and install the conversion kit.

 

Indeed, the costs would exceed those of just bunging in a new engine. Really though, the Ecoboost isn't that bad. People know how to look after them better and they are not the pinless grenade they are talked up to be. The vast majority go on to give very good service and the special tool, the torque multiplier, has dropped to about £120 rather than the £500 it was before so the job is within the reach of a careful and reasonably experienced home mechanic. Buy the belts, and a new pump, oil and filter and you'll have change from £500 - much less than your tyre bill over that distance.

I keep coming across mention of a belt to chain conversion for the wet belt Peugeot Puretech but never seem to see anything further:

https://www.puretechtimingchain.com/en-gb

Stellantis have now gone to chain anyway on the later engines, though you could do a check, of sorts,on the wet belt via the oil filler:

I'm still unsure if Ford's move to chain was any great advantage, given they left the oil pump belt and the replacement process is just as labour intensive as before. I have seen suggestions that the move was connected to extra load imposed by cylinder deactivation and/or MHEV systems, though.

PS as a regular walker I know a BOAT as "Byway Open to All Traffic".😀

So you walk on water?

@anon I like the inspection hatch idea and a kit for that or DIY seems like a cheap and cheerful solution (at least to me)

1 hour ago, anon said:

So you walk on water?

On a wet day in the Dales it often feels that way!😀