Cambelt change on a Fiesta 1.25 Style 56 plate

[Joe133]

Just bought a Fiesta 1.25 Style on a 56 plate with 83k on clock for my son as his first car.

I don't know if cambelt has already been changed.

I know they say 100k but should I get it changed now because of age of car?

If so how much should I expect to pay for this at an independent garage?

Thanks in advance

[griffithsbilly86]

Not sure on how much it will cost as I do all my own repairs but because it's over ten years old it's a must. Normally a cambelt should be done every 100000 miles or every 8-10 years not sure what say but that's what it was on my Volvo every 10 years


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[Luke4efc]

Fiestas they say 8 years, or 100k. I still think 100k is too much though. Ideally it's something you get the previous owner/dealership to do before you buy it off them. If you're not bothered about stamps, it's not that hard to do yourself with a decent enough tool collection, the belt costs around £10 I'd have thought. You can expect to pay around £150-200 at a garage, all depends on how much stuff is in the way.

Usually they are changed as part of a major service, which includes changing the water pump (about £15-£20 by itself), which I would also say is worth doing. That can be £350 depending on where you go, including oil change etc.

[Tuha]

I`ve bought last month my fiesta with 80k on clock (04 plate) but i will change my belt next month by my self-not sure about cos in garage-probably not cheap.

Worth doing because if it will brake it will *****-up half of your engine.

Thanks

[stef123]

I'd say expect atleast £200 for a full kit and auxiliary drive belt of reputable brand.

A water pump for £15-£20? No chance, a genuine ford one with bolts and gasket doesn't give much change out of £100 and a cheap one will come back to bite you. 

[zain611]

Have to look at my fiesta's timing belt to see if it's been changed. The last owner said he changed the clutch and he also changed the timing belt and water pump at the same time however there is no receipts to prove it. Clutch feels like it's been changed as it grips properly like when I changed the clutch on my last car. I'm sure with a timing belt you look to see if it has a matte look and if any labels are easy to see. This would show its not that old 

[MJNewton]

In my experience it can be difficult if not impossible to tell how long ago a timing belt was changed. Sure, if it is hanging on by its chords then you can reasonably assume 'too long ago' but even belts that've done 10 years can look remarkably new in appearance, presumably because they are reasonably well protected from the elements and the reverse side rolls with very low friction on pulleys. Conversely, I often think that brand new timing belts straight out of the box can sometimes look like they've been used!

@HenryV did a great write-up of his timing belt change which is well worth a read for those that haven't done it before. I am sure he wouldn't mind me saying that he was very, shall we say, 'thorough', with his approach and so don't necessarily be put off if it seems too daunting. Speaking of daunting timing belt changes if anyone wants to document one on an Ecoboost with its apparently 'good for life' timing belt (only time will tell!) I'd be very interested indeed!

[stef123]

to sort of mirror what Matt has said above I have found in my experience that timing belts are constructed so they do not stretch and tend not to show many if any signs of early failure until one day they just snap and no amount of inspecting could have told you it was ready to go. 

As for the ecoboost timing belts being 'good for life' i believe that is down to the manufacturer saying the lifespan of the car/engine is meant to be 100k miles or 8 years. @iantt would be the man with the true answer. also if i'm not just making it up I think the replacement time may be somewhere near 10 hours. 

[isetta]

I don't know what happens when they fail these days, but years ago in the days of the cortina ohc engines escort mk3 cvh engines, the belts often did not snap but instead the teeth sheared off them. so when you took the cover off, the belt was still there in place but the crankshaft did not turn the belt as the teeth had sheared off down the bottom where the crankshaft is. I say this to warn people against thinking the belt looks good enough not to snap 

[MJNewton]

1 hour ago, stef123 said:

As for the ecoboost timing belts being 'good for life' i believe that is down to the manufacturer saying the lifespan of the car/engine is meant to be 100k miles or 8 years. @iantt would be the man with the true answer. also if i'm not just making it up I think the replacement time may be somewhere near 10 hours. 

With the submerged belt intended to provide extended service life I think it would have to be longer than that. I seem to recall reading (not sure where) that the minimum design life for the engine was 150k?

[stef123]

5 minutes ago, MJNewton said:

With the submerged belt intended to provide extended service life I think it would have to be longer than that. I seem to recall reading (not sure where) that the minimum design life for the engine was 150k?

Perhaps the mileage is higher but I'm certain ford only see the car having an intended 8 year life span. 

[MJNewton]

Ah okay, could well be. I suppose I do seem to keep the same car for longer than many/most. 

[MJNewton]

I've just found it on Etis:

Quote

The timing belt is maintenance-free (change 240,000 km or at the latest after 10 years)

Hopefully by the time such mileages/ages start becoming commonplace there'll be affordable aftermarket alignment tools that will make it a more feasible DIY job.

[iantt]

it wont be diy any time soon. a nightmare of a job im told. ive never done one but as stef points out it alot of hrs to do, think its 8 hrs . quite a few special tools required including torque multiplier for crank bolt removalband fitting. tighter tha stefs F.T torque .

[iantt]

change interval is 150k or 10 years. if ive still got mine at that mileage then im going to leave it until it breaks . car wont be worth anything by then anyway. 13plate with 55k is £5k now

[MJNewton]

6 minutes ago, iantt said:

quite a few special tools required

Oh great. Nice one Ford.

[iantt]

you can get an aftermarket kit for doing them £450 ish

[stef123]

there we go then that answers that lol.

A torque multiplier, I've used an inch drive one if i recall to do bolts tightened up to 1500nm. my other torque multiplier is a long scaffold tube lol 

[MJNewton]

Yeah I was about to say - I've made many a 'torque multiplier' in my time but I dare say they probably aren't something that Ford would recognise...

[stef123]

just need to get the big gun out lol

p.s i only use this for locking wheel nuts lol 

[iantt]

for some strange reason the turbo oil feed pipe requires replacement when doing timing belt, and 20 front cover bolts amongst other bolts, nuts etc. bet the belts not cheap either. 

[MJNewton]

Your idea of just leaving it be is sounding like a wise move... 

[griffithsbilly86]

I've never used locking tools to do a cam belt total waste of money. Just make sure it's at tdc and that you mark it up before you take the old belt off. And before you try and start after you have changed it make sure you turn the engine over by hand to make sure nothing is hitting lol.


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[iantt]

I've never used locking tools to do a cam belt total waste of money. Just make sure it's at tdc and that you mark it up before you take the old belt off. And before you try and start after you have changed it make sure you turn the engine over by hand to make sure nothing is hitting lol.


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unfortunatly that method no longer applies to alot of modern engines especialy the 1.25 the topic is supposed to be refering to. the probem being there is no key to locate crank timing pulley to crank .

[Luke4efc]

8 hours ago, stef123 said:

just need to get the big gun out lol

p.s i only use this for locking wheel nuts lol 

Is that the ecoboost engine and gearbox you have there? 😂😂