ford wet belt engines??

[johnakay]

if the engine is service correctly the belt should last 10 years so Ford say's.

@johnakay - sell it while it is still running!
then what most cars have wet belts on then.theres no way of getting away from them.

 

[charlysays]

Guys - I’m seriously worried now.

Mrs. GT has a 2014 1.0 EcoBoost with 29k on it. She’s had it from new and it’s been maintained at the same Ford dealership from new (if indeed that actually counts for much…)

Should I get rid whilst the going is good?

Join ford ecoboost nightmare on Facebook and see what you think.
From what I have been reading the wet belts are failing well within their service interval even in low mileage cars with full ford main dealer service history.
Someone actually commented recently that the company which makes the wetbelts recommends they are changed every 5 years but ford say 10 years, invite disaster but are reluctant to pick up the pieces when disaster strikes.
Ford are often not putting it right either. Some have taken ford to court and won which is cool but doesn't sound like fun.

 

[Ubique]

Sure I read some time back that the engine costs Ford something like 300 quid complete?

When I worked at a Ford dealer we were paying £450 +vat for them so probably about right.

 

[johnakay]

Join ford ecoboost nightmare on Facebook and see what you think.
From what I have been reading the wet belts are failing well within their service interval even in low mileage cars with full ford main dealer service history.
Someone actually commented recently that the company which makes the wetbelts recommends they are changed every 5 years but ford say 10 years, invite disaster but are reluctant to pick up the pieces when disaster strikes.
Ford are often not putting it right either. Some have taken ford to court and won which is cool but doesn't sound like fun.

I've seen that page its quite alarming. but what choice do I have considering that nearly all cars have wet belts.
having said that all cars have faults of sorts.

 

[Ubique]

Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous? It a car ffs not a cheap Chinese 2 stroke strimmer. Did it say in the brochures when new that it comes with a disposable engine that should be replaced every xxx thousand miles?

This is the result of 'engineering by accountants' - regardless of cause, they determined that out-of-warranty repairs would be best served by quickly replacing a major assembly rather than having 'costly' labour intensive repairs where the assembly would need to be disassembled and a large number of 'fit once' components used to return it to service.

BTW, have you ever hear one of the smaller petrol engines? it sounds exactly like a 'cheap Chinese 2 stroke strimmer' - with a misfire...

 

[8ob]

Wet belts aren't a new idea, our snotty old 1.8 TDCI connect vans had them way back, no problems with them.

Bob

 

[Kram]

I was looking at cars today. The Honda guy warned me away from the 1L wet belt engines but I'd never heard of it before.

 

[brightspark]

if the engine is service correctly the belt should last 10 years so Ford say's.

@johnakay - sell it while it is still running!
then what most cars have wet belts on then.theres no way of getting away from them.

apart from the conversion thats why they make them because they know that the wet belt is a bad idea

 

[m_c]

apart from the conversion thats why they make them because they know that the wet belt is a bad idea

On the 1.8's, it's not a conversion kit. It's simply the chain setup, which is a direct swap for the wet belt.

Ford switched between them over a period, and if you actually look at the service schedules, both should be changed at the same interval.
The issue is, lots of people didn't realise that, and only ever changed the top belt, meaning there were lots of lower chain and belt failures.

 

[voipio]

Guys - I’m seriously worried now.

Mrs. GT has a 2014 1.0 EcoBoost with 29k on it. She’s had it from new and it’s been maintained at the same Ford dealership from new (if indeed that actually counts for much…)

Should I get rid whilst the going is good?

There was a Fiesta 1.0 EcoBoost that, last I heard, was on 170k+ miles on the original belt. Still running sweet as a nut. No oil leaks. It was serviced regularly by a Ford dealership.

 

[premmington]

Wet belts aren't a new idea, our snotty old 1.8 TDCI connect vans had them way back, no problems with them.

Bob

Older ones had chain driving fuel pump and a dry cambelt - newer ones had wet belt driving pump and a dry cambelt.

 

[Ubique]

There was a Fiesta 1.0 EcoBoost that, last I heard, was on 170k+ miles on the original belt. Still running sweet as a nut. No oil leaks. It was serviced regularly by a Ford dealership.

Like most engines, they last longer if used regularly (and serviced regularly) The original oil spec WSS-M2C948-B is susceptible to molecular debonding in the presence of high concentrations of condensation - exactly what happens in a low use, low running temperature vehicle, which is exactly the target market (cost sensitive commuter vehicle) for the ecoboost engined vehicles.
I can't imagine many first owners buying vehicles with these engines with a view to covering 'sales rep' mileage, the spec levels are 'spartan' in the main, which doesn't encourage long journeys

 

[premmington]

Like most engines, they last longer if used regularly (and serviced regularly) The original oil spec WSS-M2C948-B is susceptible to molecular debonding in the presence of high concentrations of condensation - exactly what happens in a low use, low running temperature vehicle, which is exactly the target market (cost sensitive commuter vehicle) for the ecoboost engined vehicles.
I can't imagine many first owners buying vehicles with these engines with a view to covering 'sales rep' mileage, the spec levels are 'spartan' in the main, which doesn't encourage long journeys

I think they drive OK - engine sounds OK.

 

[Ubique]

Sorry mate, no three cylinder engine sounds OK (especially the Smart/Renault engine) - but even worse are the 4 pot with cylinder deactivation, when I was at an Audi dealer, every week we had an A1 or A3 in with a 'misfire'.... I haven't driven any three-potter further than absolutely necessary to give an opinion on the quality of the powertrain or otherwise

 

[premmington]

Sorry mate, no three cylinder engine sounds OK (especially the Smart/Renault engine) - but even worse are the 4 pot with cylinder deactivation, when I was at an Audi dealer, every week we had an A1 or A3 in with a 'misfire'.... I haven't driven any three-potter further than absolutely necessary to give an opinion on the quality of the powertrain or otherwise

I been using - Skoda Citigos and VW ups - now they don't sound right - they also need some revs to carry the clutch - a ecoboost does drive better than the VAG offering.

3cylinder engines are here to stay I think

 

[Ubique]

The Ford ones seem to be auto-retiring....

 

[8ob]

Ford messed about with a three cylinder two stroke yonks ago, dont know what happened to that. A mate of mine who worked for the surrey police was given one.

Bob

 

[premmington]

Ford messed about with a three cylinder two stroke yonks ago, dont know what happened to that. A mate of mine who worked for the surrey police was given one.

Bob

three cylinder two strokes...

 

[8ob]

three cylinder two strokes...

They existed. Police mechanics were not allowed under the bonnet, Ford monitored everything. Tiny bit about them halfway down the page

Stroke of Fortune

Another future postponed. Today we look at an engine technology from the early 1990’s which, for a short time at least, looked like a certainty. Where do ideas go to die? Are blueprints simpl…

driventowrite.com

But the real business of work was taking place in Australia, in the US and in Europe where fleets of Orbital powered family hatchbacks were evaluated. Part of this regime involved the UK’s Surrey police force taking delivery of an Orbital-equipped Fiesta for 15 months and 30,000 miles, where it acquitted itself rather well.

The primary power plant (as fitted to Fiestas) was a 1.2 litre three cylinder developing 80 bhp at 5000 rpm and 90 lbs/ft of torque at 4000 rpm. A 800cc twin and a supercharged 2.0 litre in-line six were also developed, as indeed was a 330 bhp 3.2 litre V6, believed to have been taken up with some seriousness by Jaguar.

Dear Leonard. Setright gives the Orbital the once over. Image: Car
In 1994, the eminent LJK Setright penned a laudatory piece on both the Orbital two-stroke and concurrent developments from Toyota (and Ricardo) which combined camshaft driven poppet valves for both inlet and exhaust porting with an externally scavenged two-stroke cycle. The results, especially from the Anglo-Japanese design appeared to set the industry upon an innovative and potentially exciting course in engine design. Ford talked of Orbital production by 1995. Then it all went silent.

 

[Turbo]

3cylinder engines are here to stay I think

Early model Subaru Justy's had a 3 cylinder engine, absolute hoot to drive, very free revving & quite pokey for a 1200cc. The 4WD version had a switch on the gearstick to engage the 4wd & if you felt it starting to go mid corner you could flick the switch to straighten everything up!