Cam Belt gone in 2015 Ford Focus

kentboy101

Hi all, 

So I have a 2015 Ford Focus 1.5 diesel with 60,000 miles on the clock that broke down a few weeks ago, had a mechanic inspect today and its the cam belt, the Cam shaft is not turning when you try to fire it.

It broke When I was on the motorway the engine light came on, and the car went into some kind of limp mode. Got to services about a mile away, popped the bonnet, sounded ok. Turned off and then tried to start again, wouldn't fire. got towed home by the AA and then got the mechanic around today.

He has said he wont know the damage until the head comes off etc to see if any valves are bent, and has quoted approx £1200 to fix. Or he has offered £2000 to buy it off me as it is.

I'm not sure what to do as the car is not that old and is worth probably £4000 - £5000 in a fixed state. Is there any advice on here?

BOWFER

Check out the cost of a used engine, it's a prolific car and there should be plenty going around.
A colleague here had this happen in her son's Fiesta, an engine swap was cheaper than rebuilding the existing one.

greyteam1959

I would suspect that the mechanic can see a nice little earner here.
I would be getting a second opinion myself.

dipsomaniac

What did the AA man say?  Did he run any diagnostics? He should have been able to diagnose the problem or rule certain things out

I am not a mechanic so don't know why it entered limp home mode (it's there to protect the engine) but pretty sure the engine wouldn't run with a broken cam belt.  If the valves were bent you would have heard the impact

kentboy101

So all we know at the moment is that when it is turned over the cam shaft isn’t turning. The belt is still in place, but it could of stripped teeth down the bottom. 

The AA man plugged in his computer as well, error was cam shaft position sensor. 

Im a little stuck as I can’t start it so need a mobile mechanic

dipsomaniac

Sounds like a broken belt or stripped teeth, which is really unlucky.  What I don't understand is how the engine initially kept running?

Is car under any warranty?

Not sure a mobile mechanic (without premises) is the best option unless you have a double garage. I removed/replaced my head on the drive but it's far from ideal

Ms_Chocaholic

What's the servicing schedule like? Is this something that should have been picked up at the last service, dependent on when this was of course and mileage at the time.

kentboy101

I had it serviced last year, and I don’t recall them saying anything about it. 

I’m a bit confused at how the engine kept running as well. 

AdrianC

kentboy101 said:

I’m a bit confused at how the engine kept running as well. 

It probably stripped and jumped a tooth or two initially.

At 6yrs and 60k, it's within interval - 120k or 10yrs.

A quick google suggests there may be issues with the crank pulley on some engines, and it's relatively easily and cheaply fixable...
https://fordtransitconnectforum.com/topic/8967-15tdci-cambelt-snapped-good-news-dv5-engine/