Ford Focus Eco-boost - new engine

super_saint

Another eco-boost horror story!
I have a 1lt 2013 Focus eco-boost & a week ago had the oil warning light suddenly come on & engine has making a noise. Had it immediately recovered to local garage who advised it was wet belt but they did not have tools to do it.
Local Ford quoted me £2000 to change!
Another local garage said they could do for £750 but this morning they have phoned to advise i actually need a new engine & wont waste my time changing belt!
So need some advise on options as my money is tight?! Do i have any comeback with Ford? I guess not? Get a reconditioned engine (i can see for about £1500 but a guess same again with labour) / buy a new engine £2500+?) or just scrap the bloody thing & buy another car??

Any advise greatly received

womble12345

Have a look on the 'ecoboost nightmare' group on facebook. Personally I would check how much WEBuyAnyCar would give me if it worked and then if that was more than it would cost to fix I would fix it the cheapest way possible and then sell to WeBuyAnyCar.

facade

I watched "I Do Cars" on youtube strip an ecoboost this week.

The oilpump and balancer shaft are driven by a small wet belt, and in his, the plastic tensioner failed and parts went through the engine (making a noise).

What I think happened is the tensioner parts briefly jammed the balancer, and ripped all the teeth off the small belt, leaving the oil pump with no drive and by the time the engine was switched off wrecking the bearings.

By the comments, the plastic tensioner disintegrating is monotonously commonplace.

The cambelt was in very poor condition too.

This was the petrol ecoboost so no possibility of the Ford suggested diesel contamination of the oil.

WellKnownSid

Kennedy's Garage did a preventative wet-belt replacement on a 1l Focus with 150,000km - so < 100k miles - seemed to be quite a lot of junk in the oil pick up.

facade

I thought "I Do Cars" comment at the start of the video was funny, when he revealed the cam belt looking like a rubber belt that had been contaminated with oil and started to disintegrate:-

"the belt is soaked in oil, which is something that all other manufacturers strive to avoid....."

Stateofart

EcoBoom.  It's well known.  Highly stressed small turbo engines letting go is the result of thinking we can strink engines down to the size of a small handbag with no comeback.  On a 2013, I would imagine it's out of warranty and at ten years old, most manufacturers would think it's near the end of it's life.  I don't think you've have much recourse.

WellKnownSid

Stateofart said:

Highly stressed small turbo engines letting go 

Thing is though... it isn't a high stressed small turbo engine letting go.  It's a catastrophic event due to sudden loss of oil pressure - something which almost every manufacturer has experienced due to oil pump drive, pump failure or pickup issues.  BMWs used to 'eat' their own auxiliary drive belts... VWs with the oil-pump-and-balancer contraption, Peugeot engines with cracks in their oil pump castings, Land Rovers... all on 'big unstressed' engines

daveyjp

Nothing to do with the engine size, its due to an engine with in built obsolesence thanks to a non serviceable part being fitted.  A wet belt and a strainer to catch the bits when it deteriorates!

As long as it lasts 10 years/100.000 miles Ford won't be concerned.