Wet timing belts

forgotmyname

rca779 said:

Wet belt question: Ford 1.0 Ecoboost, how easy is it for a mechanic to inspect the belt and declare it ad being pretty new?

The work involved in inspecting it is almost as much as replacing it. You may as well replace it unless you
have 100% proof it was done recently.

Funqi

These Puretech engines are starting to spawn an industry for repair & replacements. There's a garage in Slough doing a full rebuild on the turbo engine for £2000 and there's a garage in Miltion Keynes who are manging to replace the piston rings on the non-turbo engines for £600. 

When I bought mine, I did as much research as I could, but it was quite new then, there wasn't a lot of this info around since most would have still been in warranty. 

Stellantis have twice updated the spec of the belt, changed the recommendation of which oil to use and now have a portal to pay compensation to those who have had failures.

The criteria for claiming is quite strict, but the very existence of that scheme paying out to all those who meet that criteria shows that Stellantis knows these engines are no good.

In Europe there is a very big group action against them. Its probably about time something like that happened here too.

Joyfullife

The wet belts aren’t even lasting as they should be. Mine was replaced at it around 48,000-48600 miles. The belts are supposed to last 60-100,000 miles but that’s not my experience. New wet belt fitted by Vauxhall in June and an oil change in August, it’s now back at Vauxhall because it’s losing oil. I only drive locally and I don’t trust the car. The car still hasn’t done 50,000 miles. I suggested that I may be looking to part ex the car and the lady at Vauxhall suggested I try we buy any car, so even Vauxhall don’t want them back. 

facade

rca779 said:

Wet belt question: Ford 1.0 Ecoboost, how easy is it for a mechanic to inspect the belt and declare it ad being pretty new?

Easiest is to drop the sump, then he can check the oil pickup for belt debris.

Probably charge you for 2 hours, plus replacing all the parts that break when removing the exhaust and new oil.

You might as well just get the belt done if you don't know for certain that it is brand new and you are paying someone else to do it.

Funqi

Joyfullife said:

The wet belts aren’t even lasting as they should be. Mine was replaced at it around 48,000-48600 miles. The belts are supposed to last 60-100,000 miles but that’s not my experience. New wet belt fitted by Vauxhall in June and an oil change in August, it’s now back at Vauxhall because it’s losing oil. I only drive locally and I don’t trust the car. The car still hasn’t done 50,000 miles. I suggested that I may be looking to part ex the car and the lady at Vauxhall suggested I try we buy any car, so even Vauxhall don’t want them back. 

Unfortunately, the oil consumption is another common problem, but it is separate problem to your wet belt. If you are lucky it will be PCV valve, it'll be a cheap fix. or valve stem oil seals, an expensive job, or stuck/worn oil scraper rings on the pistons. The latter will require a removal and strip down of your engine.
Nobody should rely on the recommended mileage for a wet timing belt. There re are plenty of videos showing cars, some with under 40k miles and the belt is already in a terrible state.

My car has been fully serviced to required recommendations and on time (one of them slightly late, but still well within the tolerance as stated by the Stellantis portal). The 1st 3 services by a main dealer, then by my local garage since I have had it. The main dealer just stamps the book and states which grade of oil used (which was actually different to what is now recommended!) and the mileage. My local garage sends me a full report of the service detailing which oil and filter & any other parts used for the service.

I had my belt changed at 68k miles because it failed and the engine required a top end rebuild. The car is now consuming 1L oil approximately every 500-700 miles. I have to carry oil around with me in the car. It's going in for a service this month, so I will have the PCV valve replaced just to eliminate that possibility. The valve stem seals have already been replaced when the engine was repaired, so I expect that it will be worn/stuck oil rings. Another £2,000+ job.

Joyfullife

I’ve just collected my car. Vauxhall have said that it’s not the wetbelt but it is burning oil. If the oil light comes on, I’ve not to top it up but I have to ring them. 

Baldytyke88

stcyrus said:

I now know that the stalantis 1.2 puretec engine is a basket case.

It would have been wise to change it sooner, but this is what Google says - "The recommended timing belt replacement for the 1.2 PureTech engine is every 6 years or 60,000 miles".

Funqi

The original recommendation when the car was new would have been 10 years/112,000 miles, whichever came first.
6 years/60,000 miles is just what is now being recommended.
Even that cannot be relied upon. You just have to regularly check the condition of it.

Funqi

Joyfullife said:

I’ve just collected my car. Vauxhall have said that it’s not the wetbelt but it is burning oil. If the oil light comes on, I’ve not to top it up but I have to ring them. 

Did they not give you a diagnosis of what is causing it? I mean, if I take my sick car to a main dealer garage, I would expect them to tell me what IS wrong with it, not what IS NOT wrong with it.

Joyfullife

It was the girl on the desk that gave me that info. I’ll ring them tomorrow to try to find out more. It’s a ridiculous situation to be in.