Watch: Ford 1 litre EcoBoost ‘Fox’ engine timing belt replacement

Dayco talks Garage Wire through Ford 1.0 Ecoboost timing belt replacement

Watch: Ford 1 litre EcoBoost ‘Fox’ engine timing belt replacement

Dayco, the company that pioneered the belt in oil (BIO) innovation on behalf of vehicle manufacturers (VMs) such as Ford and VW, is highlighting the importance of regular maintenance in line with the VMs scheduled service intervals, to ensure the ongoing reliability of these engines.

Taking the Ford 1.0-litre EcoBoost ‘Fox’ engine, which is used in multiple Ford applications including the B-Max, C-Max, Ecosport, Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo, as an example, according to the manufacturer’s service schedule, the timing belt must be replaced at 150,000 miles or every 10 years, whichever comes soonest.

When it comes to the Tourneo Connect and Courier however, the replacement mileage is slightly lower, at 140,000 miles.

“Although the BIO innovation is a fantastic solution, which helps this small and efficient engine to deliver incredible levels of power, alongside exceptionally low emissions and excellent fuel economy, depending on the quality of the fuel it uses and the type of journey it undertakes, the engine can sometimes be prone to oil contamination, which has the potential to affect the belt,” explains Dayco’s national sales manager, Steve Carolan.

“It is therefore imperative that workshops highlight the importance of following the VMs scheduled replacement intervals to their customers.

“On a practical level, there are also some best practice guidelines that technicians can follow to help them assess the condition of the belt in between the specified replacement interval, the first of which is to assess the condition of the oil.

“This is easier than it might appear as the presence of petrol in the oil is generally noticeable due to its strong odour, so rather than undoing the drainplug and walking away, whenever carrying out a scheduled oil and filter change technicians should check for the smell of petrol fumes.

“If this is detected, further investigation must be made as the failure of the belt will have catastrophic consequences to the engine.

“Unfortunately, checking the condition of the belt is not straightforward, but a sensible starting point is to check the strainer that the oil will have passed through when draining from the sump, because it’s possible that fragments of the belt or deposits of material that have been dislodged as the fuel attacks the belt material, will be left behind.

“If any evidence of debris is found, the next step is to remove the camshaft cover as this is the only practical way to properly assess the belt’s condition as it allows technicians to examine the back, which will reveal whether the contaminated oil has begun to degrade the surface of the belt.

“At this point it’s important to state that some moderate increase in the width of the belt, commonly referred to as belt swell, is not an issue, unless of course it’s so excessive as to cause the belt to foul, but this will be evident if there is damage to its edges.

“Naturally, should the belt need to be replaced, as the original equipment supplier for both the timing and oil pump drive systems for these engines, Dayco has replacement kits – either KBIO02 or KBIO03 – in its aftermarket range.

“Finally, we’d encourage workshops to be proactive with their customers and, in addition to highlighting the necessity of the belt checks and replacement interval, make them aware of the consequences in terms of the damage to the engine and the cost to repair it, should the belt fail.”

7 Comments

  1. Good for customer 150k. But not for person doing the job or the steel bolts in aluminium etc

    Considering they overheat crack the block then set on fire

    Reply
  2. Timing belts in oil, very poor idea, I don’t know how Ford come up with the idea with all their research and testing that it would be effective. For example, Transit 2.0l 2018, Fords had an apparent recall for a particular chassis range, I’ve had numerous vehicles in outside of this chassis range with belt failures, these vehicle had full service history at correct mileages and with correct oils etc, all failing or showing serious fatigue around 80,000mls, I’ve catalogued evidence of this showing teeth fatigue/fracturing away from main part of belt at this mileage. You can argue that you cant check oil for fuel contamination accurately throughout its life due to possibility of previous oil changes being done and hiding this possible problem, however if this is the suggestion, then the design is not fit for purpose, irrespective of how economical or good performance/power is produced from the engine. If the oil is showing signs of fuel contamination, then you’re looking at a belt replacement every oil change to protect the engine as you would be risking belt failure. Why design/produce a product with the risk of this situation, no consumer wants to purchase a product that does not perform correctly. Financial costs of repairs/servicing are not economical, belt replacement scheduled at 150k mileage, you have to pay out at around 70k mileage to protect the engine, that’s two belt replacements within the manufacturers scheduled time for the product to be effective at around approximate costs of £900 to £1000 each time. I cant believe a designer at Fords thought this would be acceptable, utterly shocking.

    Reply
    • I have a 2018 ecoboost at 48000 miles ,that has suffered sever belt degreation, enough to block pick up & stop brake servo pump operating, only to discover turbo also blown , when I have Google it there are so many complaints about belt issues causing oil pressure loss , resulting in new engines

      Reply
  3. Yes, I agree with you, My 2018 transit 36k miles has just been in for a cam belt check on a recall. They have replaced the belt. We recently had 2 cars in our garage with an oil light flashing on during idle. The fault was the oil pickup pipe filter was blocked with fibres from the belt. both were under 80k

    Reply
  4. Only 1.5k for a new belt!! Nice surprise for owners of 10 year old cars.

    Reply
    • I just had this shock yesterday when I booked my daughters car in for what I thought would be a basic service and mot.
      How old is the car he said, 2013 I replied 40k Miles, oh it’s ready for cambelt replacement and your into £1500.
      Not a nice surprise when my daughters trying to save for a house deposit 😡

      Reply
  5. Hi to all!
    I have one question!
    if we have fuel smell in oil the problem will be the High fuel Pressure pump leaking into the engine? And that will accelerate the excellent wet belt deterioration to half of is long life.
    Best regards

    Reply

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