Belt in Oil

[Chippy_Tea]

I for one will never own a car with belt in oil there are still lots of manufacturers using cam chains so there is plenty of choice out there.

 

[MashBag]

I got rid of the pug 2008 when i found it had one those belt in oil things, got a juke now 1L very nippy and chain drive

Rod, really. I expected better from you. Just a tinsey, winsey timing chain tensioner gag would have done. We were both CX owners

 

[Rodcx500z]

Which model did you have, and here is a gag mine was a 79 hybrid

 

[allotment_fox]

I got rid of the pug 2008 when i found it had one those belt in oil things, got a juke now 1L very nippy and chain drive

I stiil have my 2008 a few months after getting it as 2nd owner not sure about the miles around 17000 3 years old
yellow light then red needed a new belt luckey for me got it sorted by main dealer under manufacturer warranty once i could get the selling garage to show their service at Available Car had used the correct oil around £1-£2 K total cost

 

[MattH1973]

very interesting, thanks for posting. Reminiscent of the BMW swirl flap issue around 15 years ago - a complex and high maintenance system delivers a marginal MPG improvement but destroys the engine when it goes wrong. Just crazy. As others have said, as cars get older it becomes much more likely that a mechanic wont use exactly the right oil, or will miss a belt change - definitely an argument for keeping things simple and low risk

 

[Jim Brewster]

a complex and high maintenance system delivers a marginal MPG improvement but destroys the engine when it goes wrong.

Some of the Ford Duratecs on Mondeos etc had plastic flaps in the inlet manifold too, I'm not sure if they created swirl or adjusted the length, either way there were a lot of cases of them breaking off where the shrapnel then went into the engine

It's all what I'd sarcastically term a "bright idea" no doubt what seemed like a genius solution at the time

 

[MashBag]

Which model did you have, and here is a gag mine was a 79 hybrid

I had mine in the early eighties, and it was secondhand then.

Rebuilt the engine in my upstairs flat kitchen

 

[Chippy_Tea]

yellow light then red needed a new belt luckey for me got it sorted by main dealer under manufacturer warranty

Was this the oil light or something else.

 

[jeremy Hall]

I had a belt go once on a Cortina luckily back then the valves and pistons didn't hit each other so a new belt was fitted and away we went again since then i have always bought cars with chain drive i am not saying chains dont break but they usually become noisy before breaking giving you time to replace them, they should also last the lifetime of the engine if you change the oil and filter at the correct intervals.

In modern engines the valves and pistons do meet and its goodnight for the top of the engine and a very expensive repair, the worry is its not just the belt snapping that can cause problems i believe on some cars it also drives the water pump and if the pump bearing goes the belt comes off the pully with the same result, that is why you are often advised to change the pump at belt service interval.

Had a belt/chain go on a ford Capri and luckily nothing was damaged. Easy repair. If a car gets old I don't bother replacing. If it costs more to replace than the car is worth, what's the point?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

If a car gets old I don't bother replacing. If it costs more to replace than the car is worth, what's the point?

Some manufacturers belt changes are at 100,000 if i had a car which i waned to keep because the body was in good condition and mechanically it was sound i wouldn't let it go near that mileage, a quick search brought this price up i dont know if that is good or bad but £550 to keep your car on the road for many years to come doesn't sound a lot to me.

 

[Nicks90]

Some of the Ford Duratecs on Mondeos etc had plastic flaps in the inlet manifold too, I'm not sure if they created swirl or adjusted the length, either way there were a lot of cases of them breaking off where the shrapnel then went into the engine

It's all what I'd sarcastically term a "bright idea" no doubt what seemed like a genius solution at the time

So do certain BMW and Mercedes. It's all part of the euro4 or 5 emissions regulations.
Fairly common amongst those with a bit of spanner experience to just remove the swirl flaps and carry on regardless. Doesn't impact mot emissions and keeps the car safe from ingestion of plastic + metals bits n bobs

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Fairly common amongst those with a bit of spanner experience to just remove the swirl flaps and carry on regardless. Doesn't impact mot emissions and keeps the car safe from ingestion of plastic + metals bits n bobs

I remember blanking plugs for sale all over the place because there were so many cars with these flaps.

 

[Jim Brewster]

Had a belt/chain go on a ford Capri and luckily nothing was damaged. Easy repair. If a car gets old I don't bother replacing. If it costs more to replace than the car is worth, what's the point?

Aye, that was back in the days of push rods and 8 valve 4 cylinders, but nowadays as Chippy said most engines are interference and it would be extreme luck to not cause a lot of damage. Plus a belt in oil will block the oil flow as it deteriorates with age or using the incorrect oil, pretty irritating design.

I found out a tuning company will fit a new Ecoboost for 3 grand, weighted up against the cost of a belt change it's pretty fairly balanced it looks like it'll have to be addressed one way or another if keeping the car, pity there's no easy way to retrofit a chain

 

[allotment_fox]

engine fault light management system

 

[Chippy_Tea]

engine fault light management system

Thanks.

 

[MashBag]

Perhaps car manufacturers are intentionally including "lifed" items to ultimately sell more cars?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

It looks like it's down to which oil you use which obviously could be bs but I guess we'll never know, best to avoid in the first place.

 

[dad_of_jon]

Daughters Splash has passed 100k, There is no drive belt maintenance schedule It's chain driven , but it has an accessories and a/c belt requiring inspections a 3 years and replacement at 6. worn belts exhibit poor air conditioning and alternator not charging battery. It's a 1.2 engine can't vouch for the 1.0.

 

[dad_of_jon]

yup ecoboost strikes again. I recall it once one won engine of the year award. It would be ok if you PCP it and hand it back after 3 years before it gets a chance to ambush your wallet in an unexpected way.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

So the UK cars have the same problem as 140,000 US cars that have been recalled but here they are not going to recall them, I would not be happy if I owned a Ford with a belt in oil system.
This is why I didn't buy Ford or Vauxhall when I recently changed car having found out they have been using BIO for a while.