28/09/2024
Ladies and gentlemen: in the photo you'll see what's known as a timing belt. The timing belt makes sure that your engine inhales and exhales when it's supposed to, for attempting to do both at the same time results in a catastrophic, internally destructive engine malfunction. If a timing belt breaks, that's exactly what happens.
But this is no ordinary timing belt, you see. Ordinary timing belts live behind a plastic cover on the outside of the engine. You remove anything blocking access to that cover, then the cover, and you have nice, dry access to your timing belt and any associated tensioners, etc. The rubber stays nice and dry throughout its life and then it eventually begins to weaken, and it's time to change it before *kerBANG!!!* happens.
But this timing belt is no ordinary timing belt. This timing belt is the worst design in over a hundred years of engine timing history. You see, this is the Ford Ecoboost "BIO belt", or alternatively, a "bathed-in-oil belt". This is a toothed-rubber belt running on sprockets like any other timing belt, except this one is INSIDE THE ENGINE, BATHED IN OIL.
Any 8th grader will tell you what happens to rubber when it comes into contact with oil. It breaks down, right? So why would Ford see fit to design the engines like this?? What's wrong with putting the belt on the outside of the engine like any other belt?
Who knows.
But wait, there's more:
Ford knew it was a wonky idea, so they reinforced the belt with a bunch of aramid fibers, kinda like strands of fiberglass throughout the rubber. Good idea, right? Adds strength, right?
Well...
In these engines, the oil begins to break down the rubber belt, and then little fibers break free from it, and those fibers start to clog up the oil pickup tube that feeds the top of the engine, thus starving the top of the engine (the cams, etc) for oil, sometimes destroying the engine from the top.
Sometimes.
See, this little 1000cc, 3-cylinder turbo engine, with HALF the horsepower of any equivalent modern motorcycle engine, can't make enough vacuum to power the car's little brake booster - the thing that gives you power brakes. So, on top of the engine is a little pump to create extra vacuum to assist in braking.
The thing is, this little pump runs on... OIL PRESSURE!!
So when the rubber belt decomposes and lets fibers clog the oil passages, starving your engine of precious lubrication and slowly killing it, it's also PREVENTING YOU FROM BEING ABLE TO SLOW DOWN AND/OR STOP!
Of course there's a class action lawsuit about this engine, but the genius attorneys didn't include this car (the Fiesta). The lawsuit only applies to Focuses and EcoSport SUV's in the US with this engine. In the meantime, Ford in the uk are still producing this crap . In transit 2.0 ecoblue engine ,and in the petrol 1.0 fiestas and focus etc.
Remember when transits lasted .now they are the eco BOOM uter sh*te however we do fix them and we also replace these belts on the transits at PKA .so please if you have a ford service regular and change this belt every 80k maximum
