Timing belt in oil

[supton]

Last nights “I Do Cars” teardown was on a 1L 3 cylinder Ford Ecoboost. Two belts, timing belt was ok, but the belt for both oil pump and balance shafts shredded its teeth, with predictable results. In the video Eric indicated that the engine looked like low miles, no varnish, yet the timing belt looked cracked and not good—and of course, the other one failed.

How did Ford’s belt in oil really work out? seems to me it was a cost cutting move that was‘t a great idea.

 

[mrsilv04]

And as Eric pointed out in the video, the fuel economy of that engine, in the 'EcoSport', was laughable.

A local Ford dealer gave up on trying to sell them as new, and instead... banished them to their service loaner fleet.

 

[JavierH19]

Complete joke of an engine.

 

[Cujet]

I always wonder if certain oils or additives, even fuel additives, can damage a wet belt.

Honda mowers occasionally have deteriorating wet belts. Could ethanol or additives have caused this?

 

[dumkid]

rubber belts aren't supposed to get oily, because the oil can make certain rubbers mushy. i hope they made these belts oil compatible. and since it's still a timing belt, does it still need changed?

 

[dishdude]

I think VW has an engine with an oil bathed timing belt as well. Maintenance interval is supposed to be 150k. Personally I refuse to buy any engine with a timing belt at this point, too many chain options out there.

 

[ctechbob]

At least they went back to chains in the new I3's, so they learned.

Yet another one of those retorts you can use when someone says 'I trust the engineers that designed my car they know what's best'.

As if they're infallible.

 

[Pew]

I had one. Lasted 230k on the factory belts until the timing belt broke; yes I should have replaced it and I would still be driving it if I did.

Lots of idle time for the heat and A/C when I slept in the car on roadtrips. Fuel economy averaged 36 in mix driving and 40+ on the highway at 70+mph. Better power and fuel economy compared to the 1.6L in the fiesta. Better fuel economy and lower-end tq versus the 2.0L in the regular focus. There were some early reports, specifically in the first year or two when it was released in Europe from premature belt breaking but it didn't come over to North America until the 2015 Focus and didn't bring a lot over.

MPG in the Ecosport with this engine sucked because that car had the shape and wind drag of an upright egg. IMO though, any vehicle in the subcompact crossover category was a joke.

 

[Pablo]

Funny I just watched that video.

A belt could be designed to be immersed in oil. It's possible. But it doesn't seem worth it. I mean at some point the rotational power needs to exit the case so rotational seals aren't disappearing.

I mean even if ICE's vanish, e-motors have seals/sealed bearings.

I did enjoy the rubber chunks in the screen.

 

[Exhaustgases]

Its the state of engineering these days. Even some honda lawn mower engines do that.
Too many people that are not qualified are now engineers.

 

[CR94]

I had one. Lasted 230k on the factory belts until the timing belt broke; yes I should have replaced it and I would still be driving it if I did. ...

So roughly equal to the life of a dry camshaft belt, but likely even more difficult to replace.
The belt manufacturer promoted the wet belt concept heavily.

 

[Pew]

So roughly equal to the life of a dry camshaft belt, but likely even more difficult to replace.
The belt manufacturer promoted the wet belt concept heavily.

IIRC, it was basically the same, take off the timing belt cover and oil pan. Good thing is, this allowed you to change both at the same time.

 

[Brons2]

I had one. Lasted 230k on the factory belts until the timing belt broke; yes I should have replaced it and I would still be driving it if I did.

Lots of idle time for the heat and A/C when I slept in the car on roadtrips. Fuel economy averaged 36 in mix driving and 40+ on the highway at 70+mph. Better power and fuel economy compared to the 1.6L in the fiesta. Better fuel economy and lower-end tq versus the 2.0L in the regular focus. There were some early reports, specifically in the first year or two when it was released in Europe from premature belt breaking but it didn't come over to North America until the 2015 Focus and didn't bring a lot over.

MPG in the Ecosport with this engine sucked because that car had the shape and wind drag of an upright egg. IMO though, any vehicle in the subcompact crossover category was a joke.

You posted this same comment on YouTube, didn't you? I read some of the comments on there.


I do Cars teardowns are one of the highlights of my week!

 

[Pew]

You posted this same comment on YouTube, didn't you? I read some of the comments on there.


I do Cars teardowns are one of the highlights of my week!

Nope, I don't comment on YT videos.

 

[Brons2]

you must have a doppelganger out there then, it was almost exactly the comment that you made here.

 

[fantastic]

I would say that the rubber belt is a poor design over a chain. I'm sure there are many folks that get decent mileage out of these cars though. These video's only tell half the story & it would be nice to see what the overall history was to make a better judgement. Did the owner not check the oil level regularly, not change it in time, ran hard, etc. There are 2 sides to every story & I'm sure the car could tell us a good one if it could talk. KIT 1.0

 

[Bailes1992]

Ford was installing a belt in oil system in the 1.8 turbo diesel 'Lynx' engines for years before the Ecoboost with varying results. I ended up swapping mine back to the older chain setup as I didn't trust it.

 

[Brons2]

Ford was installing a belt in oil system in the 1.8 turbo diesel 'Lynx' engines for years before the Ecoboost with varying results. I ended up swapping mine back to the older chain setup as I didn't trust it.

The chain setup was a direct bolt up? Pretty rare you can get an OEM solution for something like that.

 

[Bailes1992]

The chain setup was a direct bolt up? Pretty rare you can get an OEM solution for something like that.

The Lynx engine had a chain for years. The chain would drive the fuel pump then there was a normal belt between the fuel pump and camshaft.

Swapping the new 'belt-in-oil' back to the older chain setup was essentially a bolt-on modification and a worthwhile one at that!

 

[Pew]

you must have a doppelganger out there then, it was almost exactly the comment that you made here.

I just watched that YT video and just realized that as well lol. You can tell the consensus of the pros and cons from the owners of these engines thankfully.