Wet belt engines

[38Chevy454]

I have one of the GM 3.0 inline 6 diesels in my 1/2 ton Silverado. It has the wet belt design driving the oil pump at the rear of the engine. Mine is spec'd for 150K miles, but newer now have 200K interval. The belt change process itself is fairly easy - once you remove the transmission! The belt is like $40 part, and then the cover plate is also replaced, so the replacement of the belt is not the problem. It is the extensive labor to remove the transmission off the engine just to get to the belt. About a 20 hour book labor process in total.

 

[UCN195]

I’m of the opinion that a properly designed wet belt in an engine using oil that is changed at reasonable intervals and not overheated extensively will last indefinitely.
The Ford 2.7 and 5.0s with the wet oil pump belt haven’t had any real problems.
Also, I don’t think age will be that big of an issue considering how many old Honda GCVs are still running with the original wet timing belt.
The failed ones were made from the wrong materials.

That said I’m not sure what real benefits there are to them besides possibly manufacturing cost.

 

[Gyro Gearloose]

Sad to say, but looking at it from a number of failures standpoint, wet belts have become a better refined more reliable technology than cams/lifters and cranks/bearings.

 

[barryh]

That said I’m not sure what real benefits there are to them besides possibly manufacturing cost.

Quieter and slightly more efficient than a dry belt. Manufacturers will do things for the minutest improvement in mpg but it's a false economy if an owner then has a very high cost to replace the belt at 60K or whatever. Unless wet belts last the reasonable life time of the engine then they can't be cost effective from the owners perspective.

 

[Cujet]

Quieter and slightly more efficient than a dry belt. Manufacturers will do things for the minutest improvement in mpg but it's a false economy if an owner then has a very high cost to replace the belt at 60K or whatever. Unless wet belts last the reasonable life time of the engine then they can't be cost effective from the owners perspective.

These wet belts will last exactly the lifetime of the engine, to the minute!

On a more serious note, I tend to keep my vehicles well into the 200 to 300K mile range. Traditionally 15 years. However my X-Type is now 23 years old and coming up on 250K. It keeps going without any major repairs, so I keep driving it.

I suspect the belt in my F150 will easily do that. There are already examples of Ford's wet oil pump belt reaching beyond that.