08 Ford Focus chain or belt?

BlueLass

Hello all, first of all I readily admit I know nothing about the inner workings of car engines. I have tried to Google the answer but I've only ended up confusing myself even more!! I have an 08 focus 1.8 Zetec and have been using the same main ford dealer for services the last 5 years. Every year I've been told that my car had a chain so therefore no change needed.

Now this year they told me its a belt and quoted e850 give or take to change. Can someone please tell me if it is a belt, what type is it (wet and dry,dry only??) , how often it should be changed and how much approximately it should cost....

Many thanks.

Bigus

Post up the engine number type here, ( from chassis plate)

George Dalton

A 2008 1.8TDCI has the troublesome wet belt setup.

The official replacement interval is 200,000km but lots of them are failing well before that so it is recommended to do them early.

We usually recommend around 150,000km as a safe interval.

You will get the job done cheaper if you shop around. An independent garage should be able to do it for €650 or so.

martinr5232

George Dalton wrote:

We usually recommend around 150,000km as a safe interval.

Majority of lynx engines breaking belts is around the 140 mark George you might want to be recommending them around 120 ish to be on the safe side.

BlueLass

Thanks very much for the replies,that has really cleared that up for me. Out of curiosity, would a 10 focus style 1.4 be the same?? My sisters car and she thinks I'm paying too much! Will shop around the independent garages in Monday.

bazz26

The petrol engines don't have the same setup as the 1.8 diesel so a direct comparison in the job or cost of both cannot simply be compared.

BlueLass

bazz26 wrote: »

Petrol engines don't have the same problem as the diesel.

Its a diesel engine also.

bazz26

BlueLass wrote: »

Its a diesel engine also.

There is no 1.4 diesel in the Focus. Only 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 litre.

BlueLass

bazz26 wrote: »

There is no 1.4 diesel in the Focus. Only 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 litre.

It must be 1.6 then as its definitely diesel and a smaller engine than mine. As I said in my op, I know next to nothing about under the bonnet!

bazz26

Probably 1.6 then which doesn't have the wet belt setup of the 1.8 diesel so timing belt change would be less labour intensive making it a bit cheaper.

BlueLass

bazz26 wrote: »

Probably 1.6 then which doesn't have the wet belt setup of the 1.8 diesel so timing belt change would be less labour intensive making it a bit cheaper.

Thanks for clearing that up for me, least I can pretend I know what I'm talking about when I tell her my car is not as straightforward as her own!

martinr5232

BlueLass wrote:

Thanks very much for the replies,that has really cleared that up for me. Out of curiosity, would a 10 focus style 1.4 be the same?? My sisters car and she thinks I'm paying too much! Will shop around the independent garages in Monday.

More than likely a 1.6 so belt change interval is 200k or 10 years.

Irish Steve

Depending on how long you plan to keep the vehicle, based on some comments from an engine rebuilder in the wilds of Cavan, it's possible, (and desirable) to convert the wet belt drive to a chain drive, even though Ford are now apparently now recommending that the chains be replaced as well.

I saw the mess that a broken belt makes of the pistons and valves, it's not a pretty sight, I was collecting an engine for a friend to go into a Mondeo, and they had a bin full of damaged pistons from rebuilds that they are doing on a regular basis.

Stoolbend

martinr5232 wrote: »

Majority of lynx engines breaking belts is around the 140 mark George you might want to be recommending them around 120 ish to be on the safe side.

We've had 2 break at around 80000 miles so leaving them to 150000 km is a bit risky.

5W30

Ah, I feel blessed having a 1.8 TDCI with a chain drive.

There's an interesting video from a taxi car mechanic who explains how he changes the wet belts to chains: