New ST Line owner.. wet belt questions!

[Paulzx]

Hello All,

I just picked up a 2018 ST Line 140, lovely little car, really enjoying it, never owned a Ford before either.

So I do have some questions on other things because this car comes with a lot of features, however, my enjoyment was rather cut short by an influx of youtube videos to my feed, showing people discussing ecoboost engine issues. This ranges from some saying how good the engine is to some saying it's a terrible design, and of course the recall that Ford had put out.

Apologies for bringing it up again as I'm sure this must have been thrashed out before, but I just wanted to hear the truth of the matter without all the noise.

The car is on 44,000 miles, doesn't have a full service history but does have three services stamped, no paper work to suggest it had gone back for any recall etc.

Do I need to worry about this and is there anything I should do to prevent any wet belt problems? I feel that if this was the nightmare I've seen decsribed elsewhere, none of you would be driving these cars around anymore right? 

[TomsFocus]

5 minutes ago, Paulzx said:

I feel that if this was the nightmare I've seen decsribed elsewhere, none of you would be driving these cars around anymore right? 

We're not!  

No service history could mean it's had the wrong oil or very long intervals between changes.  In theory you could have up to 4 years left on the recommended belt interval but without knowing the history there's no way of knowing whether it's likely to last the 10 years or fail tomorrow.

Yearly oil & filter changes with the correct spec oil is the best thing you can do try and prolong the belt.  Also avoid short, cold trips.  The engine needs to be fully warmed up on every journey ideally.  Other than that, it is generally recommended to change the belts a bit earlier than the Ford interval now.

[Paulzx]

18 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

We're not!  

You're saying you're not driving the ecoboost cars? As in people are getting rid of these cars?

There is service history, just not complete. I do a fair amount of short journeys as I only live a couple of miles from work, so I am  bit concerned now. There was a service and oil change done by the dealer when I bought the car last month.

Do you think I should look to get the belt replaced now then, or maybe sell the car if it's going to be a gamble on this engine?

[TomsFocus]

1 hour ago, Paulzx said:

You're saying you're not driving the ecoboost cars? As in people are getting rid of these cars?

There is service history, just not complete. I do a fair amount of short journeys as I only live a couple of miles from work, so I am  bit concerned now. There was a service and oil change done by the dealer when I bought the car last month.

Do you think I should look to get the belt replaced now then, or maybe sell the car if it's going to be a gamble on this engine?

Yes, people have been getting rid of wetbelt 1.0 EcoBoosts for years on here.  I'm fairly sure none of the forum regulars would recommend buying a used wetbelt 1.0 EcoBoost now.  Some may recommend the later chain driven 1.0 EcoBoost.

It only takes one engine flush, one extended interval or one wrong oil type to accelerate the wetbelt degradation.  That's why full history is so important with these.

It is entirely your decision on what to do with the car now.  Personally, I wouldn't have bought it.  I also don't believe that spending £1500+ for a belt change is good value on a used car.  But we do have members paying to have the belts done quite often, so it must make financial sense for them.

[RayC333]

2 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Yes, people have been getting rid of wetbelt 1.0 EcoBoosts for years on here.

I'd find it interesting to know how many members still have a pre-chain ecoboost.

I still have mine, but as some know it's only because of the amount of work and cost invested in it.

I'll probably keep it now until either I or the car expires 🤔

[unofix]

3 minutes ago, RayC333 said:

I'd find it interesting to know how many members still have a pre-chain ecoboost.

I'd find it even more interesting as to how many members would admit to owning one 🤣

[Eric Bloodaxe]

My 140 was no bother, but I had annual oil/filter changes from new and still parted with it at 5 years.

If hanging on to the car, annual changes are highly recommended. And avoid short journeys if at all possible - walking a couple of miles to work will be good for both of you!😀