Crazy Cambelt??

The_Dark_Side · 4 Jan 2007 at 17:26

one of the guys at work recently bought a Fiesta Diesel.
'51 or '53 plate i can't remember to be honest.
anyhoo, it's booked in for a service and his mechanic has told him two things that are news to me.

1.they share their engine with the C3 Citroen range.....i could believe that.

but the one i cannot believe...
the cambelt only needs changing every 150 THOUSAND MILES!!!

are you kidding? surely that's not right?
any Fiesta owners care to shed some light on this?

Dandle · 4 Jan 2007 at 17:40

The 53 1.4TDCI is indeed 150k miles or ten years.

The 51 1.8d (Turbo and non turbo) are 70k miles or 5 years(40k miles under adverse conditions).

Firestar_3x · 4 Jan 2007 at 17:42

One is a chain then?

The_Dark_Side · 4 Jan 2007 at 17:43

Firestar_3x said:
One is a chain then?

the owner said belt ( he freely admits he knows less than zero about cars though ) but if the interval is 150k miles it has to be a chain right?

[TW]Fox · 4 Jan 2007 at 17:44

Pretty sure its belt driven and, yes, it's a variant of the PSA 1.4HDi.

Ford have had such intervals for years - 1998 introduced the revised Zetec petrol engine with a 100,000 cambelt interval.

Better still, cambelt faliures within the interval are very rare on Ford engines of these types.

Kinda makes Vauxhall and Alfa's 40k intervals look a little pathetic, really.

Faithless · 4 Jan 2007 at 17:49

Firestar_3x said:
One is a chain then?

A chain would never need replacing, not in a service schedule anyway. The only time it would be replaced is if it became noisey due to age. The Festa one is a belt.

The_Dark_Side · 4 Jan 2007 at 17:53

150k mile cambelt changes...that's amazing.
makes the old 1.8D/36k mile belt changes look pathetic.

wow.
/impressed.

cymatty · 4 Jan 2007 at 17:56

I would be worried about leaving it that long, I am scared of mine going and it is only on 43k (ponders if I should get it changed)

Firestar_3x · 4 Jan 2007 at 17:59

cymatty said:
I would be worried about leaving it that long, I am scared of mine going and it is only on 43k (ponders if I should get it changed)

I changed mine on the saxo at 47ish k just to be safe, wasn't that expensive at all!

Liverpool-Lad · 4 Jan 2007 at 18:01

I think I would air caution with this figure too. For mine it was 120k interval (cars on 43k), but for peace of mind and the fact its 5 years old I had the full belt kit done and the waterpump too.

cymatty · 4 Jan 2007 at 18:02

Firestar_3x said:
I changed mine on the saxo at 47ish k just to be safe, wasn't that expensive at all!

It says in the book 80k or 60k adverse conditions my next service is due at 43k then 56k hmmm decisions decisions.

The_Dark_Side · 4 Jan 2007 at 18:03

cymatty said:
I would be worried about leaving it that long

same here.
i'd definitely be anticipating a problem if i left it THAT long.

Liverpool-Lad · 4 Jan 2007 at 18:04

cymatty said:
I would be worried about leaving it that long, I am scared of mine going and it is only on 43k (ponders if I should get it changed)

How old is the current belt?

cymatty · 4 Jan 2007 at 18:05

Liverpool-Lad said:
How old is the current belt?

Coming up for 5 years old, will be 6 years old next service.

Liverpool-Lad · 4 Jan 2007 at 18:06

Id say sooner rather than later then. Depends if you are keeping the car. Id get it done.

[TW]Fox · 4 Jan 2007 at 18:06

cymatty said:
Coming up for 5 years old, will be 6 years old next service.

You go more than a year between services?

cymatty · 4 Jan 2007 at 18:08

[TW]Fox said:
You go more than a year between services?

Yeah 12500 miles between services, do around 11-12k per year, so just a little over a year.

Dandle · 4 Jan 2007 at 18:08

Firestar_3x said:
One is a chain then?

Nope they are belts.

Liverpool-Lad · 4 Jan 2007 at 18:14

[TW]Fox said:
You go more than a year between services?

Its not uncommon with the longlife oils if you are on a variable service to be once every 2 years.

[TW]Fox · 4 Jan 2007 at 18:16

Liverpool-Lad said:
Its not uncommon with the longlife oils if you are on a variable service to be once every 2 years.

I'm aware of that - my car is on such a scheme - but afaik he has a Saxo which is not variable servicing and is either x miles or 1 year, whichever is sooner?