Timing belts in Beeston

On most engines the belt is the only thing holding the valves and the pistons out of each other's way. If it lets go while the engine is turning they meet, and a belt change becomes a rebuild. The interval is in years as well as miles because the belt ages sitting still, so a low-mileage car eight years old can be overdue while the mileage still looks fine.

Wet belts are the same idea and a worse problem. On engines like Ford's EcoBoost the belt runs inside the engine, in the oil, and as it degrades it sheds material. That debris ends up in the sump, and it collects on the oil pickup screen. Change the belt without dropping the sump and cleaning that pickup and you have left the actual danger in the engine: a restricted pickup starves the bearings, and that is a bigger bill than the belt was. The photographs on the work page are that job, sump off, pickup out and cleaned.

The water pump and tensioner sit behind the same covers, so they are normally done at the same time while the labour is already being paid for. Ring with the registration and you will be told what the interval is on yours and whether it is a wet belt.