DIY Wetbelt Change Ford B Max 1.0 Ecoboost

[jamiem555]

Today I started dismantling our B Max to get access to the wet belt. With no local garages willing to take it on and Ford wanting £2500 to change the belt, I’ve taken the plunge and I’ll be changing it myself.


Made a start by cleaning out our single garage and reversing in






Got the sump off today and checked the gauze in the oil pickup. Looks very clean considering it’s 9.5 years old.
I’ll continue tomorrow when the kids are at school.

Edited by jamiem555 on Thursday 12th September 22:36

Edited by jamiem555 on Saturday 14th September 21:30

[Simon_GH]

Good luck and you might have found a lucrative sideline!

[jamiem555]

Simon_GH said:

Good luck and you might have found a lucrative sideline!

Cheers! Don’t think I’ll be doing it for others judging by how long it took just to get the sump off!

[itcaptainslow]

By all accounts these are an absolutely horrendous job. Hats off to you for taking it on and interested to see how you get on.

Have you bought the locking tools and torque multiplier that are apparently required?

[Arnold Cunningham]

I proactively avoid wet belt engines at the moment, so I'm quite interested to see how this all goes. Good luck and please share lots of photos etc

[61GT]

Another Good Luck from me too, whatever brave pills you’re taking can you send some my way.

I’ve recently completed a cambelt and water pump change on a K-Series (Elise), couldn’t even contemplate a 1.0L ecoboost.

Please keep the photos coming.

[jamiem555]

Thanks for the encouragement. Yes, I bought the locking tools on Amazon for £70 and the torque multiplier kit on eBay for £140. Planning to sell them on once I’m done.





Pulley is off! Really needed the multiplier for that. Did try with a big bar but no chance!

[jamiem555]

Timing cover off!

[andrebar]

Good luck OP & thanks for posting this! Watching with self centred interest in the hope of relieving my fear of wet belt cars.

[jamiem555]

New belt on. Water pump and crank seal changed.

[PurpleTurtle]

I often read 'Car Mechanics' magazine via my Readly subscription.

There is a really useful 13 page guide on how to do this in the September 2024 issue (on a Peugeot 208, but I suspect very similar)

https://gb.readly.com/magazines/car-mechanics/2024...

[itcaptainslow]

Looks like there’s pleasantly a lot of space to work in, once things are stripped out.

…talking of which, how much was there to remove? How long did it take?

[jamiem555]

I would say I’m about 9 hours in already.

[Wheel Turned Out]

Hats off to you, truly.

[ChocolateFrog]

My brother did the same. Means you can sell the tools for just about what you pay for them.

Might it pretty cheap to do.

[jamiem555]

Finished for the day. Timing cover, starter motor and sump back on. Engine turned a few times and it’s all good. I’ll hopefully get on it for a few hours tomorrow and continue the rebuild. Rocker cover next. Then alternator, catalyst and air con pump.

[jamiem555]

itcaptainslow said:

Looks like there’s pleasantly a lot of space to work in, once things are stripped out.

…talking of which, how much was there to remove? How long did it take?

Quite a lot! Biggest pain is the wiring. All clipped in and the clips are all brittle now. They’ll be getting cable tied back in when I’m done!

[FezOnYourHeadFezOnMyDrive]

Bloody good effort!

I've got a 2016 Fiesta with the 1.0 EcoBoost in need of the wet belts changing - being quoted no less than £2k at my local garages. Madness.

[soad]

Crazy prices, thought you could get it done much cheaper. Obviously very labour intensive.

Another thread: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[jamiem555]

soad said:

Crazy prices, thought you could get it done much cheaper. Obviously very labour intensive.

Another thread: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Yes, I’ve looked around of course. Most places that do it cheaply are England or Wales. I live in Perth. To be fair though, it’s a ton of work to get to the belt. Once there it’s a doddle to change. I’ll have it running by Monday. It’s all pretty straightforward, just a lot of hours to get it there.