Wet belt replacement, before the oil light comes on.
Some of the most common engines on the road — Ford’s 1.0 EcoBoost (in the Ford Puma, Fiesta and Focus) and 2.0 EcoBlue, the PureTech in Peugeot, Citroën, Vauxhall and DS, and VAG’s TDI diesels — run a belt inside the engine oil. As the belt wears it sheds rubber into the oil, and that debris can starve the engine of oil. We replace wet belts at our Syke Park workshop, just outside Wigton, for drivers across north Cumbria.
Give us your registration and we’ll tell you whether your engine has a wet belt, and when it’s due.
Ford
1.0 EcoBoost · 2.0 EcoBlue
PureTech
Peugeot · Citroën · Vauxhall · DS
VAG
VW · Audi · SEAT · Škoda TDI
20+ yrs
Family-run in Wigton
What is a wet belt?
A timing belt that lives in the engine oil.
A timing belt keeps the engine’s camshafts in step with the crankshaft. On most engines it runs dry, behind a plastic cover on the outside of the engine. A wet belt does the same job from inside the engine, running in the engine oil.
On some engines it’s the smaller belt that drives the oil pump that runs in the oil — the VAG TDI diesels, for one — and on Ford’s 2.0 EcoBlue it’s both. The risk is the same either way.
Manufacturers use them because they are quieter and more efficient. The catch is that the belt spends its whole life in hot oil, where nobody can see it, and it wears faster if the oil is the wrong specification or the services have been stretched out.
The real danger isn’t the belt snapping. It’s the rubber it sheds on the way out.
It runs in the oil
The belt sits inside the engine, bathed in oil, out of sight behind the covers.
It starts to break down
Heat, age, the wrong oil or long gaps between services make the belt material swell and break up.
The debris collects
Fragments of belt travel round with the oil and gather on the strainer over the oil pump pickup in the sump.
Oil pressure falls
With the strainer blocked, the engine is starved of oil — and that can mean a new engine rather than a new belt.
Does your car have one?
The engines we see them on most.
Ford petrol
1.0 and 1.5 EcoBoost
The three-cylinder EcoBoost engines in the Ford Puma (the Puma ST included), Fiesta, Focus, EcoSport, Kuga, B-Max and C-Max, and the Transit Courier and Transit Connect.
Ford diesel
2.0 EcoBlue
The Transit and Transit Custom, and cars such as the Mondeo, Galaxy, S-Max and Kuga. Both the timing belt and the oil pump belt run in the oil. Worth knowing if you run a Transit for work.
Peugeot, Citroën, Vauxhall & DS petrol
1.0 and 1.2 PureTech
Peugeot 208, 2008, 308, 3008, 5008 and Partner; Citroën C3, C3 Aircross, C4, C5 Aircross and Berlingo; the newer Vauxhall Corsa, Astra, Mokka, Crossland and Grandland; DS 3 and DS 7.
VAG — VW, Audi, SEAT & Škoda diesel
1.6 and 2.0 TDI
The EA288 TDI engines. The timing belt itself runs dry, but the belt that drives the oil pump runs in the oil. Golf, Passat, Tiguan, Transporter and Caddy; Audi A3, A4 and Q5; SEAT Leon; Škoda Octavia and Superb.
That isn’t the whole list, and not every version of these models has a wet belt — some have a chain or a dry belt, and engines changed between years. The registration settles it: call us on 016973 44425 and we’ll tell you what yours has.
Warning signs
When a wet belt is on its way out.
- The oil pressure warning light — even once, even briefly
- An engine management light, rough running or a loss of power
- A brake pedal that suddenly feels harder — on PureTech engines, belt debris can affect the brake vacuum pump
- Oil use that has crept up with no sign of a leak
- Black sludge, or bits of rubber, on the dipstick or in the old oil
Oil pressure light on?
Stop as soon as it’s safe, switch the engine off and call us on 016973 44425. Driving on can turn a belt job into a new engine.
The job
What a proper wet belt job includes
Every engine is different, so we’ll tell you exactly what’s included for yours before any work starts.
- Checking what the manufacturer now recommends for your engine
- Looking at the oil and the sump for belt debris
- A new belt, tensioner and guides
- The oil pump belt as well, where the engine has one
- Cleaning or replacing the oil pump pickup strainer if debris has reached it
- Fresh oil and filter to the manufacturer's specification
- A road test before you collect it
When is it due?
Your registration tells us, not a number on a website.
We won’t print a mileage here. Manufacturers have shortened the recommended intervals on several of these engines since they came out, so the figure in an older handbook may not be the one that applies now — and how a car is used matters as much as the miles.
Give us the registration and we’ll check the current schedule for your engine against your service history, then tell you straight whether it’s due now, due soon, or fine for a while yet.
The oil matters
The right oil, changed on time, is half the job.
A wet belt is designed to live in one particular oil specification. The wrong oil, or long gaps between changes on a car that mostly does short trips, wears the belt out faster than the mileage suggests.
Servicing on time with the correct oil is the cheapest way to look after one of these engines. When we service a wet belt engine or replace its belt, it gets the oil its manufacturer specifies.
Questions
Wet belts, answered.
What is a wet belt?
A wet belt is a timing belt that runs inside the engine, in the engine oil, rather than dry behind a cover on the outside. It keeps the camshafts in time with the crankshaft like any timing belt, but it can't be inspected the same way, and as it wears it sheds material into the oil.
Which cars have a wet belt?
Most commonly Ford's 1.0 and 1.5 EcoBoost petrol engines (the Puma, Fiesta and Focus among them), Ford's 2.0 EcoBlue diesel in the Transit, Transit Custom and several cars, the 1.0 and 1.2 PureTech petrol engines used by Peugeot, Citroën, Vauxhall and DS, and the VAG 1.6 and 2.0 TDI diesels in Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT and Škoda models, whose oil pump belt runs in the oil. That isn't the whole list, and not every version of those models has one. Give us your registration and we'll tell you what yours has.
Does the Ford Puma have a wet belt?
Yes, the petrol Pumas. The Puma's 1.0 EcoBoost, the mild hybrid included, and the 1.5 EcoBoost in the Puma ST both run their timing belt in the engine oil. Give us your registration and we'll confirm what yours has and when its belt is due.
When does a wet belt need replacing?
It depends on the engine, how the car is used and its service history — and manufacturers have shortened the recommended intervals on several of these engines since they came out, so an older handbook may be out of date. Give us your registration and we'll check what applies to your car now.
What happens if I leave it?
As the belt breaks down it sheds debris into the oil. That debris can block the strainer on the oil pump pickup, and the engine then loses oil pressure. At that point the repair is usually far bigger than the belt, which is why it's worth replacing on time rather than waiting for symptoms.
How much does wet belt replacement cost?
We quote it for your car, because the job differs from engine to engine: one belt or two, whether the sump has to come off, and what we find inside. Give us your registration and we'll give you a price before any work starts.
My oil pressure light has come on. Can I drive it to you?
Ideally not. Stop as soon as it's safe, switch the engine off and call us on 016973 44425. An engine running without oil pressure can be badly damaged in a short distance.
Not sure if yours has a wet belt?
Call us with your registration and we’ll tell you what your engine has, when its belt is due and what replacing it will cost — at our Syke Park workshop, just outside Wigton.
Or send us a message