Ford Transit Van drivers have been warned to avoid the Timing Belt ticking time bomb.
Thousands of Ford Transit Van owners are unaware that the timing belt in their vehicle WILL fail ahead of schedule – costing them thousands leaving them off the road for weeks.
HallCraft boss James Hopcraft believes the ticking timing bomb will effect thousands of West Midlands drivers who are blissfully unaware of the crisis beneath the bonnets.
He insists the Ford Transit Van Timing Belt crisis will result in owners needing to replace their entire engines if they follow official Ford guidance and fail to act early.
Ford state the timing belt should be replaced every 144,000 miles OR every ten years – but HallCraft insist that will result in disaster for owners.
Engine Failure
“We are seeing timing belts fail a long time before that and when they do it is a disaster for owners and it results in catastrophic engine failure,” explained James.
“The timing belt plays a vital role in the engine’s operation, connecting the crankshaft and the camshaft to ensure the valves and pistons work in perfect synchronisation.
“When it fails, the valves and pistons can collide, causing significant engine damage which can result in bent valves, damaged pistons, and complete engine failure.
“This is hugely costly for owners as the failure is often not covered by their Ford warranty and with replacement engine parts on back order this means vans can be off the road for weeks, potentially months.
“The issues can be easily avoided by making sure the timing belt is replaced – but this should be done way ahead of Ford’s recommendation.”
Ford Transit Van
HallCraft have been inundated with Ford Transit van timing belt failures – and have set up a specialist team to focus on the fault.
The Cradley Health based independent garage recommend replacing Ford Transit timing belts BEFORE they get anywhere near 100,000 miles – ideally around 90,000 miles mark to be safe.
The timing belt replacement takes two days and currently costs around £1100 fully inclusive of the timing belt kit, oil pump drive belt, oil pump strainer, sump pan, front timing cover, oil & filter and both auxiliary drive belts.
Failure to replace the timing belt could result in a new engine at a cost of more than £8.5k – plus and take weeks to get it back on the road.
“We have had three Ford Transit vans in this week with timing belt failures and the result for the owners is a disaster as, apart from the cost, the down time and loss of their vehicle for weeks on end which means they simply cannot work.
“There is nothing the driver can do to prevent it from happening or even be aware that it is happening. It is a fault, an issue Ford now know about and the only thing that can be done is to replace the part before it fails.
Timing Belt
“Ford have actually stopped selling some the parts because they have been inundated themselves with the crisis but it can be avoided by scheduling in a replacement.
“We have a specialist team who focus purely on Ford Transit timing belt replacements using genuine Ford parts and we are working hard to keep West Midlands drivers on the road.”
The Ford Transit timing belt crisis affects vehicles built after 2016 that use the EcoBlue engine. It uses a ‘wet belt’ that runs in the engine oil.
HallCraft recommend drivers replace the timing belt every five years – or less than 100,000 miles to avoid being faced with an engine replacement.
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