Should you avoid cars with wet timing belts?

[Hyaenidae]

 

Known car models with wet timing belts that are popular in Sri Lanka:

Peugeot 3008 1.2L

Honda Civic 10th gen 1.0L

Ford Ecosport 1.0L

Edited December 11, 2024 by Hyaenidae

[alpha17]

Dear 10th gen Civic owners...I smell a problem coming😷

TBH, It's not just the cost of the part, but the labour intensive process.

[Hyaenidae]

17 hours ago, alpha17 said:

It's not just the cost of the part

 

They don't even bother to hide the planned obsolescence anymore

[RWD]

4 hours ago, Hyaenidae said:

 

They don't even bother to hide the planned obsolescence anymore

Guess that's why they discontinued this engine and didn't carry it forward for any of their new models 

[Hyaenidae]

39 minutes ago, RWD said:

Guess that's why they discontinued this engine and didn't carry it forward for any of their new models 

They did? I mean did all manufacturers discontinue producing their wet belt engines?

[RWD]

1 hour ago, Hyaenidae said:

They did? I mean did all manufacturers discontinue producing their wet belt engines?

Not sure about others but Honda discontinued. The Civic 1L didn't carry over to the next gen. They only have the 1.5 and a hybrid version I believe. 

[Hyaenidae]

9 minutes ago, RWD said:

Not sure about others but Honda discontinued. The Civic 1L didn't carry over to the next gen. They only have the 1.5 and a hybrid version I believe. 

Very wise

[iRage]

On 12/21/2024 at 10:28 PM, RWD said:

Not sure about others but Honda discontinued. The Civic 1L didn't carry over to the next gen. They only have the 1.5 and a hybrid version I believe. 

The engine didn't carry over to the Civic (for good reason...car was too heavy for the engine anyway and the new one is 50 to 80 kg heavier than the FK series). However, the engine does continue in the City and some other region specific entry and mid size cars (particularly for the developing markets).

[tiv]

Most of those 1L (gear thuna) civics have engine and turbo rebuilds done now. Some have been illegally swapped to 1.5L and numbers scratched.

Let alone the operator error by people trying to rice them with fiber ware, ecu reflashes and exhausts.

Edited January 1 by tiv

[Hyaenidae]

29 minutes ago, tiv said:

Most of those 1L (gear thuna)

Cylinder thuna? 🤔

I'm not sure how successful those 1.5L swaps are in a modern car that has everything running on a bunch of complicated software - pretty sure it'd throw a hissy fit even if the ECU is replaced along the engine

[tiv]

1 hour ago, Hyaenidae said:

Cylinder thuna? 🤔

I'm not sure how successful those 1.5L swaps are in a modern car that has everything running on a bunch of complicated software - pretty sure it'd throw a hissy fit even if the ECU is replaced along the engine

@Hyaenidae It was a pun towards a video circulating on fb of a gent boasting the capabilities of a civic 1L and then the commentors having a ball afterwards.

 

They bought the 1.5L en-bloc and swapped, seemed to be running well except that the engine numbers were scribed locally and down the line people will buy them assuming to be having a 1L engine where the actual engine is a 1.5L. At the rate the DMT is going, only a matter of time when they come looking.

[matroska]

On 12/20/2024 at 6:44 PM, alpha17 said:

I smell a problem coming

Your sense of smell is running on internet explorer 😛 JK - the issue has already come for some users - as i remember around the 80,000 km mark. As is with the DCT fiasco, the repair joints are now advertising the repair/replacement and cashing in on the opportunity. 

 

2 hours ago, tiv said:

Some have been illegally swapped to 1.5L and numbers scratched

I would have expected the conversions to be done legitimately, with DMT approval- given that swaps are allowed within a 500 cc limit. Then again given most of these are heavily modified that would not be an option. 

[tiv]

3 minutes ago, matroska said:

Your sense of smell is running on internet explorer 😛 JK - the issue has already come for some users - as i remember around the 80,000 km mark. As is with the DCT fiasco, the repair joints are now advertising the repair/replacement and cashing in on the opportunity. 

 

I would have expected the conversions to be done legitimately, with DMT approval- given that swaps are allowed within a 500 cc limit. Then again given most of these are heavily modified that would not be an option. 

Also "market bahinawa" 
We live in a funny country, we have a CR Lingo

 
any old diesel from 31sri 32- 64- 65- 325- New Body Fitted or New Engine Fitted - is the bomb

Anything new - New Body Fitted , New Engine Fitted = just run

 

Also DMT work in the yester years, You feel like giving up all and go buying an unreg or used wagon R/ alto.
I have had a few engine swaps done previously with legal work and have paid from 100,000 to 10 times that to get the registration work clear.

I recently had to pay 80k just to register a 100% legally imported bike with proper particulars, that too under the current regime. The examiner was so fat, his belly didn't allow him to bend down to see the chassis no of the bike, he requested us to lift the bike to a level he can bend to see the chassis no. The bike being heavy no one could lift it that high, finally a gent brought a mirror for him to take a glance at the chassis no from above his belly. Imagine the state. 

[matroska]

10 minutes ago, tiv said:

I recently had to pay 80k just to register a 100% legally imported bike with proper particulars, that too under the current regime. The examiner was so fat, his belly didn't allow him to bend down to see the chassis no of the bike, he requested us to lift the bike to a level he can bend to see the chassis no. The bike being heavy no one could lift it that high, finally a gent brought a mirror for him to take a glance at the chassis no from above his belly. Imagine the state. 

This sounds comedic - sadly that's the state of things.  In a perfect scenario, I assume the process should not cost anything close to 100K right?

[RWD]

23 hours ago, matroska said:

Your sense of smell is running on internet explorer 😛 JK - the issue has already come for some users - as i remember around the 80,000 km mark. As is with the DCT fiasco, the repair joints are now advertising the repair/replacement and cashing in on the opportunity. 

 

I would have expected the conversions to be done legitimately, with DMT approval- given that swaps are allowed within a 500 cc limit. Then again given most of these are heavily modified that would not be an option. 

Well changing the timing belt costs around 130K and apparently the new belts are made of better material than the ones that came with the car so it should be more robust. Doing engine swaps is a far more complicated and expensive exercise. But I guess the additional power is a nice welcome. 

[Hyaenidae]

3 hours ago, RWD said:

 apparently the new belts are made of better material than the ones that came with the car so it should be more robust.

It's the DCT fiasco all over again, "the newer clutches are made of better material / has been redesigned so it should be more robust"

Atleast the switch to DCT from AT/CVT makes sense, it's economical and engaging to drive.

But the switch to wet belt from dry belt/metal chain doesn't make sense at all. What were the Europeans thinking?

Edited January 2 by Hyaenidae

[matroska]

4 hours ago, RWD said:

Doing engine swaps is a far more complicated and expensive exercise.

Yes the repairs costs are only a fraction of the engine swap cost.

The added power factor for THAT cost might not actually make sense. 90% of these are used on the drive-to-work-drop-the-kids circuit and for that 130HP cuts it. Tollgate to tollgate it pulls ok. What you miss is that sudden burst of speed and to be honest majority of the crowd in their riced cars would not know what to do with it.  Workshops might promote swaps since it can be more profitable for them. 

1 hour ago, Hyaenidae said:

But the switch to wet belt from dry belt/metal chain doesn't make sense at all. What were the Europeans thinking?

Would probably be a combination of trying to make the engine more compact , trying to be 0.0001% greener, etc. etc. 

[Hyaenidae]

4 minutes ago, matroska said:

 

Would probably be a combination of trying to make the engine more compact

 

Modders are already making timing chain kits that replace wet belt of the Peugeot 1.2 puretech engine so size doesn't seem to be the issue here

https://www.puretechtimingchain.com/

According to the video, the only reason they've come up for using a wet belt is a measly 1% fuel saving.

[matroska]

3 hours ago, Hyaenidae said:

According to the video, the only reason they've come up for using a wet belt is a measly 1% fuel saving

The way corporates operate these days (or for the last decade since these designs were probably approved around that time) that would be more than enough for them to compromise many factors including reliability and longevity of the engine. 

[Hyaenidae]

3 hours ago, matroska said:

 compromise reliability and longevity of the engine

 

 

Edited January 2 by Hyaenidae