Timing Belt & Water Pump Service Intervals

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#1
Hi all, was planning on doing some maintenance on my 2017 FiST, currently at 80xxx miles. Read online that typical service intervals for the timing belt is 10 years or 150K miles, though I read some people recommending to get it replaced in 8 years or 100K miles. Does it make sense to replace it soon or wait a little longer? For reference I would be planning on doing it sometime this summer, at which point I'd probably be up to 85K-90K miles.

Additionally, I read online that some people typically replace the water pump alongside the timing belt service. Would it be worth doing this at the same time?

I realize this may be early for the intervals, but I try to be proactive with maintenance to stop problems before they occur. Just figured I'd check here to get some second thoughts to see if this is a decent plan or if it isn't worth it. Thanks in advance!
 


Capri to ST

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#2
Here's a thread on that-
https://www.fiestastforum.com/threads/when-and-where-to-change-timing-belt-cost.24228/

I did mine at 8 years, I definitely wouldn't recommend waiting longer than 10, and of course I would do it earlier if I hit the 150,000 mile mark before that time.
You definitely want to do the water pump at the same time, it's a ton of labor to get to both of them. I would also do the other drive belt at the same time for the same reason.
 


rallytaff

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#4
I did mine at 107,000. All three belts and the water pump were done at the same time to save money. See Capri's opinion.
 


Intuit

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#6
My stock '16 is ~around~ 80 or 85k IIRC.
Torque wise, I drive it hard (conditions optimal) but right now I'm not even thinking about doing it.
At current rate, obviously not going to hit the mileage for another five or six years!
So, it may be another two to four years before I bother considering it and when I do, not bothering with anything else like hoses, pump or whatever.
The manual will indicate which items should be replaced by the depicted 'trash can' emblem.
For example...
1726336854026.png
Drove my prior car hard and replacement belts didn't really last spec.
However the replacements never broke. They merely lost a tooth or two.
The change in idle and performance would tip me off; then I'd check the belt and see that it needed replacement.
Unlike my prior EEC-IV vehicle, this OBD-II vehicle will throw a code when the timing belt slips; and in the few reports of slippage that tooth or two hasn't resulted with any mechanical engine damage.
Those that had early failures were all modded for more power.

So in a nutshell, I'm not really worried about it.
I'm just enjoying the reliability and performance of the stock (including programming) powertrain....

.
All that said, the spec is likely based around use in the Escape with an automatic transmission.
 


Last edited:
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#7
I picked up my 14 last month with roughly 133k. There was no evidence it had ever been done so I decided to move forward with it. The belt itself was in good shape but I was getting a weird sound off throttle between 1500 and 1000rpm. I’m thinking it was the tensioner as the sound is now gone.
 


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