How long does the timing chain last?

[heimlaga]

On my 2005 model Transit Connect with 1,8 litre diesel engine there seems to be a chain down in the oil sump driving the injection pump from which a dry cog belt transfers the power to the cam shaft.

I have not found any kind of chain change intervals specified.
Neither is there any timing chain change interval specified for my old Opel Kadett but though the paperwork said it should last the lifetime of the engine it's common knowledge that the chain should be shifted every 200000 or at most 250000 kilometre on a Kadett and so I did.

What is the actual (not theoretical) changing interval for the timing chain on my Transit Connect?
I hope I can keep it alive for at least 10 preferably 20 years so I am not into the "drive until it breaks" philosophy.

[metalworker0]

Well i predict by 2030, you will not be able to afford the tax on on it , as this government will try and load vehicles with tax, both at the pumps and on the road tax, and clean air zone tax, so they get the switch over to electric.

it should be easily good for 200,000, so I've read.

Note: probably be scrapped by then, as the sills will rot out from within before then, if they haven't been looked after.
They are quite a complex form inside ( that you'll only ever see by dismantling them), a quick dose of wax will not get into the rust prone hidden box sections within.

2030 - get used to the thought of traveling by bus, train or bicycle, unless you are rich enough to buy an electric vehicle every 5 years. your works van will be a bicycle rickshaw.

all the best.mark

[heimlaga]

Bicycle rickshaw...... in snowed over roads in -30 degrees celsius. Not anything I look forward to. Tjough totally possible the way the world is going.
I am fully aware that this van may be my last. Or it may end up converted to woodgas in a future without diesel fuel. Who knows.

The sills have rotted out once and are already welded. My plan is to sand blaster and paint the little surface rust there is and give the underbody a good Tectyl coating next summer. If I spray pine tar inside the sills and then continue with a mixture of oil and grease onto the Tectyl to refresh it every summer this car will not rust out in 20 years from now. The sills can be rebuilt a second time if needs be.
My old Kadett is 38 years old with 355000 on the clock. The model is infamous for rusting extremely fast. The sills were rusted out and welded before I got it in year 2000. It has gotten a few soaks in sea water when driving through shallow ponds on the ice and here in the coast the roads are salted all winter so it has had it's fair share of salt water. Yet it is still today practically speaking rust free because of this treatment.
I see no reason to change a winning concept. A 16 years new van is a mayor investment not to be wasted away. People say the Transit diesel should last twice as long as the old push rod and carburator engine in the Kadett.


The Transit Connect already has 240000 kilometres on it so it seems it would be time for a new chain soon.

[metalworker0]

well if you can keep it running for all those kilometres in those conditions for all those years , you should be giving us advice.
what have you done to it , do you have an electric coolant heater, an Eberspacher to keep you warm, insulation, better alternator or any other modifications should very interesting to see .
Pine tar - isn't that the stuff that turns into amber - no better preservative than that ..they will be digging it out in a million years time fully preserved, lol with you in it .

all the best...mark

[heimlaga]

I know how to keep a Kadett running for a long time and I did it until the supply of spare parts run dry. Technically it is good for another 100000 kilometres but I am forced to sell it as I cannot keep two cars.
It has an electric coolant heater and an elctric cab heater and I have always tried to use them whenever possible. The rest is just standard run of the mill. Plus proper maintainance and proper repairs and careful driving of cause. 50% glycol in the cooling system works down ti -40 at least if the motor is preheated before starting. An electric heater under the gearbox before starting when it is below -25. Top quality synthetic motor oil which leaks a bit through seals intended for old style mineral oil. Oil changes every 10000 kilometre. The trick is to never ever let maintainance slip down that slippery slope of lazyness.

The problem is that I don't have the faintest idea how to do the same thing to a Transit Connect. Now I am researching that.
I am very thankful for any advice.

[metalworker0]

well, like you, im still trying to figure out how to make mine last ..not worried about the chain as mine yet, As it has only 130 thousand miles on it ..

There are other things that can and will go wrong....well as far as i can make out by reading the posts here. others please correct me if I'm wrong.
These are:
if its tdci - the injectors will often crap out on you often on or before 130 thousand miles. cause as far as i can make out, something wearing in the diesel high pressure pump and putting swarf into a recirculating system, as well as a bad quality of injectors made sometime,time after 2007 - if this happens its going to cost a lot as you may need a new pump as well, and can often send the vehicle to the scrappers.
if its tddi - this has good injectors that can be serviced , but has an electronic control module on top of the pump that craps out due to a couple of electronic components without warning

Some connect models have a dual mass flywheel clutch that is expensive to replace, either clutch solid or DMF is time consuming and difficult to replace.

other worries as you add mileage are, the oil cooler can deteriorate and fail and mix coolant with oil
The exhaust gas cooler for EGR can do the same
also EGR requires attention/ cleaning often to keep it working

later connects have particulate filters with systems in place to keep them working ...more worry, as they often fail in this task.

turbos - they will wear out and sometime you'll end up replacing one. ignore black smoke caused by turbo failing ..and you could end up with a runaway and total destruction of engine.
The most horrible thing is transits made after 2007 have wetbelts - glad i don't have one of those i would not sleep at night! - failure to change before 100,000 miles later results in total destruction and expensive rebuild.

all the best.mark

[Kenton]

well, like you, im still trying to figure out how to make mine last ..not worried about the chain as mine yet, As it has only 130 thousand miles on it ..

There are other things that can and will go wrong....well as far as i can make out by reading the posts here. others please correct me if I'm wrong.
These are:
if its tdci - the injectors will often crap out on you often on or before 130 thousand miles. cause as far as i can make out, something wearing in the diesel high pressure pump and putting swarf into a recirculating system, as well as a bad quality of injectors made sometime,time after 2007 - if this happens its going to cost a lot as you may need a new pump as well, and can often send the vehicle to the scrappers.
if its tddi - this has good injectors that can be serviced , but has an electronic control module on top of the pump that craps out due to a couple of electronic components without warning

Some connect models have a dual mass flywheel clutch that is expensive to replace, either clutch solid or DMF is time consuming and difficult to replace.

other worries as you add mileage are, the oil cooler can deteriorate and fail and mix coolant with oil
The exhaust gas cooler for EGR can do the same
also EGR requires attention/ cleaning often to keep it working

later connects have particulate filters with systems in place to keep them working ...more worry, as they often fail in this task.

turbos - they will wear out and sometime you'll end up replacing one. ignore black smoke caused by turbo failing ..and you could end up with a runaway and total destruction of engine.
The most horrible thing is transits made after 2007 have wetbelts - glad i don't have one of those i would not sleep at night! - failure to change before 100,000 miles later results in total destruction and expensive rebuild.

all the best.mark

Black smoke is not turbo failing, its blue/grey smoke that means oil is being burnt. I have had a turbo go big time.
The single mass clutches are pretty straightforward to replace IMHO.
K.

[paul2012]

Ford service interval - replacing Lower timing chain is at 150,000 miles

[metalworker0]

Presumably if you are running fully synthetic and changing oil at every 5000 miles you will greatly extend this change interval.

and you'll hear warning signs "rattling" that something needs to be done.

i only do about 5000 per year so 150,000 miles is 4 years away ...so plenty of time to think about it .. there is a tiny weep (stain around the pulley) in that area now ...so that should be a reminder. if its turns into a drip before 150,000, then it will be changed then.

Thanks for the info

all the best..mark

[heimlaga]

Thanks a lot for the information.
My timing chain should be due for renevel roundabout now. Hopefully I can leve it a little while and shift both belt and chain at once next year or thereabout.

I am right now busy shifting the oil cooler. I will keep my eyes open for any sign of problems in the other weak spots.

[travelling man]

I can confirm from experience that a wet belt failure is expensive!
Yes, change interval is stated at 150k miles, mine failed at 134k miles but 10 years old. I would seriously suggest that a wet belt should be changed at 8 years regardless of mileage.

Chain is a bit different, my previous (05) LWB Connect had a chain that I assume had not been changed when a little end bearing failed at 247k miles. As suggested above, at least the chain is likely to rattle and give a decent warning that it is not a happy bunny.

[heimlaga]

Today the timing chain was shifted at just over 260000 km on the clock.

I should have done it earlier but I ended up in a bit of a pinch financially and worked like madman all of last year. Until everything calmed down after Christmas.

The rattling warning sound appeared gradually after I returned home from a job trip to Norway in October. A couple of days before Christmas it became distict enough to be identifyable and it struck me that in this mad hurry I had forgotten the timing chain. However the job stint in Norway turned out very lucrative so now I could afford to have the job done.

Anyway it is done now. Plus a bunch of gaskets, the timing belt and the water pump. A local garage did it for me. Everything was just too tight for my shovel-sized hands.

By the way my old Opel Kadett ended up in the care of a local vintage car enthusiast. He paid me 1000 euro for it and said it is in remarkable technical condition albeit looking run down.

While I ended up disassembling everything under my Transit connect after which I sandblasdtered the entire bottom to bare metal and had all rust holes properly welded by a professional after which I painted the entire underside with 2 coats of epoxy primer followed by two coats of two part lorry cab paint followed by a full tectyl treatment. All cavities were throroughly treated with linseed oil first and then dinitrol cavity wax. This happened in the autumn of 2022.