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Home DeliveryReserve & Buy OnlineHand-Picked, Never From AuctionHome DeliveryIf you drive a Peugeot, Citroen, Vauxhall or DS with the 1.2 PureTech engine, the wet belt inside it is a known problem. We replace them properly, for a price agreed before we start.
Driving a Ford EcoBoost? Ford wet belts have their own page, from £950 →
The engine to look for is the 1.0 or 1.2 PureTech petrol, built by Stellantis and fitted across several brands. Ford’s EcoBoost engines have their own wet belt issue, covered on our Ford wet belt page. Later cars moved to a timing chain, so not every one of these models is affected. If you are not sure, give us the registration and we will tell you.
| Brand | Models commonly fitted with it |
|---|---|
| Peugeot | 108, 208, 2008, 308, 3008, 5008, Rifter, Partner |
| Citroen | C1, C3, C3 Aircross, C4, C4 Cactus, C5 Aircross, Berlingo |
| Vauxhall / Opel | Corsa, Crossland, Grandland, Combo, Astra |
| DS | DS3 Crossback, DS4, DS7 Crossback |
The table above is the 1.2 PureTech, the engine we specialise in and the one the £900 price covers. Ford EcoBoost wet belts are on their own page. For timing belts on any other engine, send us the registration and we will tell you whether it is work we take on and what it would cost.
A wet belt runs inside the engine, sitting in the oil rather than behind a cover on the outside. It was designed that way to be quieter and more efficient, and on paper it works.
In practice the belt breaks down over time. As it degrades it sheds material into the oil, and that debris finds its way to the oil pick up pipe. Once the pick up starts to block, oil pressure drops. Low oil pressure is what kills the engine, and by that point you are not looking at a belt bill, you are looking at an engine.
The belt itself can also snap. On these engines that means valves meeting pistons, which is the same expensive outcome by a different route.
This is why the job is worth doing before anything goes wrong rather than after. A belt is a few hundred pounds of parts and two days with us. An engine is several thousand and a car off the road for weeks.
These are two oil pick up strainers out of the same type of engine. The strainer is the gauze the oil pump draws through. When belt material blocks it, oil pressure falls and the engine starves.
The difference between those two photos is timing, not luck. One is two days with us at a fixed price. The other is an engine.
If the oil light has come on, stop driving it and call us. Every mile after that point is a gamble on the oil pick up.
The price is agreed before we start. If we open it up and find something that changes the job, we ring you and tell you before we do anything. You will not get a bill you have not already said yes to.
Four ramps and qualified technicians, so the car is not sat waiting for a bay. We keep the car two days so the sealant cures properly and we can road test it before you get it back, rather than squeezing it in around a queue of tyre fits.
The sump comes off and the oil pick up gets checked. Fitting a belt without doing that is how a car comes back six months later with a dead engine.
The 1.2 PureTech is £900 including an oil service. The figure is agreed up front, and if anything changes you get a phone call before a spanner moves.
Did the timing chain and transmission oil change at very short notice. They were very knowledgeable about the issue.
Adam Lech, Google reviewMy car was brought into the workshop with a clutch problem. Although it was not booked in in advance it was looked at the same day. I was kept well informed of the progress of the work and the likely cost of the repair. Very happy with the service I received.
Miriam Hilton, Google reviewIt was no trouble for Matt to come and collect my car and return it later that day. Throughout the day I was kept up to date with how the service went and anything that needed doing further. It also came back sparkling inside and out.
Ashleigh Pitchfork, Google reviewTwo days, and that is deliberate rather than slow. The sealant on the timing cover needs time to cure properly before the engine is run under load, and we want the car driven and rested afterwards so we know it is right before it goes back to you. Anyone turning this round in an afternoon is not giving the sealant time to set. If you are within ten minutes of the workshop we will collect it and bring it back.
Manufacturer intervals have moved more than once, and a lot of owners were told a figure that has since been brought forward. As a rule, if the car is over five years old or past 60,000 miles and the belt has never been done, it is worth doing. Give us the registration and mileage and we will give you a straight answer.
We can inspect it and check the oil and the pick up for debris. If the belt has already shed material into the engine, the job changes and we will tell you exactly what we have found before you commit to anything.
For the 1.2 PureTech, yes, and it includes the oil change service. The only thing that changes it is if we open it up and find damage already done, and in that case you get a phone call and a decision, not a surprise invoice.
Yes. The 1.2 PureTech is the one we know inside out and the engine the £900 price covers. Ford EcoBoost wet belts start from £950 and have a separate page. For timing belts on other engines, send us the registration and we will tell you whether it is work we take on and what it would cost.
Possibly. Stellantis, who own all three, run a support scheme covering some PureTech wet belt failures, and whether you qualify depends on the age of the car, its mileage and its service history. Check with a franchised dealer before you book with us. If they will cover it you should let them, and we will tell you the same thing on the phone. Plenty of cars fall outside it, and that is where we come in.
Unit 3, 1 Orgreave Way, Sheffield S13 9LS. We are easy to get to from Handsworth, Woodhouse, Beighton, Crystal Peaks, Darnall, Treeton and Rotherham.
Give us the registration and we will confirm whether your car has the wet belt, then get you a date. If you would rather talk it through, ring 0114 698 1430.
We will come back to you the same working day. We use your details to answer your enquiry and nothing else.
0114 698 1430
sales@gtautomotivegroup.co.uk