Its a world where idiotic minds like greta the brat and elon musk strive, by tapping into the lack of knowledge the majority suffers from and twists the narrative towards their own personal interests.
Together with harsher fuel taxation, harsher motoring limitations and an investment into a machine of ticketing motorists (as if they didn't pay enough tax already), created a youth less and less interested in the thrills of driving a proper vehicle on the open road.
It's quite a shame, really, but it is the world most automakers need to produce products for.
This absurdly retrograde reality, generates a sentiment in the auto industry that producing mediocre products, is ok as long as they earn money while watching the world burn.
So far, it's sad, it's disgusting, and makes me feel like humans deserve the asteroid... and have been deserving it for quite some time now.
However,
It was my understanding that, some engineers where still working at most car manufacturers. Sure... bound and tied up in the basement with gaggles so they could not insult economists and marketeers during meetings, but still engineers.
Then Ford unveils the 3 cylinder 1.0 ecoboost... and gets claims as engine of the year!?!?!? corruption alarm!!!
I never took interest in this, as it is a cylinder too short of my minimum acceptable engine size.
I obviously steered AWAY from it and evidently recommended all my friends to buy the 4 cylinder fiestas while they where available.
Some months into this crazy nonsense...
... and i manage go get an episode on engine disassembly of this same engine, on youtube...HERE.
The video starts with : this was difficult to find, you never find these out there in any junkyard as they are highly requested.
THIS immediately triggered my brain: Why? 3cyl.. useless piece of ... and if there are none for second hand parts market then: Either they run forever and so slow that no one ever crashes. Or they all DIE prematurely making them hard to find functional and highly requested as such.
The introduction also said : "this is one of those infamous wet timing belt type of engine".
WAAAIIIIIIT a minute. Belt? wet? nahhh not possible.
As the disassembly continued i was astonished with the design i was whiteness.
In truth, that engine and some other engines form PSA group (and some more brands are drifting into this absurd trend) use WET BELTS.
WOW
Let me take some time to explain:
There are mainly 2 designs to connect your crankshaft with the valve train, creatively called engine timing system:
- Timing chain- a metal chain, much like your bicycle chain, with metal dented wheels. Evidently, metal on metal will require lubrication, so those are naturally wet:
- Timing belt - made out of a rubber dented belt with fabric and metal reinforcements. Obviously this last system is dry:
Why obviously?
Funny you should ask: Engine oil attacks rubber, engine temperature attack rubber, engine oil get more acidic with usage and as such: hot acidic engine oil AGGRESSIVELY attack rubber. Rubber gets cracks, and hot acidic engine oil reaches fabric and metal inside the belt...and, for your surprise, again - It attacks those components too.
Timing belt's are´t forever... they need service:
How do you know the timing belt is new:
... or old:
...or just bad:
... or maybe "So bad you shouldn't start the car":
.... or the... shit, too late!
Now let's compare an old NORMAL timing belt, with an old WET timing belt:
... or even a BAD NORMAL timing belt with a BAD WET timing belt:
... or maybe a "don't start the car" NORMAL timing belt with a WET one:
Finally, a comparison between the belt as new and as it comes out of the engine when replaced:
It's not rocket science! right!? You don't need an engineering degree to see what's wrong here, now, do you?
SOOOO
a very fast and easy conclusion:if you want to have a WET timing system, the chain will live happy with this setup.
If you what to use BELTs, you CAN'T use the wet system!
It's fairly straight trough!
You don't need an engineering degree to make this decision once you've read these VERY SIMPLE characteristics of the both systems and reaction to oil.
The remaining video...
... was just a bad-to-worse critique of this absolutely stupid design:
- oil pump scavenger blocked with bits of rubber from the timing belt that disintegrated.
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- bearings and journals scratched by lack of oil pressure...because the oil pump was driven by another wet, rubber belt!
- obvious engine catastrophic failure due to lack of oil pressure, but plenty of cases out there are due to premature timing belt failure and scavenger blocking... I mean talk about a perfect storm.
This is becoming such an issue, that Peugeot is selling a measuring tool to check in the belt has swollen enough (by absorbing oil) that need replacement! I mean... how ridiculous can this be?
Ok...
we've established the design is absurd, that lot's of people buy these engines either new or second hand because they disintegrate themselves, but why!?
Easy to maintain?
NO! way way worse!
The belt will live less(duh) and even the Kevlar reinforced ones don't really manage as long as any dry belt or a wet chain!
To change the timing belt you need to dismantle engine panels and re-assemble with new seals(as opposed to a few screws and plastic panels on dry belts).
You will need to regularly remove the carter and check the oil-pump scavenger for molten or disintegrated rubber.
Well...
... there is one and one justification only for this : brands what to sell you a competitive product, cheap as the crap it is, then squeeze all your money out in unnecessary maintenance complexity or, if you decide not to play the game, new engines every now and then.
So...
...it's clearly an economist or marketer decision. Point to which, my question becomes: What where these engineers thinking about? or then...are they still engineers at all?
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