"Distribution Belt" ? Does that exist

Hi,

I have imported a Ford-Escort Ghia 1.6 Estate 1998 from France. The French Service Book indicates that something called "Courroie de distribution" needs to be changed wether the car has been driven for

120000 Kms or more than 5 years.

This "Courroie de distribution" could be roughly translated to "Distribution's Belt", but honestly I don't think this is the right way to translate this.

All I know is that this is something rather internal to the engine which, if not replaced on time, can lead to severe engine problems if it fails.

My problem is that I have no clue how it is called in English.

I am worried because I serviced the car in London last year in June, and at this time the car was just 5 years old. The mechanics didn't mention this thing and I don't see it in the bill either. I have been told in France that changing this part usually costs around 130£, so there is no doubt it hadn't been done last year as my Service bill was at around 90£ in total.

So this year I would like to have it changed during the Service.

I have another question. I need to have the car MOTed before registering in UK. Is is better to do this in a Ford garage or doesn't it matter at all ? Is a MOT a fixed-price work in the Country ?

Thanks.

Reply to
Pierre-Philippe Ravier
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Timing or Cam belt.

Probably better at a local independent garage, the test is a fixed fee.

HTH Adam

Reply to
Adam Aglionby

Cambelt.

IIRC It will probably cost £100-£150 to have this replaced.

You are probably better to get it MOT'd at an MOT station that doesn't do repairs. That way they have nothing to gain by failing the car unnecessarily. Some Council or bus depots do MOT's for the public.

Generally they are around the £40 mark. Some places do cheaper deals but often make up for this by failing the car and charging for repairs!

sPoNiX

Reply to
sPoNiX

Personally I use Formula One (just had an MoT done for 25 quid), but I make it clear from the start that, if it fails, I'll take it away, sort it out then bring it back for a free retest. I always stand by and watch them perform the test too.

Cheers

Dave P

Reply to
David Precious

If you have an address you can use back in France, then keep the car registered there.... there's many advantages to NOT having a car registered in this country.... mainly involving speed cameras ;-)

Reply to
SteveH

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