Fiesta Timing Belt. How to check if it needs doing. A D.I.Y guide to saving £££s

I bought a 2005 Fiesta recently with decent Service History, but no evidence or record that the Cam / Timing belt had been changed. I wanted to be sure it wasn’t about to snap on me, so I decided to check for myself.

While doing so, I decided to film the process so if like me you’re at all unsure about the history of your belt, you can use this video as a guide to see for yourself and save some money in the process.

Disclaimer - I’m not a trained mechanic but do have a reasonable understanding of the mechanics of a car, so I don’t mind “having a go” for myself. The process on this car is quite easy and takes less than ten minutes.

Having checked, I’m now 100% sure the belt has been changed and I can continue driving safe in the knowledge it’s not about to snap and leave me stranded, effectively writing the car off due to an uneconomical repair.

In the video you’ll see the belt still has a Matt black finish, and the writing is clearly visible. If your belt is shiny and the writing is faint, chances are it’s either never been replaced, or was done some time ago. I’d say if you’re presented with this scenario it’s wise to get the belt changed.

Although not filmed, putting everything back together is a simple process of the reverse of taking it all apart. It takes a matter of minutes.

From start to finish, you’d spend circa 15 minutes or less investigating. I’ve done a few belt checks now so I kinda know what I’m doing, so if you’re going to use this video as a guide for your first attempt, just take your time and don’t rush.

Hopefully you’ll get the answer you need either way, and at the very least save a mechanic from charging you for investigative work which could be up to an hours labour.

I hope you find the video useful, and I welcome any comments or suggestions.

Filmed August 2021 on iPhone XR

Thanks for watching.