PEUGEOT 208 1.2 NON-TURBO
With oil changes every 20,000 miles, short runs can contaminate the engine oil with petrol and swell the timing belt,” warns Mark Shipman as he unscrews the oil filler cap and points to the belt inside. This belt runs through the engine oil, so it can naturally swell, but the added petrol doesn’t help. He shows me a small tool for measuring the width of the belt, which at least helps to see if it has become swollen. Should it be left enlarged for too long, it can start to break up, resulting in faults relating to oil pressure and the camshaft position – bits of the timing belt can contaminate the dephaser gauze. The recommended service
