vs
Timing belt OEM FORD or Mitsuboshi
Reviews
I got mine off Rockauto. Aisin pump, Mitsuboshi timing belt, Koyo bearings. Reasonable price, as well.
Pros: reasonable price
it's usually the plan with all my cars until repairs become more expensive than payments. our last car was an 2006 vw jetta tdi. sold it a few years ago (18 years old). it was still running fine-ish but a lot of things were coming up. timing belt and water pump, suspension overhaul, wheel bearings, brakes and caliper rebuild, and it was getting quite a bit of rust all around. it would have lasted and gone for 5+ more years but with 2 young kids getting into sports and stuff and the winter weather we are getting in our new home, it was a smart move to get a truck. with the aluminum body and ease of getting parts for the truck for maintenance as well as the f150 and coyote community, keeping the truck running for a long time should be easy.
Pros: ease of getting parts, keeping truck running
Cons: timing belt issues, suspension overhaul
Vehicle:
Ford
I bet if they had used a Mitsuboshi timing belt in the first place it would have lasted much longer.
Pros: would have lasted longer
The only thing I concerned was the timing belt itself. It was a US made MITSOBOSHI instead of Japan made one. But it was perfect fit, didn’t miss timing even by 1 teeth.
Pros: perfect fit, accurate timing
Cons: US made (initial concern)
Vehicle:
Toyota Land Cruiser
Had the timing belt replaced last year - didn't find a single crack on the old one despite it being 20 years old. Ditto for the serpentine belt. The dealer's head technician had told me that Mitsu's rubber quality is top notch - on par with Toyota, way better than Nissan's (his words). I didn't believe him until I saw the belts with my own eyes.
Pros: no cracks after 20 years, top notch quality
Vehicle:
Mitsubishi Montero
Mileage: 72420 km
Pretty much all the newer Ford 4 and 3 cyl crap-box engines have what's called a wet belt for the timing. It's inside the engine as opposed to external like any sane normal or any moderately intelligent person would engineer.
Because of this, they require a VERY specific grade of oil, usually 0w-20 or 5w-20 full synthetic. If the wrong oil is used the belt will start to degrade and shred itself, this then starts plugging the oil pump pickup with rubber debris and starves the engine for oil. Or it just outright shreds and snaps, like yours did.
Pros: requires specific grade of oil
Cons: belt degrades and shreds
Vehicle:
Ford
Bare in mind that this car uses a "wet belt" timing belt, where the timing belt runs inside the engine within the oil. This means that unless oil changes are carried out frequently, small parts of the belt break off and clock up the oil pickups, starving the engine and killing it.
Cons: parts break off
Regardless of servicing etc, that wet belt is still deteriorating as it is soaked in the hot engine oil.
Cons: belt deteriorates in oil
Vehicle:
Ford Focus
If it has been done they are actually a good engine when working fine. Plenty of torque and good on fuel. It’s just the reliability of them that’s the major issue. They switched to a timing chain from the wet belt from 2018 for a good reason. The 1.2 turbo engines from PSA are also wet belts and also switched to a chain around 2023. They are a terrible design and simply not going to be economical to maintain properly as the car ages.
Pros: plenty of torque, good on fuel
Cons: major reliability issue, terrible design, not economical to maintain
Vehicle:
Ford Focus
Id stay away from that motor. It uses a wet timing belt. Not a great design. Expensive to replace and will only last about 100,000 miles.
Cons: expensive to replace, short life
Mileage: 100000 km
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Which timing belt to choose — OEM FORD or Mitsuboshi?
If choosing timing belt across many manufacturers, check the part ranking. If your choice is down to two brands, the PartReview part comparisons help.
We compare timing belt across these categories:
- PR Score.
- Overall ranking.
- Vote balance.
- Average rating.
- Number of reviews.
- Feature ratings.
- Car owners’ choice.
Which timing belt are better — Mitsuboshi or OEM FORD?
In March 2026 on PartReview, timing belt Mitsuboshi were overall better than OEM FORD.
- OEM FORD received a PR Score of 41 out of 100, and Mitsuboshi scored 80 points.
- OEM FORD ranked 13 in the overall ranking, and Mitsuboshi ranked 7.
- The average rating is higher for Mitsuboshi (4) than for OEM FORD (2.4).
-
Timing belt Mitsuboshi have better feature ratings than OEM FORD:
- Visible wear - owners believe, that this property for Mitsuboshi is better than OEM FORD.
- Noise - drivers claim, that this property for Mitsuboshi is outperforms OEM FORD.
- Starting - reviews suggest, that this property for Mitsuboshi is preferred to OEM FORD.
Which timing belt are more popular — OEM FORD or Mitsuboshi?
Timing belt OEM FORD and Mitsuboshi were equally popular according to data in March 2026.
By vote balance, timing belt Mitsuboshi surpassed OEM FORD:
- For OEM FORD, the ratio of positive (22) to negative (31) votes is -9 votes.
- For Mitsuboshi, the ratio of positive (32) to negative (8) votes is 24 votes.
By number of reviews, timing belt OEM FORD surpassed Mitsuboshi:
- For timing belt OEM FORD there are 17 reviews: 6 positive, 2 neutral, 9 negative.
- For timing belt Mitsuboshi there are 13 reviews: 10 positive, 1 neutral, 2 negative.
Which timing belt do car owners prefer — OEM FORD or Mitsuboshi?
In March 2026, according to PartReview, timing belt OEM FORD and Mitsuboshi have not taken top places in car-specific ratings. You can help by adding your review about these manufacturers.
Other comparisons of timing belt
If this comparison didn’t fully answer your question, there are many others on PartReview.
For example, comparisons of timing belt OEM FORD with: Gates, AISIN, OEM Volkswagen, OEM Honda, OEM Toyota, Continental, Contitech, OEM Subaru, DAYCO, OEM Volvo.
Also available: comparisons of timing belt Mitsuboshi with: Gates, AISIN, OEM Volkswagen, OEM Honda, OEM Toyota, Continental, Contitech, OEM Subaru, DAYCO, OEM Volvo.
You can also see who is better among other timing belt manufacturers: AISIN or Gates, Gates or OEM Volkswagen, Gates or OEM Honda, OEM Toyota or Gates, Continental or Gates.