Monthly Archives: July 2020

News

What Does The Timing Belt Do?

Leave a comment

The timing belt is the belt that controls the camshafts in your engine, opening and closing valves at just the right time for smooth operation. The timing belt has teeth that turn the camshaft in time with the crankshaft.

Some cars and trucks use timing chains or gears, which are more durable. But timing belts, made of rubber compound, are quieter and more efficient. They also don’t need lube to work.

On some engines, if the timing belt fails, valves will be held open when they should not be and will be struck by the pistons, causing major damage to your engine. So you want to prevent it at all costs.

While you’re getting the timing belt changed, it’s a good idea to get a new water pump, too. Water pumps have similar life spans, and they’re easy to get to while the timing belt is off. If you wait, you’ll have to pay more for installation later.

When is it time to change a timing belt? Most timing belts are rated for between 60,000 miles and 90,000 miles. The belt can’t be checked easily so you replace your timing belt on a schedule. Check your manual. If it’s time, bring your car or truck to any of our stores.

This article comes from bigotires edit released

News

Fan Belt? Similarities and Differences

Leave a comment

Look up “fan belt” in any modern automotive dictionary, and you’ll typically find a definition that reads, “An endless belt used to transmit power from a crankshaft-driven pulley to a pulley driving the fan, alternator, or other engine accessory. It is usually V-shaped in cross section with the point of the V fitting into a groove in the pulley”.

Even though cooling fans on most modern vehicles are driven by electric motors instead of actual belts, the term fan belt is still incorrectly used as a blanket expression to describe any single accessory belt that may be used to drive a water pump, alternator, power steering pump, or other items. Why?

In order to pull cooling air through a vehicle’s radiator, a cooling fan needs to be located at the front of the vehicle just behind the radiator. Traditional rear-wheel-drive vehicles with longitudinally-mounted engines had crankshaft pulleys right there at the front of the car, and they were convenient sources of power for cooling fans.

Since the fan belt tended to be the biggest and most noticeable one on the vehicle, the expression became universal for all other belts that looked similar – no matter what function they performed. Many original engine layouts also used that fan belt to spin water pump and alternator pulleys, and you may hear some people call this belt a “water pump belt” or “alternator belt” as well as a fan belt.

However, as vehicles with front-wheel-drive and sideways-mounted engines grew in popularity, the front of the engine was no longer at the front of the vehicle where the cooling fan was.

Engineers perfected electric fan motors, temperature sensors, and related computers to get the job done, and belt-driven fans were no longer necessary. Because cooling fans don’t always need to be running at steady cruising speeds, electric motors which can shut off proved more energy efficient than direct drive belts which are always connected. Since electric cooling fans are used even in modern vehicles with longitudinally-mounted engines, the term fan belt has become virtually obsolete. More fitting terms to use when searching for a replacement single belt of this kind would be accessory drive belt or V-belt.

Because drive belts are subject to constant rotation, load, and heat, they are constructed in a similar fashion as tires. An outer layer of rubber surrounds internal steel and cord reinforcements to minimize stretching and maximize strength when grip is needed under load.

This article comes from carid edit released

News

What is a V belt?

Leave a comment

The V belt acts as a transmission belt. Connecting the V belt pulleys, it transmits the force from the engine to the ancillary components including the alternator, the hydraulic pump for the power steering.

In a combustion engine, the combustion of the air/fuel mixture drives pistons. Via connecting rods, the movement of these pistons in a straight line is converted into the rotation of the crankshaft. The V belt uses the force from the rotation (torque) of the crankshaft and drives additional units via V belt pulleys. As such it is responsible for the correct operation of the engine and high levels of ride comfort. A V belt can drive one or two additional units.

Ancillary components that are in perfect working order give drivers a strong feeling of comfort and security.

For example: The V belt is responsible for ensuring that the air conditioning compressor it drives regulates the temperature inside the vehicleto a pleasant level in summer and stops the windows misting over in winter. It also ensures that the power steering assists the driver when steering. The alternator drive ensures not only that the necessary electrical energy (e.g. for sparking ignition or for the injection system) is supplied to the engine but also that electrical loads such as the heated rear window, lighting, heated seats, the navigation system and the ABS and ESP are supplied with power. The water pump powered by the drive ensures that the coolant circulates in the engine, thereby preventing the inconvenience that would be caused by breaking down due to the engine overheating.

Nobody would want to be left stranded in their vehicle on account of a torn V belt because power cannot be supplied to the engine or the engine has overheated due to a failed water pump. V belts are non-positive drive components. Their functional principle is based on friction. Therefore, they are exposed to a process of wear. For this reason, the service and replacement intervals set out by the vehicle manufacturers should be observed and V belts should be replaced if necessary, all the more so because the associated costs are usually reasonable. The full functionality of the engine and a comfortable ride can only be assured if the engine is in perfect working order.

This article comes from my-cardictionary edit released