![]() However, the timing belt isn’t easily visible, and it takes significant effort to access it. It winds around several mechanisms in front of the engine. The serpentine belt is easily visible when you pop the hood. The serpentine belt is located in front of the engine block, while a timing belt will be behind the engine under the timing cover. It maintains the ignition timing by ensuring that the engine valves (intake and exhaust valves) move in time with the pistons. On the other hand, the timing belt keeps the crankshaft and camshaft in sync. The serpentine belt (also called drive belt, fan belt, or accessory belt) transfers power from the crankshaft to the engine accessories. The serpentine belt and timing belt perform different functions. Here are the five main differences between the serpentine belt and the timing belt: Serpentine Belt Vs Timing Belt : 5 Key Differences What’s An Appropriate Serpentine Belt And Timing Belt Tension?.Can I Replace The Serpentine Belt Or Timing Belt Myself?.Can I Start A Car Without A Serpentine Belt?.What’s The Difference Between A Serpentine Belt And An Alternator Belt?.What Happens If The Drive Belt or Timing Belt Breaks While Driving?.Is A Timing Chain Better Than A Timing Belt?.6 FAQs About The Serpentine Belt And Timing Belt.What Are The Symptoms Of A Bad Serpentine Belt Or Timing Belt?.Serpentine Belt Vs Timing Belt: 5 Key Differences.We’ll also cover symptoms of failure, replacement costs, and other related questions. In this article, we’ll explore the key differences between a serpentine belt vs timing belt. So, it’s easy to mix up details like what they do or where they’re located. These two belts within the engine bay are vital to your car’s performance. You’ve done almost four laps of the planet in this car - give the chain some credit.If you get confused between a serpentine belt and a timing belt, you’re not alone. Nobody enjoys paying for repairs, obviously. It’s going to cost you a lot more than $1850 to change cars, so if there’s nothing else wrong with the car, get the chain replaced. (It’s very easy on all powertrain components.) You drive roughly double the national average, so I’m assuming you do a lot of highway driving, which is very easy on DCTs. If there’s no evidence of an impending DCT failure, then that’s just an irrational fear. It’s quite an involved disassembly and reassembly process. The cost you’ve been quoted is not excessive. After that, it’s just scrap metal.Īnd 145,000km is a reasonable service life for any timing chain, frankly. If a chain or a belt breaks, it will catastrophically destroy most engines because the piston(s) will hit the valves. Belts overcome this problem - they don’t stretch. The stretching throws off the valve timing and gives the engine control ECU poor data about the ignition timing, etc, because cam position is derived from crank position and assumes a limited amount of stretch in the chain (ie - the computer can’t tell the chain has stretched excessively, so it tells the spark to fire at the wrong time relative to the position of the valves). Plus, they have different wear and failure mechanisms.īelts tend to fail by breaking without warning, hence they do durability testing in R&D and arrive at a conservative replacement schedule.Ĭhains stretch (ie - they give you some warning they’re getting ready to fail). ![]() If you operate under the false presumption that chains are better than belts, you’re denying reality, which is that both work just fine, but the detail of the design and the execution really matters. It highlights a fundamental misunderstanding of how engineering actually works - because there are good chain designs and bad ones. Not trying to rip you a new one, mate, but I always hate it when people make statements like this: "Always been a big fan of chain over belt.”
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