Some vehicles, like a Volkswagen Passat for instance, might be able to go 105,000 miles with the timing belt that it came with. Typically, vehicles with a timing belt have a recommended lifespan of 60,000 miles to 90,000 miles before a timing belt will need to be changed.
#TIMING CHAIN VS TIMING BELT COST MANUAL#
By way of an example, your manufacturer will have written in your owner's manual exactly how long the timing belt in your car will last if it is run on a belt rather than a chain. The Difference Between Timing Belts and Timing ChainsĪ timing chain is made of metal and will typically last much longer than a timing belt. If you're not sure what your vehicle runs on you can check your owner's manual to find out for sure.
Many manufacturers will only use timing chains in newer vehicles that have been made in the last few years. While some vehicles have always used chains, in recent years there has been more of a push towards using chains again rather than timing belts. Unfortunately, it's just not as durable as a chain. The timing belt was quieter, as we said, cheaper, lighter, and in many cases just easier. They were considered to be durable enough to get the job done, even though they didn't last nearly as long as a timing chain did.īecause of things like the oil crisis and the overall push to boost fuel efficiency of vehicles while reducing costs, the timing chain fell out of favour for a lot of manufacturers and drivers. Reliable rubber belts didn't really exist at the time, and it was basically taken for granted that the part should be made of metal.Īs time went on, and rubber became more versatile and durable, it became a more attractive option in terms of reducing costs and weight in the car's engine. Timing chains and also timing gears, which perform the same function as belts and chains but use interlocking gears that get the job done rather than being connected by a belt, were used initially in many vehicles simply because it was the most obvious technology available at the time. The timing belt itself had actually been developed years earlier, the first one used was back in the 1940s. Fiat also started using timing belts in the 1960s in their vehicles. Midway through the decade, Pontiac developed a straight-6 engine that had a rubber timing belt installed in it. Timing chains used to be the standard in vehicles back in the 1960s.
The History of Timing Belts and Timing Chains When something goes wrong however, this timing is thrown off and you risk a loss of fuel economy, a loss of power, and potentially some serious damage to your engine depending on how the timing belt or timing chain has failed. When everything is working as it should, this happens incredibly fast and allows your engine to produce the power necessary to move the entire vehicle at speed. This ensures that as the pistons rise into the cylinder of your engine, the valves will open to allow them to enter if it's an interference engine and then they will close again after the piston has been forced down because of the combustion reaction. They link the camshaft and the crankshaft in your engine so that as one turns so does the other. A timing chain is made of metal while a timing belt is often made of a composite material, some kind of resin or Rubber and usually reinforced with nylon threads.īoth the timing chain and a timing belt are used to maintain the precision timing of your engine's operation. What is The Difference Between a Timing Chain and a Timing Belt?Īs their name suggests, the big difference between a timing chain or a timing belt is what they are made of.
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