The car’s timing belt is a part that, although it seems quite insignificant, is more important than it may seem at first glance.
Its usefulness is synchronization, that is, to ensure that the camshaft and crankshaft are perfectly synchronized when making some type of movement. If the belt is in poor condition, this movement is not possible and the car stops working.
The timing belt does not usually require too much maintenance, something that does happen in other parts of the car that should be looked at with a magnifying glass. However, this lack of maintenance makes it also its weak point, since it means that we do not take its maintenance into account and that when we want to realize it, it can be completely damaged and leave us lying on the road.
For this reason, the timing belt must be changed from time to time, since in this way we can avoid greater evils and anticipate danger and avoid accidents. The bad thing is that it is difficult to know exactly when to change the timing belt of the car, since there are variations between different types of cars and manufacturers.
From doncomos.com we are going to explain in detail and step by step when it is the exact moment to change the timing belt of our car.
What do you need
- Manual of the manufacturer of your car.
- Basic knowledge of car mechanics.
Instructions
- Noises:
If we are a bit smart, we can know when the timing belt needs to be changed just by listening to our car running. Normally when starting and running, the engine makes a certain noise that varies from one car to another, but we all have memorized what it is in our case. In the case of a bad timing belt, you can hear how the noise is much higher pitched than usual, being more similar to the howling of a dog than the loud sound of an engine. If this happens, go to the mechanic to have the timing belt checked, but it will probably have to be changed as soon as possible. - Manufacturer’s Manual:
If there is a manual that has the answers to everything but that we tend to ignore very often, that is the manufacturer’s manual. The manufacturer’s manual is created specifically for our car model, indicating everything we need to know about it, whether they are meanings of lights, maintenance, tips to make it last longer… In the case of the timing belt, it could not be another way, that is, that in our car’s manual it will put when we should change the timing belt of our vehicle. Look for the maintenance section and you will see not only every how many kilometers it has to be changed, but also the type of timing belt that is ideal for our vehicle taking into account length, brand, class… - General tips;
If you have lost the manufacturer’s manual or do not have it to hand, I will give you a few general tips to know when to change the timing belt. Normally it is usually changed at the latest every 120,000 kilometers approximately, however, I recommend doing it before to avoid greater evils, at least every 50,000 kilometers (unless your manufacturer says fewer kilometers). It also depends on how you do those kilometers, since if you run a lot with the car, I advise you to change the belt every 10,000 km just in case, since it wears out more at higher speeds.
Tips
- Consequences of not changing the strap on time: If you are one of those who knows everything and does not want to pay attention to this tutorial, I am going to tell you the consequences of not changing the strap and it ends up breaking. When a timing belt goes completely bad, it’s going to leave you stranded on the road in the first place. That, from the outset, is going to cost you a crane and not be able to get where you wanted to get to on time (for example, a job interview). But it is not only that, but the worst is yet to come. The worst thing is that when the belt breaks, some irreparable damage is caused to the engine, bending its pistons, causing serious damage to the camshaft, breaking crankshafts. All this can mean thousands of euros in repairs or even having to put a new engine in your car, much more than it is worth to change the timing belt. For this reason, we recommend that you always change the timing belt as we indicate in this tutorial, since this way you will always avoid greater evils, avoid accidents, save a lot of money on repairs and you will not lose any type of opportunity because your car leaves you lying.
