Camshaft Drive - A Rubber Belt Or Chain Driven

[ThaiLife]

I was thinking about the question asked about the latest Diesel Engines , as to weather the Camshaft Drive is a Rubber Belt or Chain Driven, I think both the Vigo and Triton are belt driven, if the camshaft is rubber belt driven, will / does this cause a problem in the running life of the vehicle..? , do you have to change the belt at some service intervals..? And how do you know when / if the belt needs changing.

Any one had experience of this…?

[Mid]

most manufacturers recommend replacement at 100,000 kl

[stingray]

belt hve to be changed before 100'000km. If you buy a used car, you can make a visual check. Open the cover and lock for small cracks in the belt. Older cars have change, they usally life longer. you can hear the noise when they start getting loose. It's a ratteling noise in the front of the engine. When you regonize this ratteling noise you have to change the chane.

[ThaiLife]

I am looking at purchasing a Triton plus 2.5 Lt DI-D Auto Turbo Intercooler

And do not yet know the recommended service intervals on this model and

Never having a new pickup here before, if the normal recommended change the belt period is 100,000 Km , would the belt change be some thing you would have to have done by a Dealers service department, or could it be done by a small village mechanic ..? Or is it a job that requires special knowledge..? (I am no mechanic) .

Have you had your rubber drive belt changed and what did you have to go through,

and would it be a belt change at 100,000Km on a new Pickup..?

[monty]

On most cars it's not too expensive to change it (unless the engine's got to be pulled!).

Unless you're pretty sure it's in very good condition, I would change it. If it breaks, your engine will be seriously wrecked!

[North]

Ok, I am not an expert in diesel engines, but I hear a little here and read a little there, and it seems, that the car manufacturers are "re-inventing" the chain drive. As far as I know the chain drive will last much longer than a belt, my personal experience is, that my 12 years old Renault Twingo back in Europe just passed 271.000 km, and this engine is chain-driven. And, - no rattling yet !

I just read this article about a new diesel from Audi, they are using a chain drive too:

New Audi diesel

I found somewhere on Internet, that the 3 liter D4D from Toyota is belt-driven, but I did not find any information regarding the Triton engines.

Even I am not an expert I know, that you have to be careful when replacing a belt. The timing for the camshaft must be correct, it is certainly not good, if a piston is moving upwards and at the top point suddenly a valve or two opens

There has to be some markings on the engine for proper adjustment, I think.

How about the Hilux Vigo, what are the replacement intervals for the T-belt ??

North

[ThaiLife]

Mitsubishi Timing Belt DescriptionThe timing belt is a critical component of the engine and keeps the valve train in time with the pistons in the engine. Unless you are very mechanically inclined, we would not recommend trying to replace the Mitsubishi timing belt on your own. We advise purchasing your own Mitsubishi parts, and taking the car to an experienced Mitsubishi repair facility. On most vehicles produced after 1975 that utilized an overhead cam, use a timing belt or cam belt to drive the camshaft. The timing belt made of a rubber material with cogs on the belt that connects the crankshaft to the camshaft. The camshaft turns at half the speed of the crankshaft, this is why that if you removed the cam belt cover you would see that the cam belt sprocket is 2 times the size of the crankshaft timing belt sprocket. The rule of thumb for most service professionals is making sure you change your Mitsubishi timing belt every 60,000 miles. If you do not know when the last time the timing belt in your car or truck was changed, We recommend purchasing a new Mitsubishi timing belt kit, or at a minimum at new timing belt and a tensioner, and getting them replaced a quick as possible. Heat, Oil and chemicals are the big enemy of a timing belt. If you live or operate at extreme conditions you may want to change your timing belt at earlier intervals. Oil, gas and antifreeze will also deteriorate the Mitsubishi timing belt at an accelerated rate. So if you see oil or Antifreeze on the timing belt cover, be sure to get the belt checked immediately. Most Mitsubishi service professionals agree that there are other very important items that need to be looked at when servicing or changing the Mitsubishi timing belt. The first recommendation is to change the idler pulley and the timing belt tensioner. The other item often overlooked is the Mitsubishi water pump. On most vehicles equipped with timing belts, the timing belt is used to drive the water pump. Do not forget to take the opportunity to change the water pump at the time you change the Mitsubishi timing belt, as the new belt will put more tension on the water pump bearing causing the old pump to leak shortly after the new timing belt is installed.

[Murf]

Put quite simply, if the car has done over 80k and there is no proof of a belt change then get it done.

I would have thought the local mechanic could do the task... but depends on his competancy.

Chains hardly ever need changing, as long as the car has had regular oil changes, and if the chain does start to rattle on most cars it isnt a very difficult job to re-new the tensioner.

[qualtrough]

On some engines a broken timing belt will not result in damage, but on those with overlap between the valves and piston a broken belt can be catastrophic. The mother-in-law bought a second hand Volvo 850 for the wife, which is in the catastrophic column. I went out and bought the parts and changed it myself, not too difficult a job and I know what I did and don't have to worry about it after that.

[warwick7735]

Hi all

Belts & chains how old fashioned. Why dont these companies do what Ford do on there engines, have gear driven cams, problem solved.

Warwick

[Crossy]

Belts & chains how old fashioned. Why dont these companies do what Ford do on there engines, have gear driven cams, problem solved.

Ford use gear drive on OHC engines? Not seen that but there again, I've not had a recent Ford, all mine had chains or belts. The only gear driven cam I've come across was in an old Volvo, but that was OHV not OHC.

Belts and chains are cheaper, easier to design, more power efficient etc etc.

Cost is, I suspect, THE driving factor.

[Thumchok]

How about the Hilux Vigo, what are the replacement intervals for the T-belt ??

North

When you start the engine , the pre ignition lights show seat belt/door/etc. on the Tacho there will be a T-Belt light as well . After the recommmended replacement milage is up . This light will stay on until it is reset .

I don't have any hard proof on this , other than that was how the older models worked . The 86 hilux had a rubber grommet in the speedo face that you took out and inserted a screwdriver and pushed the button to reset the timing light .

I would be looking for this to happen anywhere from 60k klm onwards . I don't intend to keep the car that long , but something to look out for when buying a used pickup . They are not that expensive to change , but quite a bit of gear needs to be stripped off the front of the motor to access it . Whith labour being so cheap in Thailand , why not pay a little extra to have it done by a dealer who has probably had the experience of changing one in the last month . Just ask for a quote first .

Just to add a little confusion . Older Mitsubishi's also had a balance belt , not sure on the newer models .

[Gary A]

Gears are REALLY from the old days. Chains eventually replaced the gears even on push rod engines. The chain run in a crankcase oil bath and usually lasted the life of the engine. Weight reductions made the block smaller and shorter. There was no longer room for the oil bath chain. Engines went from using push rods to overhead cams. This allowed higher RPM's because the valve train parts were lighter. Much more power was generated from the higher RPM's. It's a long distance from the crankshaft to the overhead camshaft so belts became the normal thing. The belts today are amazing and most will last for 100,000 kilometers or so. It's not very expensive to replace the belt (here) so don't try to save a few baht. If the belt breaks the cam will be out of time and the pistons will bend or break the valves, cam bearings, maybe the cam itself and maybe even destroy the pistons.

[Guest mascot]

Timing belts do not make a noise before they break, chains do. Abroken timing belt in a modern engine is always catastophic as somewhere in the engine valves will be open and bent by the piston. In second hand cars if there is no record of change then do it, where there is a record stick by the makers recomendations( usually about half of what they really think) so there is a good safety margin.