Posted on 9/7/2017
I get asked this question often. What is a timing belt, and why do I need to have it changed? The simple answer, the timing belt has teeth on the inside of the belt that keeps the engine in sync, or in time. There are essentially 2 halves of an engine, an upper and a lower half. The lower or bottom side of the engine has the crankshaft, connecting rods and pistons, it is known as the rotating assembly because the pistons are connected to the crankshaft. As the explosions takes place from the fuel being ignited in the cylinder, the pistons are forced downward causing the crankshaft to rotate. The crankshaft has teeth on a gear on the front that the timing belt rides on. This rotation causes the belt to move and turn the upper half of the engine that contains the camshaft, or multiple camshafts, valves and lifters. There’s also a toothed gear attached. The camshaft pushes down on the valves against the springs to make them open and close. This lets air and fuel in on the intake ... read more