How Timing Belt Works
How Timing Belt Works
How Timing Belt Works
To understand the working of timing belt, lets first understand a belt drive.
A belt is a looped strip of flexible material, used to mechanically link two or more
rotating shafts. They may be used as a source of motion, to efficiently transmit
power, or to track relative movement. Belts are looped over pulleys. In a two-pulley
system, the belt can either drive the pulleys in the same direction, or the belt may
be crossed, so that the direction of the shafts is opposite.
Fig. 1 Open belt drive: Both shafts rotate in the same direction
%
Why use belt drive and not chain drive?
Gear and chain systems can also be used to connect crankshaft to the camshaft at
the correct timing but they constrain the relative location of the crankshaft and
camshafts. As the distance between centers of shafts increases, the driver and
follower for such methods of transmission become large, unwieldy, and costly, and
rigid links may be used to connect the rotating pieces, as in the case of parallel
rods of a locomotive. For a further increase of distance, the transmission is attained
by means of belts and pulleys, and, if the distance is very great, by wire ropes and
sheaves. Even where the crankshaft and camshaft(s) are very close together, as in
pushrod engines, most engine designers use a short chain drive rather than a direct
gear drive. This is because gear drives suffer from frequent torque reversal as the
cam profiles "kick back" against the drive from the crank, leading to excessive noise
and wear.
Working
% The timing belt rides on a crankshaft pulley and either one or two camshaft
pulleys, depending on whether the car is a single overhead cam, double overhead
cam, or, in the case of rear wheel drive vehicles, a mid-engine cam. Each of the
pulleys has a timing mark on them. The marks must all line up according to the
timing specifications on the car. The pulleys are toothed, as is the belt. This keeps
the belt from sliding around on the pulleys.
%
% As the crank turns, it turns the crankshaft pulley, sending the timing belt in
motion. The timing belt, which runs up to the camshaft pulleys, turns the camshafts
of the engine. In turn, the lobes on the camshaft push the valves into an open or
closed position. In a four-stroke engine, there are four phases:
% 1. Intake: Air and fuel get sucked by a vacuum through the intake manifold
and into the cylinders on the first down stroke of the piston. At this time, the intake
valves are open and the exhaust valves are closed.
% 2. Compression: The air and fuel mixture is compressed on the first
upstroke of the piston. At this time, all valves are closed.
% 3. Combustion: The compressed air and fuel mixture is ignited by a spark
from the spark plug on the second down stroke of the piston. At this time, all valves
are closed.
% 4. Exhaust: What comes in must go out---any excess air and fuel left in the
cylinder gets pushed out through the exhaust valves on the last upstroke of the
piston. At this time, the intake valves are closed and the exhaust valves are open.
If a timing belt stretches or breaks, it does not keep the valves in time with the rest
of the engine. The valves must open and close at the proper time, hence "valve
timing." If the valves are not open or closed at the appropriate time, the car will
either run badly or not at all. There is one major thing to keep in mind when dealing
with timing: most engines with double overhead cams and a good percentage of
engines with single overhead cams are interference motors. If the timing is off in an
interference engine, the valves will open or close at the wrong time, causing them
to hit the piston on the upstroke.