ALT-6 What is a Timing Belt
Timing belts are essentially much like a giant, super strong rubber band. These belts are used within an internal combustion engine in order to cordinate the turning of crankshafts and camshafts. Many modern engines also use these belts in order to turn the centrifuge known as a water pump.
The essential job of the timing belt is to ensure that the pistons and valves are pushing down on the camshaft at the right time. This allows the camshafts to be pushed down as they reach full cycle, which is extremely important that it be controlled precisely. If the timing belt were to operate incorrectly or fail, then the valves and pistons would operate on their own in a wreckless manner, which could potentially a few different scenarios, with your car stopping immediately being the most probably. However, in some instances the vehicle will keep going and the valves and pistons will begin to control themselves. This ultimately leads to the valves and pistons being irreversibly bent and essentially destroyed, while potentially causing serious damage to your camshafts as well. This of course could become a rather expensive process.
In order to ensure that your belts are running properly, it is important to check them every time that you get an oil change. They are recommended to be replaced every 60,000 miles, however some newer vehicles have belts that are built to last the life of the vehicle. Regardless, I would make sure that you are constantly checking the blets and replacing them as soon as there are signs of wear. Sometimes it is better to be overly cautious than not cautious enough, especially when it comes to something that could cause such serious issues within your vehicle.
When replacing these belts, please make sure that they are installed by a professional. They have to match the old ones precisely and doing it yourself, you are setting yourself up for a potentially horrible mechanical problem if you were to select the wrong belts.
