The timing belt and timing chain are both parts of your car’s engine. It has either the timing belt or the timing chain, and both require different levels of maintenance. In this article, we are going to look at the differences between a timing belt and a timing chain.
Although they are quite different to differentiate because they both perform similar tasks in your car’s engine. Pay close attention, because in this article; we would be looking at the key differences between both and how to stay on top of their maintenance.
Before we delve into their differences, let’s look at what they are used for:
What are Timing Belt and Timing Chain?
A timing belt and timing chain are used to keep the fuel injectors, airflow and pistons synchronized. When the piston shifts downward, both the air and fuel should be going in. Then the piston goes up which causes the spark plug to ignite the fuel, the piston is then shut back down.
After that, the piston rises back up to push all the remaining gas out of the engine through the exhaust pipe.
All these operations happen within a very short period of time (seconds), and they have to all flow in harmony. They are connected to different components inside your car’s engine, and if the timing of each operation is off; it could cause serious engine failure.
When this happens, you would quickly notice your engine moving slowly or wouldn’t start at all. That being said preventive maintenance is the best option for you.
What’s the Difference?
There are two major differences between them:
- Timing belts are made of rubber while a timing chain is made of metal.
- Unlike your timing belt, the timing chain can last the lifetime of your car.
In other words, you don’t need to change it every few thousand miles. This means a good maintenance routine is needed in order for you to use it for the lifetime of your car’s existence.
One of which is changing your car’s engine at the required time intervals. The timing chain is lubricated by the engine oil and if it isn’t changed properly, then the timing chain would need to be replaced.
And also for cars that have high mileage somewhere around 250k to 350k miles, you may want to consider changing your timing chain.
A lot of work goes to maintaining a car, and it would require a considerable amount of time, effort, and funds to do so.
