![]() ![]() Where Are The Belts Located?Īlthough both of these belts are connected to the crankshaft they are very different when it comes to their location. Eventually in 1982 General Motors finally got in on the action adopting the serpentine belts into their own engines. Vance showed them how a serpentine belt could help them out and save them money.įord would go on to build 10,000 Mustangs with this belt and by 1980 all of their cars would be using this system. In 1978 the Ford Motor Company was having issues with that year's Ford Mustang. Vance first offered his invention to General Motors and they declined which was likely a big mistake for them. This would remove the need for a complicated system of v-belts and place the running of multiple engine units under just one belt. Engineer Jim Vance realized there had to be a better way and in 74 he applied for a patent for his serpentine belt invention. This meant that the air conditioning, alternator, water pump and air pump all had their own belt. Until 1974 individual systems in the car engine were being run using individual v-belts. It is a system that is relatively new in automotive terms but it replaced a more complicated way of doing things. Serpentine belts are flat but they have grooves running the length of them that help them grip the pulleys that they are tightly wrapped around. True to its name, serpentine belts snake around the engine. This rotational motion is what powers the specific engine parts attached to these pulleys. This long belt is wrapped around multiple pulleys which when the belt is turning will turn as well. The alternator, water pump, air conditioning compressor, power steering and various other engine parts are all run using this same single belt. What Is a Serpentine Belt?Īlso known as the drive belt, the serpentine belt is a single continuous belt that runs a number of different components in the engine. The 1966 Pontiac OHC Six engine would then become the first mass produced American car to make use of a timing belt. A few years later in 1962 the Glas 1004 became the first mass-produced vehicle to use a timing belt. This car would go on to win the 1956 Sports Car Club of America National Championship. The 1954 Devin-Panhard racing car used a belt made by the Gilmer Company. It was around a decade later in 1954 that a toothed timing belt first made its way into an automotive setting. The first toothed belts were invented in the 1940s for use in the textile industry. ![]() These belts do wear out over time so it is advised that they are replaced at specific intervals to avoid a failure and potential knock on damage to other parts as a result. This is also a quieter system as it does not include metal on metal contact.Īs it is a rubber belt there is also no requirement for lubrication. ![]() The timing belt tends to be the least expensive option to perform this task and also tends to suffer from less friction loss than metal gears of chain belts. Its rotation then synchronizes the rotation of both of these shafts This function is also sometimes performed by timing chains and in the actual gears of older vehicles. In the case of timing belts this is usually a toothed rubber belt which meshes with both the crankshaft and camshaft. It is this synchronization that ensures the relevant engine valves open and close at the right times in conjunction with the pistons. In piston engines either a timing belt, chain or gears are used to help synchronize the rotation of the crankshaft and camshaft. In this post we will learn more about both of these belts and explore the differences between the two very important parts. Among these are the timing belt and serpentine belt which on occasion get confused for each other. There are so many components to a car engine and there are multiple different belts that do various jobs. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |