Serpentine belts are oftentimes used to activate and power the following the parts:Ī timing belt, on the other hand, is a shorter piece of looped material that's used specifically to synchronize the camshaft with the crankshaft. This spinning action will then activate the parts and systems to which they are connected. While your vehicle's engine, the serpentine belts will spin. They serve completely different purposes that What Is a Serpentine Belt?Ī serpentine belt is a long and looped piece of material - they are typically made of a rubber or a similar polymer-based material - that's used to activate motor-driven parts or systems in a vehicle. While they both consist of looped pieces of material, serpentine belts and timing belts aren't the same. Most vehicles have a timing belt as well as one or more serpentine belts. It may also not be possible to restore use of the vehicle without first repairing the bad power steering pump or A/C compressor, which precludes a simple roadside repair.When looking inside your vehicle's engine bay, you may discover several belts. Thus, it is possible to be stranded because of, say, a seized power steering pump or A/C compressor clutch. Sometimes, this can be overcome with a shorter belt to bypass the failed components (if the belt is available). The belt typically gives ample visual warning of impending failure, sometimes even totally shedding several grooves (ribs) while continuing to function acceptably.įurthermore, the loss of function of a single component (such as a power steering pump or air conditioning compressor) causes the failure of the entire accessory drive. The vehicle becomes quickly unusable due to loss of engine cooling. The water pump, power steering pump, and alternator (for battery charging) would cease functioning. The drawback of this single belt is that if the belt breaks or is knocked loose, the vehicle instantly loses multiple critical functions. Also since only one movable belt tensioner is required all of the peripheral components (alternator, A/C compressor, etc.) can simply be mounted to the engine without the need to swivel. The tendency for V-belts to "flip over" in the pulley groove (at high RPM and/or when the belt stretches) is eliminated, and a serpentine belt is also much easier to maintain and replace, since there is no need to remove multiple belts in order to replace one of them, although newer adjustable-length V-belts ("link belts") can be put on without having to remove other belts, and their link design also allows a self-tensioning characteristic to reduce the risk of flipping over. Reduced slip can allow the use of lower-ratio pulleys this reduces the load on the engine, increasing fuel economy and available power. Higher tension reduces slip, which increases belt life and mechanical efficiency. By using a single, wider belt instead of multiple, thinner belts, the belt may be put under increased tension without stretching. It is more efficient than the older multiple belt system and may consume less space in the engine compartment. Some vehicles use two serpentine belts for their system, such as the manual transaxle equipped Ford Taurus SHO, 1995–1999 DOHC Nissan Maxima, vehicles using the supercharged GM 3800 engine, and many BMWs. This is typically limited to components requiring less torque or where a large angle of wrap is present. On some engine designs, the "back" (smooth side) of the belt may drive some accessories. To accommodate this bidirectional flexing while remaining strong enough to transfer the total force required by multiple loads, a serpentine belt is almost always of multi-groove (multi-vee, poly-v, or multi-rib) construction. To allow the belt to pass over more than three pulleys with a large enough wrap angle to avoid slipping, idler pulleys which press against the back of the belt are included, forcing the belt into a serpentine shape. The belt may also be guided by an idler pulley and/or a belt tensioner (which may be spring-loaded, hydraulic, or manual). Automotive engine belt Serpentine belt (foreground) and dual vee belt (background) on a bus engine Belt tensioner providing pressure against the back of a serpentine belt in an automobile engineĪ serpentine belt (or drive belt ) is a single, continuous belt used to drive multiple peripheral devices in an automotive engine, such as an alternator, power steering pump, water pump, air conditioning compressor, air pump, etc.
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