Aftermarket replacement for Timing Belts? (Ie Chain Kit)

A chain is not the answer. They are expensive, noisy, they stretch so you need to adjust it frequently (each roller is a wear point), they require lubrication and they are heavy so they rob your engine of power (and each roller is a friction point). And the sprockets will wear out also so now instead of just changing the belts you need to replace the chains and sprockets.

The belt is the way to go. It is lighter, quieter and more efficient. But they do wear out. The reason for the frequent replacement is preventative maintenance. The Ferrari engine is an "interference" engine meaning that if the belt breaks the piston can hit a valve that is open.

 

I hear about F cars being "interference" engines.........Aren't most engines like this. Can anyone tell me some of the other manufactureres that if your timing belt/chain breaks, "nothing bad" happens. I have a friend with a Toyota Tacoma and when his timing belt broke, it ruined his engine, same thing happend on a Honda I know of...........any ideas, are most engines like this?

 

Several of the older Toyota 4's are non-interference. That said, my '01 Rav-4 doesn't have a belt.

Art S.

 

A chain will outlast a belt by a ratio of at least 5-1.....both time and mileage wise in my uneducated opinion. It's the only way to go from a cost/benefit standpoint. In my 29 years of being around cars (I'm 45 now) I have never broken a timing chain and have only heard of ONE......yes ONE occurance "firsthand" wherein this has happened......seen lot of belts go however.

As to the question posed by the OP regarding Ferrari.......my take is that R+D costs + limited volume + product liability - operating/marketing expenses = financial deficit.

My choice would be a gear drive personally.

 

Just don't let the car sit for long periods of time without starting. I met a guy last night with a Boxer that has the ORIGINAL belts. He starts it weekly to keep the belt moving (remember its on a tensioner) No worries.

 

I had a Peugeot 1988 1.9 GTi,( performance chot hatch in 20 somthing years) and had belts break and it never harmed the engine.Just replaced belt and tore of again.

 

I think KDS is in the right direction with the chains being superior. Lambo was smart to do this IMO.

However, as Pete says, it's preventive. I recall reading that to meet DOT standards, cars have to have timing belts with a 100,000 mile minimum life. I could be wrong on that, but it seems that Ferrari has gotten plenty of service hours out of their stated maintenance plan.

 

New Maseratis have chains instead of belts. Ferraris may switch to chains too, if customers are happy with the Maseratis. Timing belt broke on my Toyota MR2 on the highway about ten years ago. Didn't damage the engine, and car still drives great 10 years later.

 

Wow, that's gonna be expensive one day, probably sooner than later!

As for a DOT requirement that timing belts have a 100K life... I've never heard of such a thing. I'm not sure I've ever heard of the Department of Transportation dictating ANY minimum service intervals. That doesn't really sound like a part of their mandate (nor that of even the EPA or NHTSA). Nothing turns up on a quick internet search, either.

 

On models where the engine needs to be pulled to change the belts a chain replacement might be a good idea. However, on a 308 ypu don't pull the engine and the replacement the belts is only part of the story. The additional service, valve adjustment, hose replacement, gaskets, etc that are associated with the major service will still be needed. You might save $1,000 on belts (probably less as long as the other work is being performed ) every 5 years but no more than that. Assuming parts and labor for a chain replacement run $3,000 (remember we are talking Ferrari parts prices) it would take at least 15 years to get back the cost of the chains. Why bother, plus if you do the work yourself, you can do it in a weekend (after the first time).

 

As mentioned, chains need lubrication; the additional engine cases and castings add space, weight and cost. Chains are heavier as are gear drives. Gear drives create noise as do chains. Belts are lighter and quieter. The problem with belt changes is that they are expensive if done by dealership technicians.

 

already did, the F430 uses a chain

 

Hondas use non-interference engines AND have cam belts that do not need replacement until 105k miles.

 

Likewise, Miatas are non-interference.

 

Well, except when you get caught up driving for a gay parade.
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This has been beaten quite a bit, but belts are really a cheap way out no matter how you cut it. Quieter, quicker to rev up, etc. are really just rationalizations and not necessarily true. If belts are great, then why do F1 cars use gear drives? And why do 7000hp top fuelers use chains?

And, it's hard to say which is less expensive to build. But; gear drive would be the most expensive. Chains leaves you with 5 hardened gears and a chain. Belts are 4 cheap seals, a cheap rubber belt, and 6 relatively crude pullies. I find it hard to believe Ferrari would cop out based on cost, but what other reason is there really? Chain and gear drives make an easier engine to package in a frame, and the weight gain is small in the grand scheme of a car. Maybe they just wanted to be different.

This all said, I'm fine with the belts on the 308. They're easy to replace (one of the few benefits of the transverse engine). But I'd trade them for a chain in a second...

 

lol.

 

Is it possible to use a pully that would use two smaller belts? That way if one broke the other would keep it from damaging the engine.

 

personally, I think LEATHER is the way to go!

OOPS..... wrong forum...

 

I have a 1999 Jaguar that broke a timing chain and cost me a lot of money. Bad tensioner design leads to failures on these cars. Ask anyone with a newer Jaguar V8 and you here of more than one in 29 years.

Sam

 

I read an article in AutoBild, No 27, 2005, that Continental will be launching a new series of belts, designed for "the lifetime of the car": the ContiTech.

 

I think the issue here is where the broken belt would end up. It most likely would get sucked into the good belt, breaking that one too.

 

Ferrari uses belts because it is required as part of their dealer benefit package known as the The Ferrari Dealers Retirement Pension Fund.