cam belt change

as the Cali gurus told me... 5yrs is fine as long as you dont track the car. mileage wise about 25k .


Since its been 5 yrs I would change them. then go another 5 years

 

From what I have read here in the past, it seems several guys use the 5-year interval.

 

It's time for a change. I changed mine at the 4 year mark but will be going to a 5 year schedule from now on.

 

Jeff, I just had my 348 belt changed last week. Although it could have probably gone a lot farther, it was starting to show some signs of wear at 15,000 miles. Be sure to change the tensioner and idler bearings while the engine is out. My tensioner was on its last leg (the belt was very loose/floppy on the right side of the engine - above the tensioner). I went with Hill Engineering bearings (from Ricambi) and saved several hundred $$ vs OEM.
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Not just the cost savings, but from what I understand the Hill Eng bearings are far superior to the OEM

 

+1

 

Does anyone know exactly how they are superior to OEM?

 

Hill Engineering use a better bearing than OEM Ferrari.

 

Yes quite. What i would like are specifics on the said bearing. I am assuming that Ferrari still use SKF bearings, as they did/do from F1 cars to there road cars. Again i am assuming that SKF are/were a reputable bearing company of quality who have had a long relationship with Ferrari. http://www.skf.com/files/349730.pdf http://www.skf.com/portal/skf/home/products?newlink=first&lang=en
So what type of bearing does Hills use? What make?
For the record i have been using Pauls bearings my self for 5 years. But i have never really gone into why his bearings are better than the SKFs.

 

In the most general terms: higher temperature grease specs, different bearing itself, hard outer shells, load rating of 17k newtons vs. 11k newtons. 128 gram carrier weight for Hill vs. 220 gram carrier weight for OEM.
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Sounds like a killer bearing!!

 

Jeff, my opinion is that doing an engine-out service to change belts makes it a lot easier to check and do other things that should also be done... such as checking the tensioner bearings, cam seals, valve adjustment, etc. etc. It just provides an opportunity to check and verify lots of other things.

Besides that, I suppose you could say a properly-installed new belt is less likely to fail than a 5yr old belt. The belt is all about how much risk you're willing to accept by not changing them. I prefer the 4-5 yr. program myself.

 

MMMM, lose belt .... very scary, can't wait to do mine.

 

Don't you love it when Daniel talks sexy??

 

Now thats the kind of answer i was hoping to get, thankyou for the answer

 

Ok I get the sense that the Hill bearing is superior to the Ferrari bearing.
As an aerospace engineer and not a mechanical engineer, can someone please explain why the Hill unit with a lighter carrier weight is better that the Ferrari unit with a heavier carrier weight. I'm interpreting the carrier to be the inner and outer races of the bearing - maybe I'm all wet here?

So, from a durability standpoint I would think that the heavier unit would be more robust and durable. what am I missing here?

I did see where the Hill unit can handle a higher load - so this is good and a "no brainer".

thanks for the education. I'll be ordering the Hill bearings and saving $800/pair over the Ferrari bearings. By just using OP (other people's) plugs, plug wires and belt tensioners I'll save $2,500 over the Ferrari Dealer price's while doing my major service!!

 

Reducing rotational mass - A heavier carrier would only add to the moment of inertia which is something we would always try to reduce without affecting the integrity of the design.

Many thanks

Paul

 

isnt moment of inertia a property related to bending? how does it related to spinning of a bearing or loading due to eccentricity (in the case of said bearing)? i can see how reducing mass is good in this application, but not related to moment of inertia, but then again i slept through engineering school.

 

Pfffft, what would you know!!

 

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/moment-inertia-torque-d_913.html

Moment of Inertia (Mass Moment of Inertia) - I - is a measure of an object's resistance to changes in rotation direction. Moment of Inertia has the same relationship to angular acceleration as mass has to linear acceleration.

 

i was thinking of the area moment of inertia, which relates to bending moment