One of the mechanical parts that every motorist fears to break is definitely the timing belt. In fact, this part of our engine is essential for its operation but above all in the event of problems with this component the price to pay for a possible repair can be very high. For this reason, many motorists always try to change the belt in advance, and car manufacturers recommend this replacement every given kilometer …
The engines of our cars, especially if we are talking about ultra-modern models, are real gems from a technical point of view. Actually this group of screws, belts, gears and tubes as a whole is responsible for the movement of our car. Indeed, if we think about the amount of energy that is generated within it, we must be amazed.
Precisely over the past 20 years and with the new provisions on emissions, the mechanisms under the hood have become progressively more efficient and also guarantee a very low emission of polluting particles. The array of components that are part of an engine ensures that it runs properly but some parts are definitely more important than others.
The timing belt is actually responsible for transmitting the motion generated by the crankshaft to the mechanical parts that instead regulate the opening and closing of the intake valves. There are generally two types but in general we can say that with the new engines the levels of use that you should definitely pay attention to have increased compared to the past …
How often do you change the timing belt?
As we said, this is one of the operations that motorists perform in advance. In fact, it’s not uncommon that when you find yourself at the mechanic for a belt change, you also opt for preventative replacement of the entire timing assembly so you don’t find yourself unprepared in the future.
In the past, the 100,000 km minimum for a belt change was considered fairly approximate, but with new engines this limit has been raised considerably.
In fact, if we consider two very similar FIAT models, the 500 and the Panda, we can see how it is advisable to change the 500 model with the 1.2 Fire 8V engine after 120,000 km while for the Panda with the 1.0 FireFly engine the same process At 150,000 km or 10 years of use.
From the mechanic, the cost of making this replacement could be around 200 to 600 euros max, which indicates that it is an essential maintenance operation.
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