Why Replace Your Timing Belt?

                        Why Replace Your Timing Belt?

Timing belts have replaced timing chains on many of today's engines. Not to be confused with “V-belts” or “Serpentine belts”, which are located on the outside of the motor to drive accessories, timing belts perform a much more vital role.

The purpose of a timing belt is to provide a connection between the camshaft and crankshaft to ensure that the pistons and valves operate together in proper sequence. Timing belts have proven to be lighter, quieter and more efficient than chains, but those benefits come at a cost - they require more frequent replacement than chains.

Timing belts are used in two types of engines designated as "free-running" and "interference". If the timing belt breaks on a “free-running” design, the engine will stop and you will need a tow to the repair shop. There is enough clearance between the pistons and valves so no mechanical damage usually occurs. The installation of a new belt is usually all that is needed to get you back on the road.

If the timing belt breaks on an “interference engine”, mechanical engine damage will occur. Most commonly, the damage involves the pistons hitting open valves, resulting in the need for expensive repairs. In extreme cases, replacing the engine may be required.
Breakage is not the only reason to replace your timing belt. Looseness and wear can allow the timing belt to slip, resulting in very poor performance, a no-start condition, or engine damage.

Proper maintenance requires timing belt replacement at regular intervals – before it breaks or wears out. The manufacturers provide a replacement schedule and repair information for this critical component.

How do you know if your vehicle has a timing belt or when it should be replaced? Check your ALLDATAdiy.com subscription, or contact us. @ http://www.dannysengineportal.com/ We have that information and the expertise to keep your vehicle running strong and trouble-free.

Engine Portal News

It's almost time for that Motorcycle Spring Tune Up

I know is't still early but............
As the weather begins to warm, ever so slightly, motorcyclists everywhere are itching to get out there and ride.In light of the ensuing season, I wanted to bring you some tune-up tips that can get you started and your motorcycle ready for riding, before you ride.
Spring Tune-up - of course, I always recommend you refer to your owner’s manual for specifications, tips and regular maintenance schedules, but this should get you started. If you did a year end wrap on your bike before you stored it, some of these things can be skipped, but always note, if you do not test it before you leave the driveway, inevitably something fails, especially on the first ride.

1) Tires and Wheels:
Check the air pressure of your tires. Seems obvious, but you’d be surprised how much air loss can happen while parked. Inflate to the pressure specified in your owner’s manual. Look for wear-and-tear on the treads; cracks, bulges or embedded objects indicate stress on the tire and may need to have the tire replaced/repaired. Look at your wheels (rims) for roundness, cracks and dents. Look for bent, broken or missing spokes. Replace if necessary.

2) Controls:
Review the levers to make sure they are still lubricated, adjusted and fitted properly. They should not be broken, bent, or cracked.
Inspect cables to make sure they are not frayed, kinked, or folded into sharp angles. Also, test to make sure your bike’s cables, at no time, interfere with your ability to steer.
Check hoses for cuts, cracks, leaks, bulges, chafing or deterioration. Like cables, hoses should not interfere with your steering or suspension, and should not be folded into sharp angles. Test that the throttle moves freely, does not stick and snaps closed when released.

3) Lights:
If you removed your battery over the winter, install it—your owner’s manual should tell you how. Check the battery to make sure the terminals are clean and tight. Make sure it’s properly charged and secured. Check the vent tube to confirm it is not kinked or plugged, and is routed properly.
Look over the lenses on the bike to make sure they are not cracked or broken, are securely mounted and do not have excessive condensation trapped within. Condensation is the sign of a broken seal which may need replacing. Water and electricity just don’t mix and condensation makes for lousy reflections.
Check to ensure the reflectors are not cracked, broken and are securely mounted.
Review the bike’s headlamp for cracks. Confirm it points at the right height and direction. Test the operation of the high beam and low beam options.
Test the tail lamp and brake lights to make sure they work when they should, and they are not cracked. Test both of the turn signals – left and right!

4) Oil and other fluids:
Check the levels and quality of the engine oil, hypoid gear oil, shaft drive, hydraulic fluid, coolant and fuel. Replace or top-up fluids that need it. Check for leaks of these same fluids.

5) Chassis:
 Review the condition of the frame, looking for lifting paint, cracks, or dents. Make sure the front forks and rear shocks are properly adjusted. Check the tension of the belt or chain. Lubricate the chain if needed, while inspecting the teeth of the sprockets confirming they are not hooked and are properly mounted. Replace broken or missing fasteners and tighten if loosened.

6) Stands:
For both centre stands and side stands, make sure they are not cracked or bent and that it springs into place. Also it has the required tension to hold the bike in position. Your backrest, if you have one, should be properly secured and ready for your passenger.

The other parts of this tune-up are for the rider. Ensure that you have your ownership and insurance in your wallet. Now that it’s riding season, you may as well just keep it there. Ensure you sticker is up-to-date and renew it if your birthday has come and gone. Get out the rain suit… yeah, yeah, your no wimp but if you have it with you, you can at least put it on and still ride. Besides, wet leather against the skin, leaves much to be desired.

I really should not have to talk about riding gear, as safety is the key here, but I feel it necessary anyway: Helmut, leather gloves, leather jacket/pants or jeans, riding boots and protective eyewear are things you should never ride without. If your carrying a passenger, please, please ensure they too are dressed properly.

Start safe…. ride safe….. stay safe….

Engine Portal News

Diesel Engine Issues !!

I am often asked to diagnose vehicle problems over the phone, if only it was that easy. Many Dealers, specialists and garages equipped with expensive and sophisticated diagnostic equipment still seem to struggle. Computer generated fault codes only go a certain distance to point in the direction of the problem. After that, it is a process of elimination, unfortunately at your expense.
The innovation of the computer generated fault diagnosis has led to a generation of mechanics that have often lost sight of the basic operating principles of the diesel engine. Unfortunately the fault codes don’t always pin point the problem but rather bring up an array of codes that could be either this or that. Being told: ’we have tried this and it has not helped’ or the best one, ‘sorry there are no fault codes so we can’t find anything’, is extremely frustrating and can be costly.
I am not knocking the modern mechanic, nowadays diesel engines are extremely sophisticated and difficult to diagnose. I personally do not have any diagnostic equipment and all my knowledge comes from other people’s experiences and years of working in the diesel trade. I hope that the information below helps and does not just confuse you but at least it is something to start with and has not cost you anything.
Below is a Troubleshooting chart that might help or just confuse you more.

Diesel: Troubleshooting

Low compression

Low engine compression will result in insufficient heat being generated to ignite the fuel and cause hard starting. This is more of a problem with older or high mileage vehicles. To find out the compression perform a cold engine compression test. Compression should be between 20 to 35 bars or 300 to 500 PSI. Anything below this will cause starting problems.

Low fuel pressure

It is in this area that most fuel supply problems occur. The problem could either be poor fuel supply to the rail/injectors or the rail/injectors are not holding the fuel within the system. The best way to diagnose this is to look at the fuel supply in 3 areas.

1. Low pressure supply from the tank to the high pressure pump (HPP) - some vehicles rely on the HPP to suck the fuel from the tank whilst others have an electric pump in the tank or fuel line to supply fuel to the to the HPP. The supply from the tank to the HPP should be about 2 to 5 bars.
2. Fuel is delivered from the HPP to the rail/injectors at about 200 bars during cranking, 300 bars at idle and anything from 1200 to 1800 bars running.
3. Once the fuel is delivered into the rail/injectors at the relevant pressure it must be maintained within the injectors or rail.

Low cranking speed

If the engine turns over too slowly, the pump cannot generate enough fuel pressure to activate start of injection causing hard starting problems. This is usually seen more in the colder months especially if the battery is run down.

Glow plugs or relay faulty

The engine relies on the glow plugs to generate heat to help with the combustion cycle. Some engines only use the glow plugs when cold but others will allow the glow plugs to work when the ECU (vehicle’s computer) needs them to be on to help with combustion. Problems in this area will cause diesel engine starting problems, uneven running and white smoke when the engine is cold.

Insufficient fuel supply

This speaks for itself, not enough fuel in the tank or a problem with supply pipes being cracked or bent. The fuel tank breather can sometimes be blocked causing a vacuum in the tank which in turn draws the fuel back to the tank.

Fuel quality – contamination

I have been involved with diesel fuel injection all my working life and still find the topic of fuel and solutions controversial. Working with diesel injectors we see the result of poor fuel quality - damage and condition of the internal components. I know that if a good quality diesel and an solution is used regularly it will prolong the life of diesel injection equipment.
Poor fuel quality and general wear and tear are not the only cause of injector failure, the newer type of injectors sometimes fail due to design problems.
I would estimate that about 85% of injectors fail due to fuel related issues and the balance due to design problems.

Air - Vacuum in fuel supply and Blocked fuel supply

This is similar to "insufficient fuel supply" but dirty fuel filters or a faulty filter head assembly may also cause fuel supply issues and hard starting.

Faulty injector/s

Probably the biggest result of injector failure is due to the injectors having excessive return flow or back leakage. This is due to worn parts which allow excessive fuel to go through the diesel injector and to return back to the tank or fuel system. This causes a drop in rail pressure (see "low fuel pressure") which results in hard starting or not starting at all.
Another problem resulting from worn parts is a delay in the start of injection which in turn results in rough running at low RPM or your diesel not starting.

Faulty high pressure pump

If the pump is faulty there will be a "low fuel pressure" problem. This problem arises if the pump "breaks up" internally causing swarf and iron filings to get into the fuel system. Normally this causes damage to the diesel injectors and unless the complete fuel system is attended to the problem will arise again. This is an expensive failure and no short cuts can be taken.

Faulty pressure regulator – sensor

Most vehicles have a pressure regulator fitted on the high pressure pump and a sensor fitted on the rail. If either of these are faulty there will be running issues like hard starting, uneven tick over and the vehicle cutting out when the RPM is increased.

Faulty low pressure pump

Not all vehicles have a low pressure supply pump but if they do it can be found either in the tank or on the fuel pipe near the tank. If your low pressure pump is faulty, you may experience symptoms similar to those of a "faulty high pressure pump".

Air intake restriction

This would be due to a dirty air cleaner, blocked pipes or a stuck butterfly valve found on some vehicles. In addition, a faulty air flow sensor on the air intake will cause problems running and excessive smoke.

Turbo problems

We are seeing more turbos failing with newer vehicles, I put it down to a combination of things, high revving engines demanding more power, incorrect driver actions(not allowing the engine to idle a while when started and before switching off), poor maintenance and not replacing old oil with a good quality oil. A turbo spins at about 42000 revolutions per minute, the average washing machine at 1000 rpm.
As vehicles get older the turbo waste gate sticks causing the vehicle to either shut down, go into limp home mode or smoke excessively.
If a vehicle has a variable vane turbo, problems can arise if the vans carbon up, the symptoms are lack of power, black smoke and hesitation on acceleration. Also make sure that all the vacuum pipes and sensors that operate the turbo are operating correctly.
Another problem is if the air pipes to and from the inlet, inter cooler and turbo leak due to damage or loose clamps , the vehicle can experience similar problems.

EGR problems

I do not know why EGR (exhaust gas recycling) valves were ever put onto diesel engines, they cause more trouble than they are worth. The idea is that whilst the engine is at tick over, a valve opens and allows some of the exhaust gases to pass back into the nice clean air intake manifold.
After a while the gases containing dirty, sooty carbons start to cover and coat the intake area and valves causing the air to fuel ratio to become unbalanced thus resulting in more black smoke being emitted from the exhaust. This black smoke is then drawn back into the air intake via the EGR valve. A vicious cycle then starts with the engine producing more smoke and sootier carbons being drawn into the intake, a major problem. I would always recommend the EGR valve to be blanked off but some vehicles will not allow this.

Injector blow–by, seat leaking

Injector "blow-by" can be the cause of some of the following symptoms. Hard or difficult starting / erratic or uneven tick over or idle / lumpy running / smoke on tick over or acceleration / black tar around the injectors and a chuffing sound from the engine when running. Injector "blow-by" occurs when the injector does not seal against the injector seat in the cylinder head. Often a chuffing sound is heard or black "tar" can be seen around the injectors.
On some engine applications if this continues serious engine damage could result due to the fact that the ECU will over compensate the fuelling on the cylinder or cylinders with the seating problem causing piston washing or cylinder over fuelling. Even if the injector is removed, cleaned, a new copper washer fitted and then replaced it will not always rectify the problem. The reason for this is that the seat in the cylinder head has been eroded by the escaping combustion gases resulting in damage to the seat. The only way to reface the seat is to use a seat cutting tool and gently reface the seat in the head.

Cam – crank sensor

Check that the sensors are not loose, cracked or damaged as they are not very expensive. If you have any doubts I would recommend replacing them.

Injector wiring harness

More of a problem with vehicles that have the injectors under the rocker cover and allow oil to come in contact with the electrical connections. Even though some diagnostic machines will condemn the injector/s, many times the fault lies with the wiring harness.
Check that the electrical connections on the injectors are good and are making contact.

Internal engine problems

This is generally mechanical failure such as problems with bearings, pistons, oil pressure, overheating, valves and more. The list is endless, it is best to get an engine specialist to diagnose the fault.

The Answer is in the Smoke

We can generally understand what is wrong with a diesel engine by the colour of smoke emitted from the exhaust. There are three basic colours - black, white and blue.

Black Smoke

This is due to a air to fuel ratio imbalance, either the fuel system is delivering too much fuel into the engine or there is not enough clean air (oxygen ) a few things to look for :

• Faulty injectors (injectors need attention at about 100.000 to 120 000 miles)
• Faulty injector pump
• Dirty air cleaner
• Turbocharger or intercooler faulty
• Problems within cylinder head, valves clogged up due to faulty EGR (exhaust gas recycling unit)

White Smoke

Normally means that the fuel injected into the cylinder is not burning correctly. The smoke will burn your eyes.

• Engine/pump timing out
• Fuel starvation to the pump causing the pumps timing not to operate correctly
• Low engine compression
• Water/petrol in the fuel

Blue Smoke

The engine is burning engine oil

• Worn cylinders or piston rings
• Faulty valves or valve stem seals
• Engine over full with engine oil
• Faulty injector pump/lift pump allowing engine oil to be mixed with the diesel

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