Drive Belt vs. Timing Belt: What’s the Real Difference?
A drive belt also called a serpentine belt or accessory belt and a timing belt are both rubber belts in a car’s engine but they’re not the same part and they don’t do the same job The drive belt sits on the outside of the engine and uses friction to power accessories…
Is a Drive Belt the Same as a Timing Belt?
No A drive belt and a timing belt are different parts that do different jobs in the same engine The drive belt also called a serpentine belt sits outside the engine and uses friction to power accessories like the alternator A C compressor and power steering pump The timing belt is hidden…
What is the Difference Between Drive Belt and Cam Belt?
Cam belt and timing belt are two names for the same part there’s no third kind of belt hiding behind that terminology So the real question is the same one covered in drive belt vs timing belt a drive belt serpentine belt sits outside the engine and powers accessories through friction while…
How to Measure a Drive Belt
To measure a drive belt you need three things its length outside circumference or effective length its cross section top width and thickness and for toothed belts tooth pitch and tooth count Which method you use depends on whether the old belt is still in one piece broken or missing entirely Get…
How to Size a Drive Belt
Sizing a drive belt means finding the correct replacement when you don’t already have a known good belt’s exact dimensions in hand as opposed to simply measuring a belt you’re holding see How to Measure a Drive Belt if that’s your situation There are four starting points and which one applies determines…
What Is a Universal Joint? Function, Parts, and How It Works
A universal joint U joint also called a Cardan joint or Hardy Spicer joint is a mechanical coupling that connects two rotating shafts whose axes meet at an angle letting torque keep transferring even when the shafts aren’t in a straight line On a vehicle the most common place to find one…
What Is a Bushing in Plumbing? (Not the Suspension or Mechanical Kind)
If you’re looking for the anti friction sleeve used in suspension components or rotating machinery this isn’t that part In plumbing a bushing is a completely different object a short hollow fitting used to connect two pipes or fittings of different diameters For the mechanical sleeve bushing covered elsewhere on this site…
What Do Bushings Look Like? A Visual Guide
Most bushings fall into two recognizable shapes a thick rubber or polyurethane ring with a metal sleeve through the center automotive suspension bushings or a simple hollow metal or plastic cylinder industrial mechanical bushings What they have in common is the basic form a cylinder designed to fit into a hole or…
How Do Bushings Work?
Bushings work in one of two fundamentally different ways depending on the type a mechanical bushing lets a shaft slide or rotate directly against its inner surface reducing friction between two hard parts an automotive suspension bushing doesn’t slide at all it works by letting a rubber or polyurethane layer twist under…
Sleeve Bearing vs. Bushing: Is There a Real Difference?
Most of the time no a sleeve bearing and a bushing are the same part Both describe a cylindrical sleeve that supports a shaft through sliding contact with no rolling elements involved Where a real distinction exists it’s about scope bushing is the broader term covering some parts that aren’t bearings at…
What Are the Symptoms of Bad Bushings? Sound, Feel, and What Happens When They Fail
Bad bushings tend to announce themselves in three ways a specific kind of noise a change in how the car feels to drive and if you ignore both long enough a chain of consequences for the parts around them The exact bushing control arm sway bar strut mount subframe varies by vehicle…
How Do You Know If Your Bushings Are Bad? Which Ones to Check, and How to Test Them
Knowing your bushings sound or feel off is one thing see What Are the Symptoms of Bad Bushings for that This article is about the other half how to actually go check with the vehicle in front of you That means knowing which bushings to look at first and running three specific…