What are the practical differences between a timing chain and a timing belt?

One is a chain, one is a belt, of course, but what are the practical differences in terms of both short term and long term engine operation? I have always owned vehicles with timing belts, and have been told by many people that timing belts are better than chains, but I am going to be purchasing a vehicle with a timing chain and would like to know what I should expect. What are the differences? Do they have to be changed? If so, how often? Are they reliable?



Any help would be greatly appreciated.What are the practical differences between a timing chain and a timing belt?
Timing chains can last the life of the vehicle and no expense every x amount of miles to change them. They are meant to last forever, but if they do break it gets messy.What are the practical differences between a timing chain and a timing belt?
Chains usually last longer than belts, but are more expensive to replace when you have to. You usually have to replace guides, sprockets, and tensioners with the chain. A smart person would have the tensioner and idler pulleys replaced with a timing belt along with the water pump if it is driven off the belt. Timing chains are very reliable as they were used for years before the auto industry got cheap and started using belts. If the brand of car you're looking at is reliable, or you have friends with cars like the one you are looking at, ask them how they are getting along with theirs. Check your owner's manual for replacement frequency as they differ from manufacturer to manufacturer.What are the practical differences between a timing chain and a timing belt?
The life of the engine means the life of the engine. Nearly all cars that go to the junkyard still have a running engine. The rest of the car will fail before the engine will on a typical modern car. From a maintenance and reliability standpoint, chains are orders-of-magnitude better than belts. What are the practical differences between a timing chain and a timing belt?
timing chains don't have regular maintenance intervals like a belt. they do need to be replaced in some cases, but only when or if they cause a problem. example, a friend of mine had to replace a timing chain on his 2004 honda accord when it jumped a tooth. that was ultimately the fault of a malfunctioning tensioner. On the other hand, i had a dodge dakota with over 250,000 miles with the original timing chain. overall they require less service.What are the practical differences between a timing chain and a timing belt?
suggest that timing chains usually last much longer and do not stretch as easily.I would guess that a chain is more reliable then a Belt. Steel is much more tougher then rubber.What are the practical differences between a timing chain and a timing belt?
The chain will last the life of the engine and will eliminate many hundreds of dollars in replacement costs. If they do start to fail for some reason, they will get noisy, but not fail immediately, like a belt, which will break without warning and most likely lead to thousands of dollars in repairs. Chains are better.What are the practical differences between a timing chain and a timing belt?
given the fact that a belt is a dry environment type and a chain is a wet type typically, a chain will last longer but i dont know if i would go to the life of the vehicle, but given the fact that it is of a stronger material and lubricated, the chain type till last longer. a belt will last from 60,000 to 80,000 miles form what i have seen. What are the practical differences between a timing chain and a timing belt?
I can't give much help BUT I just changed the timing chain on my sunfire. It does have 165,000 miles though...What are the practical differences between a timing chain and a timing belt?
ill tell yuou what, im a mechanic and i won't buy a car that has a belt just because i hate putting on timing belts, and if you weren't to do it, its a lot of money to pay for labor to have it put on with the water pump. and a chain you don't have to do anything with, the only thing that chains do over a period of time are stretch, but thats a longggg time, the odds are you'll never have to replace the chain. with the timing belt, you have to worry about maint. and if it breaks, worry about bending valves. so by not having a belt you save money in the long run.What are the practical differences between a timing chain and a timing belt?
Chains are more precise; they don't stretch, so you can get better performance with precision valve timing

Chains are less prone to failure

Chains are noisier



Belts are quieter

Belts stretch and effect valve timing

Belts break with wear



/What are the practical differences between a timing chain and a timing belt?
From my experience, the major differences between chain vs. belt has more to do with longevity, advances in engine design, and cost. When most engines used 1 camshaft and pushrods a chain was very practical. As more engines used overhead cams and eliminated the pushrods, a long belt was quieter and less expensive than a long chain. Timing belts tend to last about 75,000 to 100,000 miles before they break. A broken timing belt will ruin a head or engine block on an interference engine. Timing chains last longer and give more warning before they break ( as they stretch, they get noisy, and the belt tensioner or guides will fail before the chain) You probably won't have any trouble with either type of engine with the proper maintenance.What are the practical differences between a timing chain and a timing belt?
Something that was left out; is that engines that use timing chains are generally constructed completely different than engines that use a timing belt. Engines that use a timing belt are built to be as light as possible. Pulleys and belts are generally lighter cheaper than gears and gear trains. A bad thing with this design is that most of these engines are what engineers refer to as interference engines. If the timing belt ever fails; the pistons will hit the valves and usually cause major damage. Every engine that has a timing chain is not an interference engine. I have seen and heard of many that loosen and %26quot; jump%26quot; timing and just won't start or run well. Some even drop valves and keep running. I had a Ford Mustang that stripped the timing gears and only after replacing both gears, it was running again.



My vote goes to real metal or kevlar timing chains and gears.



I know Jeeps and many trucks go 300k + miles on the original timing chains.