Dayco: auxiliary belts offer air con advantages
Dayco, a leading engine products and drive systems supplier for the automotive, industrial and aftermarket industries, is also one of the world’s largest original equipment (OE) manufacturers of commercial vehicle (CV) auxiliary drive belts, as well as their associated tensioners.
With progress alongside vehicle design and development, long gone are the days when the typical lorry, bus or coach relied on a single belt to drive the auxiliary drive system, says the company – as the advent of additional equipment has led to a huge increase in demand for power, which has to be drawn from the engine.
As a result, multiple belts are now commonplace and, in some applications, such as intercontinental coaches, there can be as many as eight individual belts working in unison to ensure the correct operation of the alternator(s), water pump, power steering pump, hydraulic pump and air compressors for the braking system.
These are in addition to the growing requirements of the air conditioning system.
Today, air conditioning is not considered a luxury but more as a safety system, Dayco points out – particularly for long distance lorry drivers, those using agricultural machinery in the heat of the day and for coaches that must be able to keep a large number of passengers comfortable and the driver alert.
In many of these applications, not only do they need to employ large capacity air conditioning compressors, they are often installed in exceptionally confined spaces where extreme heat and reduced air flow contribute to produce an even more challenging operational environment.
As the auxiliary belt is central to the overall reliability of the vehicle, the firm adds, the performance of the belt is vital for the effective operation of the drive system and in most applications these days, these are multi-groove ‘V’ belts, which are generically referred to as auxiliary belts.
There are considerable advantages with the auxiliary belt over the traditional single ‘V’ alternative, says Dayco – but perhaps the most obvious is the fact that they generally have a greater surface contact area driving the pulleys and, being thinner in section, can be used on smaller diameter pulleys, making them particularly suitable for installation in the confined spaces mentioned earlier.
In addition to the operational challenges of intricate routing, excessive heat and a lack of space, there are practical installation issues that CV workshops and fleet operators must consider when replacing auxiliary belts and their related components, Dayco advises: these installations can be complex and time consuming, so therefore must be undertaken carefully, using only the highest quality components, even more so when these vehicles are intended for commercial uses, as any downtime is a major cost to the operator.
The company offers a growing range of products in its FEAD (front end auxiliary drive) range, which it says enable technicians to successfully complete a full auxiliary drive system overhaul.
“Volvo is one of the UK’s five major CV manufacturers, but as the company shares engines with Renault, another significant player in its own right, these combined vehicles are regular workshop visitors across the country and brands for which Dayco provides technicians with multiple replacement solutions,” explained national sales manager, Steve Carolan.
“When it comes to FEAD systems and their maintenance, it is primarily the ribbed poly-V belts, tensioners and idlers that form the bulk of the replacement parts that are necessary to service these engines. However, although some are relatively straightforward and utilise a single belt and a tensioner, some are far more complex and have two belts and as many as three tensioners.
“In terms of part numbers in relation to these applications, the Dayco range consists of 178 poly-V belts (77 for Volvo, 71 for Renault and 30 common to both), 29 tensioners (11 for Volvo, 10 for Renault and eight shared) and 23 idlers (11 for Volvo, five for Renault and seven shared).
“As these examples imply, sourcing the components individually can sometimes be complicated, so it’s often far easier for workshops to simply order the appropriate Dayco auxiliary belt kit, which already contains all the necessary items and is another example of how we can make a practical, real world, difference to CV workshops and their fleet customers.
“There are now 65 in the range, 40 for Volvo, 19 for Renault and six common to both brands.
“It’s also worth drawing attention to the other products that should be checked during FEAD maintenance and that also feature in the Dayco CV offering, these include 92 V-belts (59 standard and 33 cogged), 14 multiple V-belt kits and 32 water pumps, 11 for Volvo, 15 for Renault and six shared.”
The Dayco range consists of more than 100 idlers and 140 tensioners, which cater for hundreds of individual applications.
The company says its auxiliary belt range incorporates the latest materials and world class manufacturing processes to ensure outstanding performance, lower noise transmission and maximum service life.
