Q:How often should I have my belts and hoses looked at?
A:It is recommended that you have your belts and hoses checked with every oil change. All the rubber parts on your car wear out more quickly here in the desert. Things like wiper blades, motor mounts, belts, hoses and tires just don’t last as long due to the heat and the extreme dry conditions. That’s why here at BRAKEmax with every service we always perform a 22 point safety inspection.
BRAKEmax Car Car Centers On Your Serpentine Belt Video
Posted April 1, 2010 12:18 PM
Today we’re going to be talking about serpentine belts. Let’s start by talking about the accessories that are driven by the serpentine belt. First is the alternator. That’s the device that makes electricity to power the vehicle and recharge the battery. Then there’s the air conditioning compressor that makes cool air for you while you're driving around our 12 in the summer.
The power steering and power brake pumps are driven by the serpentine belt in most vehicles. Those pumps make the pressure that assists your steering and braking.
In many vehicles, the water pump is driven by the serpentine belt. The water pump is what circulates the coolant that protects your engine. In some cars around our 12, the water pump is driven by the timing belt.
The radiator cooling fans on some vehicles are also driven by the serpentine belt. Some have separate electric motors. That’s really a lot of work for one belt.
But modern engine design has a single belt that snakes around the front of the engine and drives most if not all of these accessories. Serpentine belts do a lot of work, but they’re tough and can last for thousands of miles.
Just how long will they last? That’ll vary for each individual car in the our 12 area. Your manufacturer will have a recommendation for when it should be changed, but it could need it sooner. The good news is that a visual inspection can reveal a belt that’s getting close to failing.
BRAKEmax Car Car Centers can look at the belt: if it has more than three or four cracks per inch it needs to be replaced. A deep crack that’s more than half the depth of the belt - replace. Frayed, missing pieces, a shiny glazed look? It’s out of there.
What’s involved in replacing the belt? First the old belt is removed. Then a new one is fitted around all the pulleys for the accessories and the drive. There’s a special pulley called a tensioner.
This pulley is mounted to the engine block with a spring loaded arm. Its job is to apply the correct amount of tension to the belt to keep it from getting loose and maybe slipping off. Because the spring in the tensioner pulley wears out, AutoNetTV recommends replacing them at the same time as the belt. It just makes sense.
What are the warning signs that there’s a problem with the serpentine belt? You may hear a squealing sound from under the hood when accelerating around our our 12 streets. A loose belt might give you a slow, slapping sound.
What do you do if your belt breaks? If you’ve actually had that happen on our local our 12 freeway, it can be a little scary. Often the first thing you notice is that you have no power steering or power brakes. Don’t panic – you can still steer and brake, but you’ll have to do the work. It’ll be harder to steer and you’ll need more time and effort to stop, so plan accordingly.
Your dashboard will light up will all kinds of warnings. You’ll see a warning about your cooling system if you have a water pump that’s driven by the serpentine belt. This is very critical because without your cooling system working, your engine will overheat. If you don’t stop you’ll have massive engine damage, maybe to the point that you need a new engine. Pull over as quickly as you safely can. Open your windows and turn the heater on full blast to provide a little engine cooling and pulled over as soon as possible.
The battery light will come on because the alternator isn’t working. If your car’s water pump isn’t driven by the serpentine belt, you’re not in danger of overheating so you can drive a little further if necessary. But the battery will run down to the point where the car won’t run and will just shut off. You don’t want that to happen while you’re driving in our local our 12 traffic.
Remember, this does not have to happen if you replace your serpentine belt on schedule. Ask your technician at BRAKEmax Car Car Centers to check your belts and hoses from time to time so you can take care of them if they need to be replaced prematurely.
Most belts and hose fail from the inside out. Rubber hose deteriorate with age and exposure to heat. The hose material can become hard and brittle. Tiny cracks develop in the rubber which eventually cause the hose to split, blister or leak. Oil on the outside of coolant hose can also accelerate the breakdown of the hose material. Today's bimetal cast iron/aluminum engines and aluminum radiators can create conditions that set up an electrical current in the coolant. The inside surface of the hose becomes a conductor, which causes the material to pit and weaken. Cracks and striations tend to form near the ends of the hose that eventually eat through from the inside out causing the hose to fail.
Belts
Belts likewise deteriorate with heat and mileage. Every time a belt passes around a pulley, it bends and flexes. This produces heat in the belt which hardens the rubber over time. The wear process can be greatly accelerated if the belt is loose and slips. The additional friction between belt and pulley will make a belt run even hotter. After millions of such journeys around the pulleys, even the best drive belt begins to suffer the effects of age. The rubber begins to crack and fray, and the internal cords become weakened and brittle. If your belt breaks you will loose whatever functions powered by the belt like your water pump, alternator, power steering, air conditioning, etc...
Hose Warning Signs
Your vehicle overheats
Your coolant light comes on
Your heater does not work
You smell antifreeze
Belt Warning Signs
Your battery or check engine light comes on
Your belts squeal when your turn on or drive your car
