Recently, my friend called me from a roadside Dairy Queen in
frenzy. His dad had been driving his Ford car down the highway and heard and
awful noise. First, there was a squeal and then what sounded like a whip
smacking the underneath of his hood. They weren’t sure what was happening, but
after investigating, found that a black rubber belt was half-eaten off its
pulleys.
“Is the belt still on there?" I asked.
“Well, half of it is," he continued as if the world were
ending. “My dad ripped the part that was hanging off and now only half
remains!"
“Have you driven it? How many miles are on that thing?" I
questioned.
“Yeah. We drove it into the parking lot here. I think it’s
got ninety thousand." He said flabbergasted.
After a couple more minutes of my friend’s ranting about his
dad’s mechanical shortcomings, I took a risk and told them to slowly drive it
over to my house (which was only five minutes away).
This problem seems all too common with owners of modern
cars. The serpentine belt, both black and cracked, which had half-shredded
itself under my friend’s hood should have been replaced long before. The
problem could have been prevented.
Before this problem happens to you, you should be sure to
check the belts when you do a regular check-up on your car. If you’re a
do-it-yourself kind of person, then when you change the oil, be sure that you
check the serpentine belt with each and every oil change (or if you use
synthetic oil that doesn’t need changed as often, check your belt every 3,000
to 5,000 miles).
The serpentine belt is so called because it looks like a
snake as it curves around various drive pulleys. As stated, many modern
automobiles have this sort of belt because it’s a lot easier (and less expensive)
to install than older “V" belts plus they last about 50% longer.
A serpentine belt maintains its tension via a spring-loaded
pulley. The belt connects to and helps function your alternator, power
steering, air conditioning and water pump. You should never break down on the
side of the road due to this belt breaking from wear and tear. The problem is
easily preventable. Simply check the belt for cracking, fraying or if it looks
aged. However, even if the belt looks excellent, it may be time to change it.
The time interval will depend upon the recommendation from the manufacturer
(see your car's manual), but it’s safe to say that it should be replaced every
60,000 miles, or every two to three years.
If the problem persists and you find yourself having to
change the serpentine belt every few months, then it’s another issue. Most
likely, there is a problem with the alignment of one of the pulleys. Many
times, there could be a problem with what’s called the harmonic balancer. While
this sounds nice, this part is located on the front of the crankshaft. It’s
made up of an inner steel section, a rubber sleeve, and a pulley with grooves
that the belt fits over. If there’s a problem with this, you’ll most definitely
have to check to see if it’s in alignment with a straightedge. If you notice
it’s not aligned with the other pulleys, then take the car to a professional.
They may have to move the entire engine over to work on it.
If you take your car to a mechanic for an oil change, ask
about the serpentine belt at that time. Be sure that s/he has inspected all the
belts thoroughly. If they recommend changing the belt, be sure that they use a
high-quality one. It’s recommended to use the best made, and most likely, the
most expensive (usually around 18 to 45 bucks). And, be sure to buy your belt
from a respectable auto-parts store as different stores carry different brands
and types. Ask your mechanic if they properly dispose of the belt. If it’s some
person’s home business, you may want to take the belt to a professional
mechanics shop and ask them if they can dispose of it properly. It’s a good
idea to keep Mother Nature in tune too! Finally, ask your mechanic if s/he did
a test of the belt while the car was in operation.
However, if you’re doing research on a serpentine belt,
you’ve already won half the battle. Why not try and change it yourself? If you
got some tools and a place to work, then you might feel quite “handy" once you
see that it’s not that hard of a job!
First, you’ll want to buy a new high-quality belt. And, be
sure to buy a pulley ratchet made for your car. This will allow you to loosen
the tension pulley later. So, hopefully your belt hasn’t come off on its own
yet. If not, go ahead and draw a little schematic of how the belt goes around
each and every pulley. I like to draw it with as much detail as possible. If
the belt has already shredded off, then I recommend searching the Internet for
a schematic of how the new belt should be placed. It can seem baffling at
first. Be sure you find a drawing for the exact date, year and model of your
car.
With my friend’s car, we drew a schematic, but still became
a bit confused once we had snapped the belt off. So, we went to the Internet
for a back-up check.
Next, we took cutters and snapped off the remaining shredded
belt. This isn’t recommended. It’s better to locate the tension pulley (the
pulley that keeps the belt snug on all the other pulley’s and pumps), take the
pulley ratchet and push it counter clockwise. You might have to use another
tool (i.e. a hollow bar) for added leverage, as sometimes the tension pulley is
difficult to budge. Remove the old belt.
Next, check the old belt and new belt together. Are they the
same length? Is there the same amount of grooves on each? If so, continue.
Put the new belt around the other pulleys according to your
schematic. Be sure that the grooves in the pulleys match-up to the grooves on
the belt. You don’t want it slipping off while driving!
Finally, if the tension pulley is underneath the car, you
may have a difficult time holding the pulley loose and putting on the belt.
Perhaps there is a friend who could help you. During the aforementioned
replacement of my friend’s belt, I held the pulley while he made sure the belt
was in-line with the grooves and that it looked good according to our
schematic. Now, be sure all fingers are moved out of the way and slowly allow
the pulley to draw itself tight again, thereby causing the serpentine belt to
tighten around as whole.
Check to make sure the belt is aligned on each and every
pulley, especially if there are grooves for the belt to fit into. If so, start
it up and see if it runs smoothly.
So, instead of ending up on the side of the road in a
parking lot at Dairy Queen learning a lesson, check the serpentine belt on your
car often.
Michael Walker is a freelance author providing tips and
hints on engine related topics such as engines from the JDM, used car
motors and swapping
engines. His articles are a valuable source of information for the auto
enthusiast.
