A snaky belt ( akaalternator belt ) sound coolheaded , right ? All slithery and snaky . Well , it is n’t called that for nothing . This foresighted bash in yourcar ’s enginehas upright grooves run away its distance and it snakes around several pulleys , connecting them to the motion of the engine ’s crankshaft . As that turn , the belt causes the pulleys to wrench , which power all the railway locomotive accessories , including your car’salternator , line conditioning compressor , power steering ticker and sometimes a piss pump [ source : AutoNation ] .
Older automobile had several belt to run all these system . They wear out quicker , and the mere fact of just sustain more belt have in mind they took up more blank space . A single snaky knock is lighter and makes for a more thick , efficient engine .
But it also means having to thread a new whack around all those pulley block when it necessitate replacing . With some preparation and charge , it ’s not all that unmanageable to do .
Serpentine Belt Prep Work
There are only a few things you ’ll postulate to supercede a serpentine belt : a new knock , a belt tensioner tool and maybe a socket twist . These things should be soft to regain at an auto persona store . glove and eye tribute never hurt either .
Every car locomotive is different , even engines from the same auto manufacturer . That mean the serpentine knock will snake around the pulleys in a dissimilar order too . Newer machine might have a credit card screening over the engine that will need to be bump off in order for you to see what ’s going on with the belt . When your engine is nerveless , launch the lens hood and get your bearings .
A few tips for making sure you get the surrogate placement right :
You ’ll want to concern to these as you remove the old belt and as you thread the raw one into seat .
Removing the Old Belt
After you ’ve taken note of the belt ’s positioning , you ’re ready to take off the former whang .
First , line up the belt tensioner . It keeps the belted ammunition from being too loose , which would allow it to slip . It usually has a straight - mold trap in it , and that ’s where the belt tensioner tool expansion slot in . This is the most common kind of belt tensioner inmodern cars , but some cars just use a deadbolt that can be loosened with a socket .
When you ’ve produce some slack in the snaky bang , you may cautiously take away it from the pulley . You ’ll probably discover that there ’s one pulley pressing on the quiet back of the belt . That ’s the idler pulley . It does n’t power anything , but it does help keep the belted ammunition in place .
Now ’s your chance to do a little maintenance . you’re able to carefullyclean the groovesof the pulleys with a telegram brushwood to get any old rubber bits and grime out of the grooves where the knock sit . you’re able to also inspect the belt for wear [ Source : AutoZone ] . Most belts will ask to be replace over time , so you ’re looking for fissure , fraying or shiny spots ( recognise as glazing ) from misalignment or other upshot .
Also check the pulleys for crude oil , as that can be a sign of a leak . In add-on to not being swell for the engine , oil color can break down rubber , meaning you ’ll have to do this all again earlier rather than later .
Installing the New Belt
Now is when you ’ll be glad to have diagram and photos . Snake the knock back onto all the pulley-block in the correct order for your fomite .
recollect that any pulley that has rut is meant to be drive by the rut in the serpentine belt . The loose pulley block , for deterrent example , does n’t have groove because it repose on the back side of the belt . But thepower steering pumppulley does have grooves . You literally demand to get your vallecula on here for the power of the crankshaft to turn these accessories .
view as the belt tensioner slack as you string the last pulley block . When everything is in place and the vallecula are seated , tighten the tensioner pulley block with your whang tensioner tool or socket .
It ’s time to give it a try . Gentlereaders , begin your engine ! Let it run for a minute or two to verify it ’s in seat and everything is working as it should .
How Often Does a Serpentine Belt Need to Be Changed?
Serpentine belt can last a retentive time . Manufacturers usually recommend changing them at 60,000 mi ( 96,560 kilometers ) , but some recommendations say go as long as 100,000 ( 160,934 kilometer ) . The key is to change them before the belt breaks .
It might not seem so awful to drive without atmosphere conditioning , but the alternator charges your car ’s battery and electrical system , and drive will become a workout if you ’re abruptly without power steering .
Here are a few signaling that your snaky whang might be on its last slither :
While this is n’t an expensive repair or terribly complicated , it is tricky to snake a serpentine belt into place . It ’s in spades helpful to know what this bang is and what it does , but it ’s also sometimes skillful to will locomotive engine repairs to the professionals . Your milage , as they say , may motley according to your expertise and confidence .
