Drive Belt
Short & Sweet
Purpose:
Many vehicle systems are powered by a belt; they may be called an accessory, drive, serpentine or v-belt.
Symptoms of Failure:
The most common symptom of a bad drive belt is a squealing or whining sound (which may increase over time). If this belt breaks your car may become hard to steer, overheat or lose power. Usually this belt breaking will cause an alternator failure, in this case your battery light will probably come on and your car will lose power.
Care & Repair:
The average drive belt lasts about 80,000 – 120,000 miles.
Cost: $75 – $325
Purpose
Many vehicle systems are powered by a belt; they may be called an accessory, drive, serpentine or v-belt. They often drive the alternator, air conditioning compressor, water pump, power steering pump and supercharger.
Symptoms
If Your Belt Breaks: If this belt breaks, your alternator, air conditioning compressor, water pump, power steering pump, supercharger or anything driven by this belt, will stop working. Your car may become hard to steer, overheat or lose power. Usually this belt breaking will cause an alternator failure, in this case your battery light will probably come on and your car will lose power.
How to Know if Your Belt Needs Replaced : The most common symptom of a bad drive belt is a squealing or whining sound. It usually gets worse and more frequent over time. In the beginning you may notice the squealing or whining sound more in cold weather or when you are accelerating your car. If this sounds like a noise your car is making, take a look at your belt to see if it needs to be replaced. Small cracks aren’t necessarily an indicator that the belt needs replaced. If you see cracks about 3 mm apart all around the belt, it probably should be replaced. If there are large chunks missing, this is also a sign that you are going to need a new belt. This belt is usually ribbed, so don’t mistake the ribs for chunks!
NOTE: Oil, water or any other liquid on the belt is a sign of a problem. That oil or liquid has to be coming from somewhere and you will have to figure out where it is coming from and deal with that problem. Oil or liquid on the belt can cause it to function poorly. For example, the backside of the drive belt (smooth side) generally drives the water pump. If the belt has oil on it (often referred to as glazed), it can slip and the water pump will lose its ability to keep the engine cool. This can cause your car to overheat.
Care & Repair
Most manufacturers recommend that you check your drive belt after a certain amount of miles. Your belt does not necessarily have to be replaced when you have it inspected. Your technician will let you know if it needs changed. The average drive belt lasts about 80,000 – 120,000 miles.
Cost
If you need to replace your drive belt, the price of replacing it should be around $25 – $75 for the actual belt and around $50 – $250 for the labor. It depends on where the belt is located in your car. Drive belts wind around several different parts so sometimes they are hard for the mechanic to get to. For an accurate estimate, go to www.repairpal.com.
