Cracks and wear on the serpentine belt. There is a marker on one side of the tensioner and and a notch on the other side. Inspect every 15,000 miles/18 months thereafter.
Engine Tools Tools & Equipment ECCPP 8pc
An old belt will likely display cracking, glazing, or fraying — which all point to imminent belt failure.
When driving, this kind of damage can cause squealing noise from the front of the vehicle, or even engine overheating.
Information on serpentine belt wear models: Visual signs of wear like abrasions, cracks, and damaged ribs are sure indicators that your belt is on its way out. It is not obvious to me which side of the notch the pointer should be to indicate the belt is okay or not okay. If cracks and frayed edges appear on the serpentine belt, this is a sure sign of a problem.
Squealing from a newly replaced belt usually indicates a larger problem:
When the serpentine belt starts slipping, it may begin to chirp or squeal. As they wear down, the belt sits deeper in the grooves. These contaminants, along with slight misalignments, result in accelerated wear of the rubber rib surface. There is a wear indicator on the tensioner for the serpentine belt (a/c and alternator belt) that is supposed to indicate the maximum allowable length for the belt.
A far better indicator of wear on epdm belts is material loss.
The gauge measures groove depth to determine wear. If the serpentine belt tensioner arm moves more than 1/32″ while engine is running, the vibration dampener in the tensioner is worn out. As you can imagine, that puts a lot of wear and tear on the belt. This malfunction indicator light will glow whenever any engine issue is detected, from a compromised cooling system to low brake fluid levels.
When these things occur, it may become misaligned or contaminated with fluid.
The causes will be either material fatigue of the belt or a damaged pulley. Check your owner's manual or service manual for the belt's service schedule. A worn or glazed serpentine belt may begin to squeal with age. When you take your car for a regular oil change service, a mechanic will look for cracks (see the photo), splits, damaged edges, missing chunks, glazing and other signs of wear.
That makes them become loose, and periodic adjustment is required.
The ribs of the belt are elongated in this position and any rib cracks are magnified. The check engine light pops on: The belt is in use every single time you start your engine, and it is used for as long as the engine is running. Standard industry belt diagnostics call for replacement of a serpentine belt if it shows three cracks in a three inch section.
Up to $8 cash back the serpentine/drive belt on your car is a crucial consideration, and it should be inspected at every maintenance interval (every oil change).
This is a good rule of thumb for neoprene, but not so good for epdm. Serpentine belt drives do not work in an enclosed environment, and are frequently exposed to sand, rocks, salt, water and other engine fluids. Lay the wear gauge in the ribs on the belt and run your finger across them. Or beyond with no visual cracks.
Serpentine belt drives are exposed to grit, rocks, salt and water.
This serpentine belt shows cracks, it needs to be replaced. Where to inspect a serpentine belt. The automatic belt tensioner is designed to provide constant tension for the life of the belt. Always inspect the belt along the longest run and around an idler pulley that makes contact with the smooth side of the belt.
There are various symptoms that may indicate your car’s serpentine belt is wearing down, including:
Check the belt for tightness — you may need a belt tension gage for. The sign of a good tensioner is to only see 1/32” movement. If the gauge sits flush with the top of the ribs, the belt is worn out. A far better indicator epdm belt wear is material loss on the belt ribs.
2004 and prior passenger cars and trucks.
These signs made it easy to determine when a belt needed to be replaced. Over time, these contaminants along with slight misalignments result in wear of the. If you see more, the dampening mechanism is worn and the tensioner must be replaced. In some more rare cases, belt misalignment can cause the problems.
Heat and repeated cycling of the tensioner’s internal spring can lead to fatigue and loss of tension.
