A serpentine belt also called a driven belt or accessory belt is powered by a car’s engine to drive. It is a long, winding belt that connects many of your vehicle’s components including the power steering pump, alternator, air conditioning compressor, etc. If you are unlucky that your serpentine belt is broken then this article is for you. If the belt breaks, the car can overheat and drain the battery instead of various systems.
So, in this article, we will be covering how to fix a broken serpentine belt.
Table of Contents
Reasons For Breaking Of A Serpentine Belt
Given below are the common reasons for the breaking of a serpentine belt.
1. Pulley Misalignment
Pulley misalign+ment is a common cause of premature belt failure. Misalignment forces the belt to kink or twist while running, causing premature wear. Serpentine belt misalignment can be caused by any of the accessory pulleys. It can be a result of improper belt installation. There are two types of misalignment, each caused by the relationship of the pulleys to one another.
2. Exposed Engine
Once an engine is running, the belt operates continuously. High under bonnet temperatures plus constant flexing ultimately take their toll and over time even the best belt will wear and need replacement.
Signs That Your Serpentine Belt Needs Replacement
Some cars have check engine lights that illuminate when the serpentine belt gets worn. Here are the symptoms of a bad serpentine.
1. Noisy Belt
A squeaky or noisy belt is one of the most common symptoms of a bad serpentine belt. Squealing noise will be more when you are climbing a hill and running your heater or air conditioner at the same time.
2. Cracks And Wears On The Belt
Check your belt physically for cracks, chunks missing and abrasions, rib separation. This will tell you whether it’s the time you should replace your serpentine belt or not.
3. Loss Of Performance
This will also be an important signal that your vehicle belt needs replacement. It could be the battery suddenly drains, or your power steering doesn’t work. Maybe the engine just quits works or works inefficiently.
How To Fix A Broken Serpentine Belt?
Replacing a serpentine belt can be done using basic tools and follow these steps to get your serpentine belt fixed very easily.
1. A New Serpentine Belt
Provide the make year and model of your car, the engine size, and also if the car has air conditioning or not. Make sure that the s-belt you purchase has the exactly same width and size as the existing one. Once you get the belt, double-check whether the belt is as the expected one.
2. Socket Set
Keep a ratchet set in your car ready. That will be enough for fixing it because the only time you’ll need to use it is when you release the tensioner.
3. A Serpentine Belt Tool
This can also be used to fix the serpentine belt. Also, it saves a lot of time and effort since it makes releasing the tensioner and placing a new belt easy. The serpentine belt tool comes with an assortment of sockets to use for multiple tires of cars and is accompanied by a belt placement tool that will help you place the new belt easily.
4. Location To Place The Serpentine Belt
Whenever you try to work on the engine, make sure that you have parked your car on a flat surface with the brakes on, and the engine will be kept off. Disconnect the battery as well if needed. Open the hood and try to remove all the engine covers and make sure that the front of the engine is easily accessible to you.
You can check in the belt routing diagram which is usually displayed under the hood on a decal. Because it is very essential to know where is the injury and what treatment has to be given to it.
5. Relieve The Tension On The Belt And Remove It
Locate the belt tensioner which keeps the belt secure, and using a wrench or a serpentine belt tool pull it in the opposite direction of the tension and try to take it off. Based on the engine, the direction can be clockwise or anticlockwise. Once the tension is relieved, you should be able to pull it off the belt and remove it from the pulleys.
6. Replacement
Compare the old serpentine belt with the new one and ensure that you have purchased the right model. It should have the same width and number of ribs. The old belt can be a bit longer due to stretching.
Keep your new belt detangled, route it through the pulleys alongside the same path as your old one. Once it is installed, activate the belt tensioner using the same method with the help of a racket, socket, or serpentine belt tool.
Try to start your engine and ensure that everything runs smoothly.
Dangers Of Driving With A Broken Serpentine Belt
Here are some of the primary consequences of a broken serpentine belt. A broken serpentine belt can lead to a sudden loss of power steering in your car making your steering wheel difficult to turn. Some possible consequences also include illumination of warning lights on your dashboard, difficulty in steering the wheel, engine overheating, and the battery going dead.
Is It Safe To Drive With A Broken Serpentine Belt?
It should be able to run between 20 to 90 minutes. It is best to not drive a car with a broken belt, even for a small distance. Because, a bad serpentine belt stops the water pump from circulating coolant through the cooling system, and the engine can overheat. Without a serpentine belt connected to drive, your car will barely be able to function. And it may stop the alternator from generating power to operate the vehicle’s electronic systems and recharge the battery. The headlights will dim, the radio will not work and the battery will die.
Conclusion
Inspecting the serpentine belt should be a part of routine maintenance so it can be replaced before catastrophic failure. Replacing a serpentine belt will hardly take 15 minutes to 1 hour but can save your life. With proper maintenance, you can protect your car from serious damage and save yourself some money on repairs.
So follow the above steps that will tell you how to fix a broken serpentine belt and drive freely forever.