Automotive Preventative Maintenance Checking The Belts

Preventative maintenance for your vehicle is about saving money and ultimately time. You can save money by avoiding expensive repairs and you can save time by not needed to wait for repairs to be done. Checking your motor oil and changing it as required is one of the basic aspects of vehicle maintenance. It is also about keeping the proper air pressure in your tires and checking the tread for wear or cracks. Thirdly, ensure that the belts in your vehicle are kept in good condition and replaced as required.

Checking your vehicle's belts:

At your vehicle's sixty-thousand mile tune-up make sure that your belts are changed, whether or not they are showing signs of wear. Your mechanic should not charge you any additional labor charges to do so as changing the timing belt is already part of the service.

Before checking the belts yourself make sure to turn off the engine. To avoid injury, ensure that you don't attempt to touch the belts until both they and the engine have fully cooled. When you're ready to begin, open the hood by first pulling the hood release located beneath the dashboard and then either squeezing or sliding the latch under the hood itself.

Directly in front of the vehicle's engine you will be able to see the belts. If you have a vehicle that is a rear wheel drive then the engine is close to the front bumper and radiator. If your vehicle is a front wheel drive then the engine is close to the fender.

The number of belts may vary.

Depending on the type of vehicle, you may find a varying number of belts. The belts are called drive belts because the drive various components of the vehicle's operations like the power steering pump, the water pump, the smog pump, the alternator and the fan. You will find at least two belts on your vehicle. Depending in the make and model, there may be more. Each belt runs over a pulley. As you locate them, press lightly in the middle of the longest part of the belt with your thumb to test the tension. Look at the owner's manual for your vehicle to see how much give in the belt should have. As a rough guide, there should usually be less than an inch of give from a gentle push.

If the belt is beginning to show signs that it's beginning to dry out or crack, make a note of this. You will probably notice a little bit of cracking and this is fine but there should not be chunks missing. There may be a rust color on the belt which is also normal. Many belts, especially the one for the air conditioning clutch, can rust over time due to the dust created as it operates. The dust does not do any damage. If you find obvious signs of wear, or the belt seems to have too much give, then you will need to have the belt replaced before it breaks. A screeching sound when you hit the gas is an indication that the belt is too lose. In this case, the belt will need to either be replaced or tightened. A broken belt can be a costly repair.

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Tags: automobile, Automotive