Change Drive Belts In Time

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Change Drive Belts In Time

All cars have drive belts. Drive belts are used to drive various components like water pump, power steering pump etc. In older cars each of these components is driven by a dedicated belt to power each of the components. For instance the water pump will have a drive belt to power it while the power steering pump will have its own belt to drive it. However modern vehicles sport a single serpentine belt that powers all components.

Tiny cracks in a serpentine belt should not worry you but the deep ones are sufficient indication that you better change the belt. If you don’t heed to this timely warning you are more likely to be stranded somewhere soon. A sensible mechanic generally replaces this belt at the slightest hint of wear out with a new one to save trouble down the road. Belts in your car don't last forever. They wear out from use and eventually crack and decay from ozone that's in the air. If your car has individual belts and one of them breaks, then you'll lose the function of whatever part that belt was powering, such as the alternator, power-steering pump or water pump. However, if the serpentine belt breaks, all of these parts will stop functioning. You could even hazard an engine damage due to overheating.

Make it a practice to inspect your car's belts for cracks between service intervals. When you start your car on a cold morning or when you are making a sharp turn, if you hear a screeching noise coming from under the hood indicates that you might have a loose belt. Check it up. Change the belt if necessary.

If you're changing a serpentine belt, draw yourself a diagram of where the belt runs so you'll know exactly how to install the new one.

Timing Belt/Camshaft Drive Belt

Timing Belt has a critical role to play in the running of your car. Timing Belt inspection is vital because this belt is one of the car's most important belts. This notched rubber belt known as the timing belt is sometimes also called a Gilmer belt. The timing belt allows the crankshaft to drive the camshaft, which in turn opens and closes the valves.

Without the Timing Belt, the engine can't run. This statement by itself sums up it’s importance.

During the inspection of the timing belt, a mechanic will look for signs of wear, such as cracks, shredding or excessive slack. He'll also look for signs of oil leaks from the adjacent seals, which can damage the belt and considerably shorten its life.

By checking your timing belt for wear or looseness you come to know if the belt is likely to break soon or possibly may jump a notch. Periodic inspection of your timing belt at frequent intervals keeps you well aware of its status avoiding bad surprises.

With more and more modern cars being equipped with interference engines, the importance of timing belt has increased exponentially. If a timing belt breaks or jumps a notch in an interference engine, your car will just not function the way you want it to. You will have the valves opening at the wrong time. The pistons will be thrown in disarray. Eventually you end up with physical damage to your engine and financial damage to your bank account.

It is a very costly price to pay for not having undertaken simple preventive maintenance of checking the status of your timing belt. The damage could easily run in terms of hundreds of dollars.

If your car does not incorporate this modern age gizmo called an interference engine then at the most what happens to you with the timing belt breaking is that your engine stops. You are stranded. In any case if you need an up to date technology you have to take good care of it.

Heed the warning

A loose timing belt, normally makes a clapping sound. This clapping sound is due to the belt hitting against the plastic timing belt cover. This will not happen if the belt is at appropriate tension.Your mechanic can check if the belt is at appropriate tension or not. He can make the right adjustment as required. Cars have either manual adjustment mechanism or self-adjusting mechanisms,
Golden rule

Always remember that it is far wiser to change a belt when it is due rather than trying to extract till the last mile that your timing belt can withstand. This is especially true if you have an interference engine.

Change your timing belt at the recommended interval or even before if you see anything amiss with the belt. If your manufacturer recommends that you replace the timing belt at 60,000 miles, please do it.And keep doing it after every subsequent 60,000 miles too.

When not having an interference engine you can afford to follow the timing belt mileage record. But this would mean you are prepared to be stranded in case your timing belt fails. Nobody wants to be stranded on the highway with a broken drive belt.

Drive axle boot

The rubber cover that protects the drive axle joint is commonly known as the CV boot. It's also known as the CV (constant velocity) boot, because the drive axle joint it covers is more commonly called the CV joint.

Cracks or tears in the rubber can cause leaks and expose the CV joint to the elements.

You ought to make it a point to make a proper inspection of the rubber cover that protects the drive axle joint. This is because any lapse in your inspection can result in hundreds of dollars going down the drain. As is well known rubber boots degrade over time and can crack or tear open. This can result in exposing the joint to any foreign particles, like dirt, moisture or road kill. When you inspect the boots you will immediately know if you have a problem. This means you can without loss of time replace them and save from damage occuring to the CV joint. You surely know that amongst these components the CV joint surely is the most expensive.

You will have to pay dearly if you don't take corrective action immediately.

Boots hold quite some grease.If the boots crack or tear open, then this grease will leak out. The CV joint will then be exposed to dirt, moisture and road kill. The joint will fail without the the grease that boot covering holds.

Replacing the CV joint can cost hundreds of dollars. You just spend hardly anything by replacing a boot.

Hence you could inspect the boot once in a while to see if all’s well. You will surely be saving a few hundred dollars in the bargain.

Whenever you go in for an oil change ask your mechanic to see if the condition of the CV boots is okay or not. This he can do so while your car is up on the lift. He will let you know in a jiffy. This little thought can save you hundreds of dollars and it costs nothing.

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