What happens when a belt slips?
Your serpentine belt is like one giant, fast-spinning rubber band. If there is not enough tension, a belt can slip, squeal or run hot. Worst-case scenario: a loose belt may come off of its pulleys. When this happens, all the accessories powered by the engine go kaput and the vehicle will stop running.
What causes a belt to slip on an idler pulley?
A tensioner is used to maintain tension and when it seizes up or wears, tension is lost. The belt may start slipping off the pulley or slip off completely. In both cases it causes the belt to wear out faster. To solve this problem, replace the serpentine belt and the tensioner.
What causes a serpentine belt to come off?
Belt coming off: Pulley misalignment, belt misalignment on pulley, defective tensioner, or bearing wear in tensioner, idler or driven accessories Belt noise can be hard to isolate, as the sound may seem to be coming from an accessory drive, such as the alternator or air conditioning compressor.
How do you replace a serpentine belt pulley?
Using the breaker bar or serpentine belt tool, move the tensioner arm against the spring as far as it will move, to its stop. The tensioner arm should move smoothly throughout its range of travel, with firm spring pressure and without binding. Most tensioner pulleys can be replaced independently of the tensioner itself.
What to do if your idler pulley is frozen?
This is a frozen pulley. To confirm if your idler pulley is frozen, you have to slip the belt off the pulley. Before you start, make sure the engine is off and the keys are not in the ignition, just to make sure no one attempts to turn on the engine.
A tensioner is used to maintain tension and when it seizes up or wears, tension is lost. The belt may start slipping off the pulley or slip off completely. In both cases it causes the belt to wear out faster. To solve this problem, replace the serpentine belt and the tensioner.
How do you remove a serpentine belt from a pulley?
Use your ratchet and socket to rotate the belt tensioner to relieve tension on the belt. Then slip the serpentine belt off one of the pulleys. If you need more leverage, use a breaker bar.
Why does my O’Reilly serpentine belt slip?
If the tensioner isn’t supplying enough tension, or if the serpentine belt is worn down, the belt may slip and create excessive heat or belt noise. Keep in mind that the serpentine belt, tensioner and idler pulleys were designed as a system.
Why do I have problems with my serpentine belt?
Serpentine belt problems usually result from one of three causes: a defective belt tensioner; misalignment of a pulley; or, defective bearings in the tensioner, idler, or one of accessories driven by the belt (including the water pump). Fortunately, the belt can help you diagnose the problem, both before you remove it and afterward: