What would cause a serpentine belt to break?
Serpentine belts can fail in a few different ways. This is usually the result of a belt in poor condition, or a problem with one of the accessory components being driven by the belt. A failed bearing in a pulley being driven by the serpentine belt will also cause the belt to break.
What happens if serpentine belt breaks while driving?
A broken serpentine belt can lead to a sudden loss of power steering in your car, making your steering very difficult to turn. A broken serpentine belt causes the water pump to stop circulating coolant through the engine’s cooling system, causing it to overheat.
What happens if tensioner pulley breaks?
When the tensioner or tensioner pulley fails, the loss of tension can cause the belt and pulleys to make high-pitched rattling or chirping noises. If the pulley bearing completely fails, it can also cause a squealing or even a grinding noise.
Is it bad if a serpentine belt breaks?
A broken serpentine belt will immediately lead to a loss of power assist for the steering system. For obvious reasons, this can be detrimental if your car is in motion. A broken serpentine belt will stop the water pump from circulating antifreeze through the cooling system.
Can a car run without a serpentine belt?
Under no circumstances can you drive a vehicle without a serpentine belt because the serpentine belt serves the important function of delivering antifreeze to important parts of the engine. The serpentine belt drives the water pump, and without it, there is insufficient coolant flow to maintain the engine temperature.
How long can you drive without a serpentine belt?
How long will my car run with a broken serpentine belt? There are a few variables involved in the answer, but it should be able to run between 20 to 90 minutes. If it is a hot summer day, your engine can overheat very quickly without the coolant being pumped through the radiator.
Will a car run without a serpentine belt?
The short answer is yes, your car will start even if the serpentine belt is broken or missing. To get the car going, the battery sends power to your starter motor. The starter motor provides enough power to get your engine moving and the combustion process started.
How long can a car run without a serpentine belt?
When to replace a broken serpentine engine belt?
Using a gauge to check for belt wear (Image courtesy of tradetrucks.com) Have the belt replaced whenever a related component is replaced (a broken belt is often associated with a damaged or seized pulley on one of the engine accessories).
What causes the serpentine belt to come off the pulley?
Aside from breaking or damaged belts that haven’t been changed due to long-term neglect, what causes the serpentine belt to come off the pulley in this way can usually be blamed on one of two things. The first one is the belt tensioner pulley going bad.
How can I tell if my serpentine belt is out of alignment?
Belt tension on the pulley pulls the shaft off center, which puts that pulley out of alignment with the other pulleys. Pulley alignment can be checked with a straightedge. Place the straightedge across two pulley faces. The straightedge should lie flat across them. If it doesn’t, one of the pulleys is misaligned.
Can a BMW serpentine belt get sucked inside the engine?
As strange as it may sound, a BMW serpentine belt getting sucked inside the engine is not only possible, it is actually a fairly common occurrence. We see it all the time. In fact, we saw another one just recently on a new customer’s ’08 BMW 535i and we took the opportunity to get the photos that you see here.