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 causes glazing at the edges of a serpentine belt?

Glazing at the edges of a serpentine belt, or on its ridges or in the grooves, results from the belt slipping. It indicates that friction between the belt and the accessory drive pulley (s) created by slipping has overheated the belt. Fraying at the edge of a belt indicates pulley misalignment.

Why does my car make a slipping belt noise?

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. A noise that occurs only when the vehicle accelerates is likely to be a slipping belt, as is a noise that occurs only when the car is started cold.

Why is my belt tensioner not working properly?

Another common cause is that the belt tensioner is froze / stuck and not functioning. The tensioner does exactly what it’s name says- keeps tension on the belt.

Grinding sound tell that there is a damaged bearing in a driven accessory. Belt coming off can either be as a result of pulley misalignment, belt misalignment on a pulley, defective tensioner, or bearing wear in the tensioner, idler or driven accessories.

What to look for in a serpentine belt inspection?

Look for tears or abrasions. If you see any it means the serpentine drive belt is rubbing a pulley flange or bolt as it winds its way around. This will happen more often as the drive belt gets older. If this happens you may need to file a pulley flange smooth or bend something out of the way. Also look for pinholes and/or bumps.

What to do if your serpentine drive belt snaps?

Checking ribbed drive belts at every oil change, and the position of the self-adjusting mechanism indicator will ensure you catch a bad belt long before it snaps. The backside of the serpentine drive belt, or the smooth side, usually drives the water pump.

Can a car run without a serpentine belt?

However, these devices cannot function properly without the help of a serpentine belt. This one long continuous belt is the force that drives many of the engine’s peripheral devices. There is usually a belt tensioner or idler pulley to guide the belt as it moves. What is a Serpentine Belt? What is a Serpentine Belt?

What are the symptoms of a bad serpentine belt?

Symptoms of a Bad or Failing Serpentine/ Drive Belt . Common signs include a squealing noise from the front of the vehicle, power steering and AC not working, engine overheating, and cracks on the belt.

How long does it take to replace the serpentine belt?

For professional automotive technicians with the right tools and training the replacement of a serpentine belt usually takes about 30 min to an hour. This time varies by the make, model, and year of vehicle that you’re driving as some take longer than others.

Is it safe to drive with a broken serpentine belt?

Do not drive your car with a broken serpentine belt. Your car will overheat because the serpentine belt drives the water pump (and without a serpentine belt, the water pump doesn’t circulate coolant through the engine and radiator) and it also drives the alternator which keeps the battery charged.

What is the function of a serpentine belt?

What Is the Purpose of a Serpentine Belt? Electrical. The serpentine belt plays a major role in a car’s electrical charging system. Mechanical. The serpentine belt powers several mechanical components on a car, according to Auto Upkeep. Requirements. The serpentine belt can only fulfill its purpose if held under the correct tension. Significance. Considerations.

What causes a car belt to fly off?

Well that guard is very essential in keeping the belt in place. Missing belt guards will cause the belt to fly off. Last but not least pulleys can cause big problems. Check pulleys for wear and worn out bearings.

Why do I keep breaking my belt on my riding mower?

A pulley rides on bearings that allows it to spin freely. When that pulley does not spin freely friction starts between the pulley and the belt. You guessed it, another broken belt. Remember belts do wear out but if you are replacing the same belt more than you should than fix the problem not the symptom.

How can I test my idler pulley for wobble?

There should be no wobble and no lateral play. Idler pulleys are checked the same way. Next, test the tensioner spring and arm operation. Using the breaker bar or serpentine belt tool, move the tensioner arm against the spring as far as it will move, to its stop.

When to call a mechanic for a bad serpentine drive belt?

As soon as you notice a squealing noise, loss of power steering, the engine overheating, or the belt looks bad, call a mechanic immediately to diagnose the problem further. YourMechanic makes getting repairs to your serpentine/drive belt easy by coming to your location to diagnose or fix issues.

When did the serpentine belt come off the Chrysler 3.3L?

The 3.3L and 3.8L engines are the ones with the most problems when it comes to the engine belt coming off. The model years are 1996 through 2001, but I’ve seen older and newer ones do the same thing.

Why did the serpentine belt come off my car?

Answer: There are several reasons why the serpentine belt could come off your vehicle, or any other vehicle. The most common reason is that the serpentine belt is just worn out and needs to be replaced. Another common cause is that the belt tensioner is froze / stuck and not functioning.

What can I do about the belt coming off problem?

What solves the belt coming off problem is the ridge or guide on the new and included pulleys. The drawback is, this feature also makes the new belt harder to install. For this reason I recommend getting a special serpentine belt tool to give you the extra leverage needed to fully disengage the tension spring.

What kind of belt does a Dodge Caravan use?

Here are diagrams for other engines like the Chrysler V8 belt diagram for 3.9L 5.2L 5.9L. If you’re looking for a complete Dodge Caravan work shop manual we have them as well.

What kind of pulley does a serpentine belt use?

Determine if there is a belt tensioner pulley. Depending on the application, your serpentine belt will either have tension placed on it using a movable bracket or an auto tensioner pulley. This pulley uses an internal spring to apply consistent pressure to the belt at all times.

How long does it take to change a serpentine belt?

Some model vehicles have the serpentine belt easily accessible, which means the labor should take under one hour. But if the belt is in a more complicated area, it could take about 2 hours. Easy to reach belts can actually be changed at home with minimal tools.

What causes belt to slip on idler pulley?

Over time, as the pulley spins against the belt, both components will eventually start to wear. This may lead to visible scoring marks on the surface of the pulley, as a result of contact with the belt. Eventually the pulley and belt will wear to the point of reducing tension, which may lead to the belt slipping. 2. Belt squealing

Why is my belt pulley making a noise?

Spin the tensioner pulley by hand and listen to it. If the bearing is good, the pulley will spin freely, straight and true, without any noise. If that’s not the case, you have a bad bearing and must replace the tensioner. Unfortunately, the end result of any belt tensioner noise is usually tensioner replacement.

When does a V-belt slip what happens?

What is belt slippage? Belt slippage occurs whenever torque demand exceeds the available friction between a V-belt and one or more of the pulleys (sheaves). When this occurs, the belt begins to slide backwards a bit as it moves with the pulley. This action is similar in two ways to slightly slipping the clutch in a manual transmission car:

Another common cause is that the belt tensioner is froze / stuck and not functioning. The tensioner does exactly what it’s name says- keeps tension on the belt.

Why is my belt not sitting perfectly straight?

Another possible cause is that one of the components with a pulley that the belt rides on is worn out and not sitting perfectly straight. This could be the water pump, power steering pump, A/C compressor or what is called the idler pulley. The idler is different than the tensioner.

Why does my serpentine belt make a screeching sound?

The belt slides over a motionless pulley causing extensive friction, heat and the recognizable sound. The screeching sound may also be caused by a severely worn out serpentine belt (in this case, it must be nearly pulverized).

Is the water pump driven by the serpentine belt?

Another important device driven by the serpentine belt is the water pump. This is not always the case as on a lot of cars the water pump is driven by the timing belt. You should have this in mind so you don’t falsely “accuse” the serpentine belt for overheating.

What causes a serpentine belt to get stuck?

The main reason, in most cases, will be a stuck pulley from one of the devices (alternator, AC compressor, power steering pump etc) or a tensioner. A stuck pulley is mostly caused by a worn out bearing. The belt slides over a motionless pulley causing extensive friction, heat and the recognizable sound.

What causes a pulley belt to be shredded?

RAY If you’ve had one of the accessories replaced recently — like the alternator or water pump — I’d suspect that that pulley is now lined up incorrectly. It could have been manufactured incorrectly, or it could have been the wrong pulley for your engine. A pulley only has to be a few millimeters off to set a belt a-shreddin’.

Can a loose serpentine belt cause an alternator to whine?

If the belt is too loose to maintain grip on the alternator pulley, you may experience a similar symptom as a snapped belt. If you start to notice a whine from the engine that changes with engine speed, you may want to have the tension of the serpentine belt double checked.

What’s the advantage of a serpentine belt?

The real advantage of a serpentine belt is that it’s easier to change. You don’t have to reach your fat arms into little skinny openings to change multiple belts. You change one belt, and it’s done. TOM This belt runs over and around many pulleys that power the accessories, and it sounds to me like one of those pulleys is out of alignment.

Can a broken AC compressor cause the serpentine belt to snap?

If the AC clutch bearing seizes while the AC compressor is not operating, the belt can snap then as well. Replacing the serpentine belt tensioner and idler pulley at the same time as the belt is always a good idea. They wear out too!

What is the serpentine belt on a Chevy Impala?

The serpentine belt on the 2003 Chevrolet Impala controls all the accessories on the front of the engine: the alternator, power steering pump, water pump, air conditioner pump and crankshaft. The serpentine belt is held on by a belt tensioner that holds the serpentine belt tight on all the accessory pulleys.

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:

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