The informed technician needs to consider belt issues every time a serpentine system component is replaced, and every technician’s best practice is to begin checking belts and other system components at 60,000 miles. All are signs of belt slip caused by wear or loss of tension. For example, belt wear can lead to intermittent alternator performance as indicated by a persistent check engine light, inconsistent power steering performance, and/or poor A/C system performance. Today's technicians need to look at the entire accessory drive system to help diagnose belt wear: from the belt/tensioner/pulley performance, to vehicle mileage, to the operation of other system components. Hydroplaning (like a tire on a wet road) can result.The pulley sheave will eventually contact the belt valley, causing belt slip and accelerated.This can result in belt slip as a result of hydroplaning. When material loss occurs, the clearance is reduced thus, eliminating a way for water and debris to be passed through the pulley. Serpentine belts are designed to allow clearance between the ribs and the pulley sheaves (valleys). Most commonly, material loss alters the belt fit to the pulley. Once serpentine belts lose rib material, the belt is susceptible to failure modes defined by changes in the belt rib profile. These contaminants, along with slight misalignments, result in accelerated wear of the rubber rib surface. Serpentine belt drives do not work in an enclosed environment, and are frequently exposed to sand, rocks, salt, water and other engine fluids. A far better indicator EPDM belt wear is material loss on the belt ribs. This resilient material quality makes EPDM belts more durable than their chloroprene counterparts, but also significantly harder to conduct a visual belt wear diagnosis. However, today’s EPDM belts are much more resistant to cracking, since they can run up to 100,000 miles or beyond without visual cracks - despite the belt being worn to near failure. With traditional Chloroprene (neoprene) serpentine belts, standard diagnostics called for replacement of the belt if it showed three cracks in a three inch section. An easy way to remember this recommended interval is I-60/R-90. Start inspecting the serpentine system at 60K miles, and replace worn components by 90K miles or as advised by the manufacturer. When it comes to inspection and repair, think I-60/R-90Īs a best practice, we always advise technicians and vehicle owners to Be System Smart by knowing the Car Care Council’s recommended service interval schedule. Although not always the case with EPDM belts, noise is often your first and most obvious clue that your belt and other system components should be replaced. When this happens, a belt loses its ability to grip or function properly – it can slip – which puts a strain on other components within your engine, causing them to malfunction and potentially fail. Over time, belts experience a similar loss in material or rib wear. After many miles of running on the road, a tire’s tread gradually wears down. Think of EPDM belt wear the way you think of tire wear. If we can’t see it or hear it, how do we identify EPDM belt wear? Windshield Washer, Wiper and Vacuum ComponentsĮPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) rubber offers long lasting service life and durable performance to your vehicle belt drive systems, but unlike older rubber belts, they don’t always show wear with traditional signs of visual damage and loud belt noise.
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