~>Belts & Hoses

by Pat Goss

With the reliability of today’s cars, do we really need to keep checking belts and hoses all the time?
If you think there’s any part of your car that will last forever, you are wrong. You see, every part of every car ever made will wear out if it’s kept in service long enough; that’s one of the laws of physics. Anyway, the things you have to be really concerned about are things that may mislead you and that’s typically going to be the rubber parts underneath the hood of the car – belts and hoses. You see, belts and hoses have changed over the years; we now have serpentine belts like this – one great big long belt that drives all of the accessories on the front of the engine. Well, they’re big, they’re wide, they’re expensive and they replace the old fashioned V belts like we have here.
Now, the second thing is that these parts are all covered in cosmetic; and that’s the key, cosmetic rubber. Because the parts that do the work are underneath the rubber that you can see. There are fabric reinforcement layers under the rubber in a belt or a hose under the hood of your car. And it’s that fabric that wears out over time, it weakens; and when it weakens, you can be in trouble. See, on a hose, for instance, this hose right here looks pretty good till we look up here and we see that it has had a catastrophic failure. In this case, it let all of the coolant out of the engine, rapidly; the temperature gauge did not work as a result of no coolant in the system, and the engine was destroyed – very expensive problem there.
So, what are you looking at? Well, you hope to see, I guess, something like this that’s very, very obvious. The hose is very swollen up, but you’re not always going to see that. Here again, we have a hose that looks to be practically like new. But down here, if we squeeze the end of it, look inside it, the inside is all breaking apart. This is a disaster looking for a place to happen. So what do you do?
Well, you replace the belts or hoses based on mileage – 5 years or 75,000 miles, whichever comes first. Now, here’s where you might be in for a bit of a shock – a lot of these newer belts and hoses, they’re complex assemblies, and they are expensive. Ok, that’s a consideration, but, remember that belts and hoses are never, anywheres near as expensive as the engine they’re going to damage when they fail. If you have a question or comment, write to me, right here at MotorWeek.
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Member's, please post when you've replaced your belts/hoses or when you think you should ?

- How often do your check your Brakes ?

- How often do you check you air pressure in your Tires ? even the one in the trunk ?

- How often do you change your filter's ?

- How often do you change your underwear ? ~> , just wanted to see if you were reading the above

Please post & share how you are maintaining your Monte Carlo
Thanks

 

How to inspect belts and hoses

Last reviewed: February 2011
A belt or hose failure can cause an overheated engine, loss of power steering, and loss of the electrical charging system. If a hose leaks coolant or the belt turning the water pump snaps, the cooling system is inoperable. If the engine overheats, it can suffer serious internal damage that requires expensive repairs and can ruin a summer vacation.
Overheating can occur anytime, but usually happens in the summer. Underhood temperatures are much higher, and heat can trigger or accelerate deterioration of rubber compounds.
COOLANT AND HEATER HOSES

Hoses are the cooling system's weakest structural component. They are made of flexible rubber compounds to absorb vibrations between the engine and radiator, or, in the case of heater hoses, the engine and body's firewall. Designed to hold coolant under high pressure, hoses are also subjected to fluctuating extremes of heat and cold, dirt, oils and sludge. Atmospheric ozone also attacks rubber compounds.
The most damaging cause of hose failure—electrochemical degradation (ECD)—isn't easy to detect. According to engineers for the Gates Corporation, a parts maker, ECD attacks hoses from the inside, causing tiny cracks. Acids and contaminants in the coolant can then weaken the yarn material that reinforces the hose. Eventually, pinholes can develop or the weakened hose may rupture from heat, pressure, or constant flexing.



Some easy, basic maintenance can help prevent coolant hose failure:

• Check the white coolant-recovery tank often to ensure proper fluid level. Marks on the tank indicate the proper level for when the engine is cold or hot. If the tank is low after repeated fillings, suspect a leak. Also check for white, light green, or pink coolant tracks in the engine bay, which is residue left from leaking coolant.
• When the engine is cool, squeeze the hoses with your thumb and forefinger near the clamps, where ECD most often occurs. Feel for soft or mushy spots. A good hose will have a firm yet pliant feel.
• Inspect for cracks, nicks, bulges usually while hot), or a collapsed section in the hose and oil contamination, or fraying near the connection points.
• Look for parallel cracks around bends (caused by ozone), a hardened glassy surface (heat damage), or abrasive damage (hose is rubbing).
• Flush and replace the coolant according to the owner's manual. Clean coolant is less likely to support ECD.
• Never remove the radiator cap when the engine is hot. Also, be aware that an electric cooling fan can come on at any time.

The upper radiator hose fails more often than any other hose, followed by the water pump bypass hose (if your vehicle is so equipped), and the outlet heater hose from the engine to the heater core. Experts recommend, however, that all hoses be replaced at least every four years or when one fails. Always use replacement hoses designed to fight ECD. Trademarks will vary among hose manufacturers (Gates uses "ECR" for Electro-Chemical Resistant). Look for a "Type EC" label on the hose or its packaging. That is a Society of Automotive Engineers standard signifying "electrochemical." Most vehicles built after 1993 come with ECD-resistant hoses.
ACCESSORY BELTS

Many of the same elements that attack hoses also attack belts—heat, oil, ozone, and abrasion. Almost all cars and trucks built today have a single multi-grooved serpentine belt that drives the alternator, water pump, power-steering pump, and air-conditioning compressor. Older vehicles may have separate V-belts that drive the accessories. The Car Care Council says chances of a V-belt failure rise dramatically after four years or 36,000 miles, while the critical point for a serpentine belt is 50,000 miles. Any belt should be changed when it shows signs of excessive wear. But many new composite belts don't show signs of wear until the failure occurs.



Here are tips for inspecting belts:

• Look for cracks, fraying, or splits on the top cover.
• Look for signs of glazing on the belt's sides. Glazed or slick belts can slip, overheat or crack.
• Twist a serpentine belt to look for separating layers, cracks, or missing chunks of the grooves on the underside.

Replacement belts should be identical in length, width, and number of grooves to the factory belt. Serpentine belts are usually kept tight with an automatic tensioner. Signs of a belt-tension problem include a high-pitched whine or chirping sound and vibration noises. Without proper tension, belts will slip and generate heat or fail to turn the accessories.
If in doubt, check with a qualified technician about any cooling problems, and always consult your owner's manual for routine maintenance procedures.

 

Hey Space, you can wear underwear several different ways.. I only change mine once a week... :P Frontwards, backwards, inside out frontwards and in side out backwards.. I even wore a pair sideways.. :P

JK.

 

I actually did belts in the Camaro and Monte this year. I check them every spring as part of my "spring cleaning".

I check my brakes every oil change, because I put the whole car in the air and rotate the tires too.

I check my tire pressure weekly. ESPECIALLY in the winter-time. I keep a small air pump that plugs into the cigarette lighter in the trunk of the Monte.

I "change/clean" my filters every spring as part of the spring cleaning.

My underwear gets changed every day.

 

Lol ~> LOL `Ashley,
You just proved that you are reading my posts ~>
I did not know you could wear them so many ways 4-Sure
Now, I won't have to do as much laundry ~>
Thanks for your posts & funnies 4-Sure...
I'm doing everything I can do to stay awake until my nightshift is over....Thanks for letting us know how often you do it ~> How are your belts & hoses How old is your underwear ? LOL ~ LOL
I hope we don't get banned from the MCF ~>

 

Hi Mod `Mike, I change mine everyday 2, but now I've learned from Ashley that I don't have to change that often
`Mike, I learn from your post for sure & you treat your cars with love & respect & that is why you are getting a lot of trouble free miles, because your religiously maintain & inspect....Thanks for all your help & contributions 4-Sure

 

i check everything under the hood every time i do a oil change, but as far as the tire pressure goes... I have had so many issues with tires that they never get checked until they look flatter then normal. its better for my own sanity that way.

 

Space, I check the tires , belts an brakes when I change oil.., about every 3000 miles..
My underwear gets changed every day..

 

Good information, Ashley! My granddaughter taught me the best way to wear underwear at the end of the week - she wears them on her head.

 

Belts and hoses, I haven't replaced them since purchasing the car in October of 2010. I'll do them in the spring. I'll check the records that came with the car first.

I check my brakes at every other oil change, when I rotate the tires.

I check the pressure in my tires roughly twice per month, I need to check the spare more often, it gets neglected.

I put on a new fuel filter just a couple months ago, air filter yearly and it's overdue. I need to do the cabin air filter also.

Underwear? What is this "underwear" you speak of?