Sheddists: when did you last check your aux belts?

[Toaster Pilot]

Now I'm guessing aux belts would be part of a service that a more modern car would recieve so I'm aiming this post at people smoking around in older stuff, probably doing little more than oil and brakes/tyres.

When did you last inspect your aux belts?

I've had two belts snap on me in two different cars in the past couple of months and inspection would've showed that they were due for replacement due to condition - but I just didn't think to check. Not always massively important but on my MX-5 the alternator belt drives the water pump!

[MG0o]

Today
I check mine every time I add washer fluid or have the bonnet up, takes no time at all to do.

EDIT:- I should add that I check it all the time as after taking a used car home I had just purchased the aux belt snapped on the motorway taking the tensioner pully with it chucking bits of crap out behind me, kept going for the last 10 miles as it didnt drive anything critical, but a lesson learnt for life.

Edited by MG0o on Wednesday 21st May 13:20

[johnny fotze]

Weekly, along with the fluid levels. Never lost one yet, but my Dad did when I was a boy, leaving him stranded in the middle of nowhere. He always carried a spare after that.

[toddygti]

Toaster Pilot said:

Now I'm guessing aux belts would be part of a service that a more modern car would recieve so I'm aiming this post at people smoking around in older stuff, probably doing little more than oil and brakes/tyres.

When did you last inspect your aux belts?

I've had two belts snap on me in two different cars in the past couple of months and inspection would've showed that they were due for replacement due to condition - but I just didn't think to check. Not always massively important but on my MX-5 the alternator belt drives the water pump!

I checked mine when I replaced my Cam Belt (which drives the Water pump) and they were alright so I stuck them back on to change later as they're only £14 the pair. Best do them before Paris next month lol

[chris1roll]

The belt on my wifes old car was fine, it was the tensioner that failed, resulting in our first ever breakdown and a trip on a lorry.
Only way to check that is to have the belt off, and even then its a bit finger in the air.

Need to bé careful though, sometime the aux belt can get dragged in by the crank pulley and flip the cambelt off!

[Hooli]

I service my sheds on time & on the first service I do I always replace the belts & sling the old ones in the boot. It's not true shedology but it does mean I've not broken down in a shed for a long time.

[Toaster Pilot]

Hooli said:

I service my sheds on time & on the first service I do I always replace the belts & sling the old ones in the boot. It's not true shedology but it does mean I've not broken down in a shed for a long time.

Fair play to you sir

[Hooli]

Toaster Pilot said:

Hooli said:

I service my sheds on time & on the first service I do I always replace the belts & sling the old ones in the boot. It's not true shedology but it does mean I've not broken down in a shed for a long time.

Fair play to you sir

When one is shedding in a Jag one can't be seen to break down you know

Hasn't stopped the fact it's only 1/4" of ptfe tape that stops the knackered joint on the waterpump leaking. It's held for 18months so it's now a permanent feature

[PhillipM]

Hooli said:

I service my sheds on time & on the first service I do I always replace the belts & sling the old ones in the boot. It's not true shedology but it does mean I've not broken down in a shed for a long time.

Same, every new car that comes into the family gets a belt change and service right off the bat.

[AudiWurst]

Toaster Pilot said:

When did you last inspect your aux belts?

I didn't inspect them, but I got an early warning on my 2004 CRV when the belt began squealing in last winter's cold weather. 9 years and 140k miles seemed a reasonable lifespan for an aux belt.

Toaster Pilot said:

I've had two belts snap on me in two different cars in the past couple of months and inspection would've showed that they were due for replacement due to condition - but I just didn't think to check.

That's tough luck. What age and mileage were those cars?

[Jim AK]

I checked the belts on my Jag & they were fine.

2 days later it threw the alternator/water pump belt due to alternator seizing.

I have never seen so much smoke issue from a car in my life!!!

Edit: do remember getting a call from a dealer for the Old Mans Merc once asking me if I wanted them to check the auxiliary belts during a scheduled service, for an extra fee obviously!!!

Edited by Jim AK on Wednesday 21st May 14:27

[matthias73]

I generally do the following:

1) Open bonnet.
2) Peer inside the bonnet. "blimey, what's all this. What does that do. What is that. Why is there a propeller in front of the engine? Can this car swim backwards??"
3) Turn on engine and listen for weird noises.
4) Check oil. "Yep, still there"
5) Check coolant "yep, still there (crucial on old BMW's, they tend to throw it away like babies throw toys out of a pram. Once they've thrown their coolant away they realise they goofed up and started crying and having hissy fits and generally break more things in protest)
6) Look at belts. If it looks like a small alligator has been using it as a scratching post, then get someone more qualified to look at it.
7) Look for anything fishy. Generally unsure of what to look for, but when something is broken or not working properly, it's generally quite obvious. Found a fuel leak this way once. Turned the engine on and looked at it in a state of bewilderment. It was drizzling a bit and VOILA, you could see the fuel coming out of cylinder 6.
8) Take it to a friend's garage and get them to make sure it's not going to spontaneously combust.
9) spend the SAME amount of money on purchasing on things like brakes, lines, thermostats, service, filters, tyres and the such. Then drive around in a state of bliss, in the knowledge that my car is safe and good.
10)Panic at the next weird noise the car makes!

[Palms]

Everytime the bonnet is up i have a ganders
Every recent car i have bought i have it replaced unless i see thats its virtualy brand new

[Toaster Pilot]

AudiWurst said:

That's tough luck. What age and mileage were those cars?

1999 and 196k miles, 2003 and 112k miles

Both believed to have spent a time standing before buying them.