The serpentine belt is the belt that powers the water pump, AC, alternator, power steering pump, compressor etc., in the engine and rotates anytime the engine is turned on. It transmits rotational energy from the engine’s crankshaft to all the engine accessories.
The belt is however manufactured to last for a long time but not forever. It can break as a result of various reasons. Therefore, what causes a serpentine belt to break?
What causes a serpentine belt to break is mostly wear and tear as a result of long usage and oil leakages on the belt. The belt can also break if it’s old, or has a faulty components such as bad pulleys and a bad tensioner.
What Causes a Serpentine Belt to Break?
What causes a serpentine belt to break are:
1. Old Age
One of the major cause of serpentine belt breakage is old age. As reiterated earlier, even though the serpentine belt is made to last for a long, it is however not made to last forever. A time will come when the belt gets old and will function the way it used to. When this time comes, it will break if it’s not replaced as soon as possible.
With that being said, it’s important to note how many miles you’ve been using the serpentine belt in your car. Since it can last between 30,000 to 100,000 miles, if it has crossed these miles, it will break if you fail to replace it.
2. Wear and Tear
The most common reason why serpentine belt break is because of wear and tear. The serpentine belt is made with rubber and considering where it is positioned in the car and how it keeps rotating from when the car is powered on, the belt can develop wears all around it.
As reiterated earlier, some serpentine belt can last between 30,000 to 100,000 miles depending on the kind and quality of belt you purchased. If you have completed 100,000 miles on a single belt, it’s obvious that it has already developed wear and tear around it as a result of long time use. The best thing to do would be to replace it.
3. Weak Belt
A serpentine belt can break if it’s weak. This weakness can be as a result of continuous use and old age. It can also be because the belt was made with less quality material.
Some people can go to the extent of buying belt that are not made with quality material simply because it’s cheap. What is the use of buying a cheap belt that can only last for 10,000 miles and break on you even before getting to 30,000 miles?
These belts made with less quality materials tend to get weak quicker and if it’s not replaced immediately, can break while the car is running.
4. Faulty Pulley and Peripherals
Since the serpentine belt is connected to several pulleys and peripherals such as the water pump, air conditioner, alternator, power steering pump, compressor, etc., it rotates around these pulleys and peripherals, therefore, if any of these components gets bad, it can put too much stress to the belt which can cause it break.
5. A Misaligned Pulley
A serpentine belt pulley is supposed to tighten correctly to the engine, however, if these pulleys are not properly tightened, it can cause the belt to wear out so fast hence why it can break while the engine is running.
This shouldn’t be a problem if your car has not been touched by a technician for a while. But if a technician had recently worked on your car especially the engine part that he has to remove the belt pulley, please take the car back and report the excessive wear and tear it’s causing to the belt. The technician should be able to correct the error.
6. Oil Leaks on the Serpentine Belt
If you are constantly having an oil leaks that leaks directly or finds its way to the serpentine belt, it can cause the belt to not to work the way it should especially when it’s all soaked with oil.
The first step to fixing this is not to replace the serpentine belt as it will only work few miles before it gets soaked again and start to wear off. The first step would be to fix whatever is causing the oil leaks before replacing the serpentine belt.
7. Damaged Hydraulic Belt Tensioner
For cars that comes with a hydraulic belt tensioner, it can easily cause the serpentine belt to break especially if the shock absorber which is used to hold the tensioner goes bad. The same thing happens when the tensioner goes bad too.
Nonetheless, the good news about serpentine belt is that it doesn’t break just like that. Once there’s an issue with the belt, you will be notified either through the loud whining noise that comes from the belt anytime the engine is powered on.
There are other signs of a bad serpentine belt that will alert you when the belt goes bad. They are engine overheating, AC not working, alternator not properly charging the battery, and power steering not working. These are few signs of a bad serpentine belt.
Meanwhile, when your serpentine belt breaks, the first thing to do is not to replace the belt, rather, you should first check why the belt broke in the first place.
Checking for possible cause will give you the opportunity to fix whatever may have cause the belt to break and prevent such from repeating itself.
For example, if the reason why the belt broke was because of a bad pulley or tensioner, it would be best to replace the pulley first before replacing the belt else, it’s only a matter of time, the belt will break again because the cause of the breakage has not been fixed.
What to Do When Serpentine Belt Breaks
If you’re driving and your serpentine belt break, just pull over and park the car. Do not continue to drive the car as that can be dangerous to the engine. Call any towing services to tow the car to an auto workshop for fixing.
If the car is parked but the belt broke when you started the car, turn off the car immediately. Tow the car to an auto shop and have them fix the issue.
Is it Common for Serpentine Belt to Break?
No, it’s not common for a serpentine belt to break because the belt is made of Neoprene rubber or Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) rubber which can last between 50,000 to 100,000 miles.
Moreover, the serpentine belt is likely never to break if you notice the signs earlier and replace it. Some people will purposely continue to drive even with the loud whining noise coming from the belt until the breaks loose its valor and break.
How Long Does it Take for Serpentine Belt to Break?
The serpentine belt can break if it has been used more than the number of miles it was made to last.
Serpentine belts made of Neoprene rubber are expected to last for 50,000 miles, while the ones made of Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) rubber is made to last for 100,000 miles.
However, depending on the material the belt is made of, once it’s gets to that number of miles, it won’t take much longer before it starts giving you signs and eventually break.
Will a Broken Serpentine Belt Destroy my Engine?
Yes, a broken serpentine belt can spoil you engine if you continue to drive the car or leave the engine on for a very long time. This is possible because the belt powers several component that they engine needs to function.
For example, if you continue to drive the car with a broken serpentine belt, it will cause the car to overheat which can destroy your engine if care is not taken. Therefore, a broke serpentine belt can damage your engine but not immediately.
Conclusion
A serpentine belt is not something that breaks often, neither is it something that last forever, however, a serpentine belt can break if there is too much wear and tear, too much oil leakage on it and damaged tensioner/pulley.