Is it dangerous to drive with loose belt?

Is it dangerous to drive with loose belt?

Don’t drive any vehicle with a squeaky loose serpentine belt, because it will cause a lot of damages to the vehicle if it comes off the pulleys and breaking up into pieces. I’ve never seen damage caused by throwing a serp belt but it’s not impossible.

How do you check belt tension by hand?

Hold the belt between finger and thumb at this point and move it from side to side. See how much it deflects at the centre of the run. If it moves more than 1/2 in. (13 mm) it is too slack – any less movement and it is too tight.

How tight should engine belts be?

In many applications, the serpentine belt needs only to be reasonably tight. The belt should have about a half an inch of play when at the appropriate tightness. If there is less than a half an inch, the belt will need to be loosened, if there is more, it will need to be tightened.

What happens if timing belt is to tight?

If the timing belt is insufficiently tense, there is a danger that it will ping off. If it is too tight, all of the bearings will be stressed, which is definitely also a bad thing. You’ll notice this thanks to the loud running noise. In the worst-case scenario, the belt can even snap.

Can you over tighten serpentine belt?

Dear Anthony: A belt should never be over-tightened. An over-tightened belt can burn out any bearing that the belt rotates on, including alternator, power steering pump, A/C compressor, idler pulleys, etc. Once the drive belt is moved into its desired tension, tighten the adjustment bolt to lock the belt in place.

What causes AV belt to squeal?

Squeal is caused by low belt tension, high accessory/idler drag, seized bearings or accessory failure, environmental or fluid contamination of the belt, belt stretch, extreme belt wear, tensioner spring degradation and/or a belt that is too long. Both the tensioner and idler pulley should be replaced as required.