Where Should You Go In Powell For Replacing Your Land Rover’s Serpentine Belt?

In today’s market, Land Rover is considered a top luxury sports utility vehicle. As a sport utility vehicle, it offers its owners a high-performance ride, power, and durability. The vehicle can even go off-road where regular vehicles cannot. In spite of this, regular inspections, maintenance, and occasional repairs are still necessary.

There is a possibility that the serpentine belt on a Land Rover will need to be replaced. Serpentine belts are sometimes called accessory drive belts, timing belts, fan belts, and alternator belts. The belt is an integral part of the vehicle since it supplies power to the accessories connected to it.

Having a malfunctioning serpentine belt can affect your steering pump, alternator, water pump, and air conditioning compressor. There will be difficulties driving the car, there will be no power steering, and the car will overheat very quickly.

How Important Is The Serpentine Belt To Your Land Rover’s Performance?

Serpentine belts, also known as drive belts, keep alternators, power steering pumps, air conditioners, and sometimes water pumps operating smoothly. Many of these functions used to be handled by multiple belts in older vehicles. The multiple belts, however, wore out at different rates, resulting in poor performance and increased maintenance costs. By converting to a single belt, these minor performance issues were eliminated. However, the belt has to perform all these functions, making maintenance a necessity. It is impossible for your engine to run if you have a broken serpentine belt.

Because serpentine belts are so crucial to your vehicle, the latest ones are made of reinforced rubber strands that are bonded and durable. Rubber belts made of Neoprene usually last for five years or 50,000 miles. In recent years, new belts have been manufactured using Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer, which can last up to 100,000 miles.

As a result of high temperatures and friction, it is highly susceptible to wear. To ensure that the belt is maintaining tension properly, it should be inspected periodically for signs of this. In some engines, the tension needs to be adjusted manually, while in others, tensioners are in charge of this automatically. Over time, these tensioners can also wear out and require maintenance or repair.

Common Causes Of Serpentine Belt Failure

The serpentine belt can fail for a multitude of reasons. You may need to replace your timing belt for the following reasons.

• Driving short distances: Highway driving is one of the best ways to get the most out of most vehicles. With short distances, frequent stops, and different speeds, a serpentine belt can wear out more quickly in city driving.
• Heavy cargo transport: A SUV’s serpentine belt can also be strained by moving heavy cargo. A Land Rover serpentine belt may not break if it is overloaded one or two times, but if it is repeatedly overloaded, it may fail sooner than expected.
• Uphill and mountain driving: There is also a risk of the belt being damaged by driving on mountain roads with steep gradients and lots of turns.
• Rapidly accelerating often: It is also possible to experience problems if your driving style is to accelerate rapidly. The belt can be damaged if it is accelerated too rapidly, and it may break sooner than expected. A serpentine drive belt in a vehicle is rarely required to be replaced.

Serpentine Belt Replacement Signs

Here are three main signals that your serpentine belt might be struggling with.

• Battery Light: The vehicle alternator cannot be driven at the speed it should be by a loose or inoperative belt. As a result, your car’s battery may not charge correctly or even lose charge, which will result in the dashboard warning light
• Squealing noise: Almost all drivers dread hearing strange sounds from their vehicle’s engine. Serpentine belts that are misaligned or under excessive tension are most likely to make strained or squealing noises.
• Overheating engine: Your engine’s water pump cannot run without your serpentine belt engaged, so if the belt is misaligned, your engine will run hotter. You could experience an overheated engine within minutes if the belt were to snap.

Auto Assets is Your Best Bet

Whenever a problem occurs with a vehicle’s parts, such as an accessory drive belt, Auto Assets meets it head on before it causes further damage. Our experience working with Land Rovers in Columbus, Dublin, New Albany, Worthington, and Powell, OH, has allowed us to identify common pitfalls in various vehicles’ designs and engineering.

We know what to do when a drive belt fails in a Land Rover. At the very least, if you notice any of the above symptoms, take your Rover in for an inspection–it could save you thousands in repair costs down the line and keep you and your passengers safe. Contact us directly if you’d like to schedule an appointment or learn more about what we offer.

* Red Land Rover Car image credit goes to: YuriyVlasenko.