Belts and Hoses

HOW OFTEN SHOULD I HAVE MY BELTS AND HOSES CHECKED?

It is recommended that you have your belts and hoses checked with every oil change. All the rubber parts on your car wear out more quickly here in the desert. Things like wiper blades, motor mounts, belts, hoses and tires just don’t last as long due to the heat and the extreme dry conditions.

HOSES

Typically, most hoses fail from the inside out. That means they may look good if you quickly check under the hood, but there may be problems you can’t see.

Rubber hose deteriorates with age and exposure to heat. The hose material can become hard and brittle. Tiny cracks develop in the rubber which eventually cause the hose to split, blister or leak.

Oil on the outside of coolant hose can also accelerate the breakdown of the hose material. Today’s bimetal cast iron/aluminum engines and aluminum radiators can create conditions that set up an electrical current in the coolant. The inside surface of the hose becomes a conductor, which causes the material to pit and weaken. Cracks and striations tend to form near the ends of the hose that eventually eat through from the inside out causing the hose to fail.

BELTS

Likewise, belts deteriorate with heat and mileage. Every time a belt passes around a pulley, it bends and flexes. This produces heat in the belt which hardens the rubber over time. The wear process can be greatly accelerated if the belt is loose and slips.

The additional friction between belt and pulley will make a belt run even hotter. After millions of such journeys around the pulleys, even the best drive belt begins to suffer the effects of age.

The rubber begins to crack and fray, and the internal cords become weakened and brittle. If your belt breaks you will lose whatever functions powered by the belt like your water pump, alternator, power steering, air conditioning, and more.