Checking your Car Belts

Car Maintenance Checklist Series

How often: This should be done at least every 3 months.

Time required: 5-15 minutes depending on make, and model.

When you find that you have a broken car belt, it’s going to do a lot more damage than good, if you would have checked it earlier.  You’ll find that most car belts are going to be need to changed at least every 50,00 miles.

How to check your car belts –

Pop the hood - The first step you’ll want to take is by popping your hood, and having the engine turned off.  You should make this a habit every time you look under your hood.

Find your belts - Look inside the hood, and look for your belts.  They will look just like a big black rubber band.  These are going to most likely be located at the front of the engine.  Depending on your make and model, you’ll find that you may have more than one belt.  Newer cars generally have only one belt.

Pull on the belt - The next step that you want to take is to tug on the belt.  If you can pull the belt more than 1 inch from either direction, you may want to look at getting the belt replaced.  This is a sign of the belt wearing out, and can cause problems in the future.

Press the belt – If you pull, and it doesn’t go further than 1 inch, you’re going to be fine.  After you pull the belt, you’ll want to rub your finger across the belt checking for cracks, and any damage.  Just because a belt doesn’t give way, doesn’t mean it’s not in great shape.

If you find that your belts aren’t turning as they should be, you have to be advised that you shouldn’t place any lubricant on them, as that may cause them to completely fall off the belt them self.

Also, if you know how to fix a belt, it never hurts to keep one in the trunk, just in case your car does break down in the near future.  This can make an easy fix on the side of the road.

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Checking your Radiator and Coolant Hoses

Car Maintenance Checklist Series

How often: This should be done each and every month.

Time required: 5-15 minutes depending on make, and model.

Checking on your radiator and coolant is a habit that you should get into each and every month.  It may sound foreign to you now, but be rest assured, that it isn’t that hard to check, I promise.  You’ll want to make sure that your car’s engine is getting all the fluids that it needs to run properly.

How to check your hoses –

Locate your car’s hoses:  You’ll want to pull up your hood, and locate your car’s two radiator hoses.  If you don’t know where to look, look directly at the engine, and spot the hoses coming out.  The top one will take the hot coolant away from the engine, while the one below returns the cool liquid.

Inspect the hoses: Inspect the hose as you would a garden hose or something of that nature.  You’ll want to look for any spots, or leaks that don’t look like they should be there.  If you do spot something like this, you’ll want to get it fixed asap.

Look for the clamp: Look for the clamp where the hose is near.  You’ll want to inspect this clamp, and make sure that the hose is settled in there tightly.  If you can move it around, and rotate it, that’s not a good sign.  You’ll either want to tighten the clamps, or get it fixed by a professional.

Check the firmness: Next, you’ll want to squeeze the hose.  If the hose is firm, that’s great.  If it doesn’t spring back, you may want to look into getting that hose replaced.

Change your coolant: If your coolant does need to be changed, make sure that you wear gloves, and safely dispose of the liquid.  Also be sure to follow these steps with replacing the hoses as well.

This process shouldn’t take you longer than 15 minutes to do.  The newer make and model based cars are a lot easier to check.

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