Keeping belts maintained vital for your car's health

An important part of your car, belts wrap around pulleys to power many of your car's components like the fan, water pump, alternator, air conditioner, power steering pump and smog pump.

Your car's belts make more than 35 million revolutions annually. Worn, defective or improperly adjusted belts can contribute to accidents, breakdowns, costly repairs and overheated engines. So don't wait until you hear a squeal under the hood to check for a worn out belt.

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Get in the habit of scoping your car's belts out on a regular basis. Just follow these eight simple steps:

1. Turn off the engine and let it cool before checking the belts and be careful around hot engine parts.

2. Pull the hood release lever under the dashboard.

3. Walk around to the front of the car, reach under the hood, find the latch and squeeze it. As you squeeze the latch, open the hood.

4. Find the belts located on the very front of the engine. On a front-wheel-drive car, the front of the engine is usually adjacent to the fender; on a rear-wheel-drive car, the front of the engine is adjacent to the radiator and the front bumper.

5. Note that there will be two or more belts, depending on the car.

6. Press lightly with your thumb on each belt at the belt's longest part between pulleys.

7. Check the appropriate tension for your belts in your car's manual. Belts should not have more than 1 inch of "give" in either direction.

8. Observe the belt as you press on it. If it's cracked or can be easily pushed more than 1 inch, it most likely needs to be replaced.

Need to replace your belts? Click here to find the right replacement belts for your car.