Belts

MAN

Engine Service in Palm Beach

Insured & Factory Certified Technicians

Description

The accessory drive belt is a flexible band that is driven by the engine crankshaft pulley and in turn rotates accessories such as water pumps and alternators.  Located at the front of the engine, they are often times hidden by a protective guard.  In the case of many generators, they are often difficult to inspect, let alone service, due to packaging and location of sound enclosures.

Maintenance

Belts are a basic maintenance item that are surprisingly often overlooked.  Unnecessary down time due to lack of belt maintenance can be at least annoying if not expensive.  Many observed belt failures are on generators due to the difficulty of access for regular inspection.

Belt failure can cause the engine to overheat (in the case of a water pump belt), or can cause the engine batteries to die (in the case of an alternator belt).  Dead batteries will leave an electronic engine completely inoperable.  An overheating engine could severely damage the internal components, so a belt failure could cause the need for major service.  Overall, belt maintenance is an important, as well as, a relatively cheap and easy maintenance to stay on top of.