What are the warning signs that there’s a problem with the serpentine belt?
You may hear a squealing sound from under the hood when accelerating around our Eugene Oregon streets. A loose belt might give you a slow, slapping sound. What do you do if your belt breaks? If you’ve actually had that happen on our local Eugene Oregon freeway, it can be a little scary. Often the first thing you notice is that you have no power steering or power brakes. Don’t panic – you can still steer and brake, but you’ll have to do the work. It’ll be harder to steer and you’ll need more time and effort to stop, so plan accordingly. Your dashboard will light up will all kinds of warnings. You’ll see a warning about your cooling system if you have a water pump that’s driven by the serpentine belt. This is very critical because without your cooling system working, your engine will overheat. If you don’t stop you’ll have massive engine damage, maybe to the point that you need a new engine. Pull over as quickly as you safely can. Open your windows and turn the heater on full blast to pr
