Just bear in mind that it is always risky to drive without a serpentine belt. Most of the car manufacturers have engineered their vehicles to run for some time without this belt. Thus you can take a risk of driving your car a mile or two without this belt.

Symptoms of a Bad or Failing Serpentine/Drive Belt

• Squealing noise from the front of the vehicle. If you notice a squealing noise coming from the front of your vehicle, it could be from the serpentine belt.
• Power steering and AC not working.
• Engine overheating.
• Cracks and wear on the belt.

Tools/Supplies Needed:

1. ratchet and socket set.
2. torque wrench.
3. new replacement belt.
4. new tensioner.
5. new pulley.
6. wrench set.
7. jack and axle stands or ramps.

Some model vehicles have the serpentine belt easily accessible, which means the labor should take under one hour. But if the belt is in a more complicated area, it could take about 2 hours. Easy to reach belts can actually be changed at home with minimal tools.

Squealing. When the engine is idling, a bad pulley may make a squealing sound. This is due to the bearings in the pulley going bad. The bearings may also make various other sounds such as clattering or even a rumbling sound, making the vehicle sound as if there was much more wrong than a bad pulley.

• Rust bleed and cracks. Appearance: Rust is bleeding between arm and base or dripping from the tensioner.
• Pulley bearing wear.
• Pulley wear.
• Tensioner assembly misalignment.
• Tensioner noise.
• Tensioner arm misalignment.
• Excessive tensioner arm oscillation.
• Binding or grinding tensioner arm movement.

Signs the timing belt may be failing The timing belt can fail without any prior symptoms, so if you’re within the mileage window, you should go ahead and have it replaced regardless. That being said, sometimes your car will give you a bit of warning that the belt is wearing out.

Depending on what schedule you may read, including information distributed by the manufacturers themselves, the average life span of a timing belt is between 60,000 and 105,000 miles or after 7 to 10 years regardless of mileage.

There really isn’t an indicator for belts, unfortunately. If the boyfriend of the previous owner says the dealer changed it, bring the car to that dealer, if possible, and have them look up a service record. If you’re far away from the dealer, call in and have your VIN handy.

Replacing your timing belt before it fails is something you do to reduce the risk of the severe engine damage I mentioned earlier. As a general rule of thumb, roughly 75,000 to 100,000 miles or 7–10 years (whichever comes first) is a reasonable replacement interval with minimal risk.

Depending on the manufacturer of the vehicle, mileage ranges for recommended timing belt replacement is anywhere from 60,000 miles to 100,000 miles and 6-10 years old. Many automotive repair centers will just replace the timing belt.

Time is perhaps more important than miles, in the life of a timing belt. Seven years is the maximum life of the timing belt, recommended by most manufacturers. Because timing belts deteriorate with age, time is even more critical than miles. More timing belts break due to age than mileage.

On average you can expect a timing belt to last 60,000 miles to 100,000 miles. This will change based on the make, model, and year of your vehicle. Every manufacturer has their specific recommended years or mileage to replace the belt.