How to Recognize Belt Wear

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These are very simple instructions for looking at belt wear under the hood of a car.

Steps

1. 1
   Get a flashlight and pop your hood.

   
   
2. 2
   Shine the light on the belt. If you see 10 or more cracks per inch in the rubber or if their is more than one crack that is 1 inch or bigger in two columns, it's time to get a new one.
3. 3
   Lube shops should be able to replace it fairly simply -or- you can do this yourself very easily: Find the automatic tensioner (it will have a square hole that a socket wrench can fit in) and remove the old noting the routing and place the new belt on.

   
   

Tips

• Look for a routing diagram under the hood or in the engine bay.

Warnings

• Be careful. You must place the belt on in the right route.

Things You'll Need

• Ratchet and Sockets for the Tensioner.
• New Belt
• -optional- routing diagram

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