Drive belt (Serpentine belt) replacement

[amsandun]

Hi guys,

We bought a 2007 Vitz (SCP90) with 182K+ on ODO recently and did necessary replacements and a full service soon after. Now, when driving, I hear a kind of a noise from the engine bay area which feels/hears like a belt slipping or insufficient tension. It's not continuous, it's on and off. Comes regardless of whether AC is on/off. It's not that bothering but I want this gone/fixed. I suspected drive belt and tried to inspect the appearance but I couldn't say exactly if it's good or bad as I'm not experienced. Hoping to show it to a mechanic soon. 

According to the WWW, those belts are to be replaced like after 60,000-100,000 miles? I didn't see a record of such replacement done on this car. What are your thoughts? 

I will update what my mechanic would have to say?

 

[iRage]

Those belts cannot be visually inspected. You won't see anything abnormal unless there is significant wear and the belt is two steps away from breaking off.

The belt may still be running even if the AC is off so if the belt does make sounds it still can even when the AC is off.

Just replace it if you can afford it. Even if it looks new. It is quite a low cost item that the mental comfort is worth it. While you are at it..make sure that the belts are properly tensioned. I have noticed that a lot of baases in SL have a tendency to over tighten belts. 

[amsandun]

4 hours ago, iRage said:

The belt may still be running even if the AC is off so if the belt does make sounds it still can even when the AC is off.

The sound is there even when AC is on/off. I think you put this comment with the fan belt in mind right iRage?

This morning, I experienced a slight locking feeling (difficult to turn) in the steering and suddenly it releases. I had to put some power to turn it. I showed it to a mechanic close by and he said that if the battery is weak, it sometimes affects a unit (A motor maybe?) which is placed under the dash of the driver's side. Maybe he refereed to something related to steering rack? When the battery power goes down (like 7-9v), this unit may not function properly and also the alternator, which causes the steering to stop like that. 

So the Alternator, power steering pump, water pump etc is run by the drive belt. He asked me to check the battery first. Also for the sound, he checked the belt and said there is a sound and it might be coming from a worn out razor attached to some unit which is driven by the belt. Asked me to bring the car tomorrow after checking the battery too. I did check the battery and the battery seemed to be good. 

5 hours ago, iRage said:

Just replace it if you can afford it

I am also thinking of doing this and I will make sure to keep the tension correct as you mentioned. Let's see how it goes and will update here. 

[iRage]

18 minutes ago, amsandun said:

The sound is there even when AC is on/off. I think you put this comment with the fan belt in mind right iRage?

I have no idea how the Vitz's AC comp works. In some cars the AC comp is put on idle via a clutch so the belt technically keeps running.

20 minutes ago, amsandun said:

I showed it to a mechanic close by and he said that if the battery is weak, it sometimes affects a unit (A motor maybe?) which is placed under the dash of the driver's side. Maybe he refereed to something related to steering rack? When the battery power goes down (like 7-9v), this unit may not function properly and also the alternator, which causes the steering to stop like that.

Yes...when the battery is low the steering assist motor may go in to a sort of "limp mode". The backup for that is to have the alternator power the steering assist motors (I thought the old Vitz had a very old fashioned PS system though). Granted sometimes that doesn't actually do the trick if there is something significantly wrong with the electrical system of the car.

[amsandun]

53 minutes ago, iRage said:

Granted sometimes that doesn't actually do the trick if there is something significantly wrong with the electrical system

Hopefully it isn't the case here. I will see how it takes me home this evening and most probably I'd get the drive belt replaced for the mental health 😆 and if any razor is out, that too. Thanks for the comments. 👍

[RusT]

Hi @amsandun,

I've had a similar situation sometime back in my SCP90 as well. The EPS locking under low power was a sign that my alternator was going bad. In addition to getting the drive belt replaced, check the alternator as well because in my case I got the alternator repaired which fixed the EPS as well. 

Edited October 29 by RusT

[iRage]

4 hours ago, amsandun said:

Hopefully it isn't the case here. I will see how it takes me home this evening and most probably I'd get the drive belt replaced for the mental health 😆 and if any razor is out, that too. Thanks for the comments. 👍

Well...if there is something seriously wrong with the electrical system I am sure it won't be too long before (if not already) you start seeing other issues. So yeah..I don't think it is anything that is going to be a scary electrocal gremlin.

Also, I just realized you said it was a 2007 Vitz  For some reason I was picturing a 1st gen XP10  So yeah..the steering assist going into limp mode makes even more sense.

Edited October 29 by iRage

[amsandun]

14 hours ago, RusT said:

Hi @amsandun,

I've had a similar situation sometime back in my SCP90 as well. The EPS locking under low power was a sign that my alternator was going bad. In addition to getting the drive belt replaced, check the alternator as well because in my case I got the alternator repaired which fixed the EPS as well. 

Thank you for this important fact brother, I will keep this in mind and let the mechanic know to check the alternator as well. 

[amsandun]

15 hours ago, iRage said:

So yeah..the steering assist going into limp mode makes even more sense.

Yeah me too hope that'd be all ☺️ I didn't face the issue last evening or this morning. But I'm going to get the things inspected soon.