Replaced serpentine belt

nicely done

 

George, how many miles on that serpentine belt?

 

Look underneath the waterpump for crystallized (or still wet) coolant. If you see any, it's advised to change the pump too. The tech probably didn't get underneath to swap out the belt.

 

The dried coolant appears as pinkish or whitish powder deposits on the inside of the coolant pump pulley or on the air conditioner compressor below the coolant pump.

 

The dealership reported this on my prius 4 years ago and also showed me the pink deposit and told me that this could be because of cracked lid and gave me hefty estimate. My other local mechanic however assured me that there is nothing wrong and I should do nothing about it. 4 years since then and its working fine.

Also, in the same visit, I was told about a few cracks in serpentine belt. I missed that part completely because of the hefty estimate for coolant lid crack scare that he created. I have done no work on my prius and have had no issues in my prius since.

What are the signs when serpentine belt cracks or breaks? Does it stall the car? or stall the cooling?

 

When the serpentine belt breaks you loose coolant recirculation to and from the ICE. The engine overheats and most likely you warp the head. IMO, this is one of those maintenance items that you want to preemptively manage.

 

Mine showed cracks at 80,000 miles. You really have to take it off to see the cracks well. Given how tactical that belt is it should be changed by 100,000 miles no matter what it looks like on he car.

When the belt is off spin the water pump see if its making any noise and also idler pulley. My idler pulley was making some noise so I greased it.
And if you see deposits the pump is weeping. Maybe not bad but its weeping and will continue till it fails. There easy to see just look down at the front of the engine with a flashlight.

With a failed pump and no temp gauge in the car you will never know its overheating till the check engine light or over heat icon comes on. Too late the aluminum cylinder head may incur damage. Its a bad system. Pay attention to burning smells unless you have a Scanguage.

After the belt has been replaced take a look at it after you have driven it for a few days. When new that belt is very stiff and will stretch a bit after use. It may then become loose. Snake your hand in there and see if is loose.

Also its a good idea to take the plastic cover off the top of the rad as that reveals the rad cap. Open that cap and check the rad level. The over flow tank has really nothing to do with how much coolant is in the car it can show full and the rad could be empty. You do not need to replace the screws when you put the cover back on the hood traps it when its closed. Mine has been loose for 12 years. Makes it very easy to check the rad fast. If you see any spots i would be checking that level very frequently. Coolant level should never change over time if it does you have a leak.

 

Compared to some other cars the belt should be pretty lose. Specification for deflection with 10kg or 22lbs of force in the center of long run between idler and crank pulley is 9...12mm or 0.35...0.47" with new or 11...15mm 0.43...0.59" with used belt. But its almost impossible to measure this so you just have to fell it.