• The serpentine belt of an engine operates many key components of an engine.timing belt image by Albert Lozano from Fotolia.com
  
  The serpentine belt in a car engine is an important belt and must be maintained. The serpentine belt is responsible for driving the water pump, power steering and potentially the air conditioner. Belts should be watched for cracking and other wear; if wear can be seen on the belt it should be replaced. Changing serpentine belts can be challenging but there are a few tips that can make the task easier.
  
  

Tension Pulley

• The tension pulley is responsible for keeping the belt tight against all the pulleys used to hold the serpentine belt in place. To replace the serpentine belt this tension needs to be released from the belt and a pulley wrench needs to be used to do so. The tool needs to be rotated until the tension is removed from the belt and the tension pulley has been locked into the stop position. Failure to lock the tension pulley into the stop position could result in injury as the tool could slip off and result in the pulley snapping back into place.
  
  

Installing New Belt

• Examine the arrangement of the old belt before removing it. Take special note of which side of the pulleys the belt passes over. Use a permanent marker and make a small dot on the side of the pulley where the belt should be placed. When placing the new belt on the pulleys make sure that the grooves of the belt are placed correctly in the grooves of the pulleys. Failure to match up the grooves correctly can result in premature wear and tear of the belt.
  
  

Testing the Belt

• Once the new serpentine belt is installed and the tension pulley has been engaged, test the belt. It is possible to not provide enough tension on a new belt at first when resetting the tension pulley. If this occurs the belt will slip and cause it to squeal when the various components the belt drives are turned on. Take the vehicle out for a drive after the belt is installed and listen for any squealing. Pay attention to the power steering. Sluggish power steering is a sign that the serpentine belt could be slipping. If the new belt slips, increase the tension that is provided by the tension pulley and test the belt again.