Belts and Hoses

Your car, pickup, van, or SUV has many moving parts. Most rely on either belts or hoses to help them run right. Some may even employ both to perform their best.

The Three Kinds of Belts

First, there's your timing belt. It helps the crankshaft rotate the engine's camshaft, ensuring that valves and pistons operate in sync with one another. If it goes bad, your engine will quit running almost immediately. If you drive a newer vehicle, though, you may have a timing chain instead.

Your vehicle also has serpentine belts, with work with the tensioner, crank pulley, and idler pulley to move parts like your power steering and alternator. Lastly, there are the drive belts that move such parts as the water pump. If either a serpentine or drive belt fails, you typically have a bit of time to address the issue before things escalate.

What Hoses Do

Hoses direct fluids to and from parts. Examples would be radiators and engines. The coolant flows through hoses from your radiator to your engine to avoid overheating. The fluid then returns through hoses back to the radiator, where it gets cooled all over again.

How to Recognize Belt or Hose Problems

Signs of trouble include:

• Fraying belt edges
• Excessively slack or loose belts
• Belts that are overly tight
• Cracked hose material
• Large puddles of liquid under your vehicle

Choose Genuine OEM Belts and Hoses

If you want to get the best replacement belts and hoses for your vehicle, go with the ones that were made by your manufacturer to fit your model's specific dimensions. They're guaranteed to fit right into place and deliver ideal performance. Our online auto parts store has everything you need, in stock and available for rapid shipping. Buy now and save!