The drive belt, sometimes called the fan belt, conveys power to a lot of important parts of your car. The alternator, power steering pump, water pump and air conditioning compressor are typically mounted on the front of your engine, and rely on the drive belt to operate.

Each of these parts has a pulley attached, as does the engine crankshaft, and the drive belt wraps around these pulleys. When the engine is running, the crankshaft pulley turns, moving the drive belt, which then turns the accessory pulleys.

There are two basic types of drive belts: V-belts and serpentine belts.

V-belt

These belts get their name from their shape, which tapers from wide to narrow, forming a “V.” Usually, V-belts are found on older vehicles, produced at least a couple of decades ago. In the beginning, only one V-belt — known as a fan belt — was used to drive all of the engine accessories.

As cars became more complex, automakers started adding more accessories to the engine. To compensate, they began using multiple V-belts. Each belt drove one or two of the accessories. For example, one may drive the power steering and alternator, while another drives the water pump.

Some V-belts are relatively smooth on both sides, while others have multiple small grooves on the pulley side. Generally, multi-groove “ribbed” V-belts are more flexible and build up less heat. V-belts can be adjusted via an adjustment pulley, or pivot and adjustment bolts.

Serpentine belt

The serpentine belt is basically just a longer belt that “snakes” around all the engine accessories. It may have grooves on one side or both. Typically, serpentine belts last longer and transmit power more efficiently than V-belts.

Unlike V-belts, serpentine belts aren’t adjustable. Instead, an automatic tensioner is used to keep the belt taut.

This article comes from repairpal edit released