If either of these belts fail, it can have a serious impact on the operation of your vehicle. However, when the water pump belt breaks, it can lead to overheating, broken engine components or complete engine failure.

Pulley overheating is usually caused by the belt slipping in the pulley. If your battery is low or there is a greater load on the alternator it causes the alternator to be harder to drive which then places a greater strain on the belt to drive the pulley.

Damaged bearing or pulley A broken or seized pulley can quickly lead to a torn belt, or in less serious cases, the belt falling off of the engine. An engine without a belt can quickly run into issues such as overheating and stalling, as it’s the drive belt that allows the engine accessories to function.

If there is not enough tension, a belt can slip, squeal or run hot. Quick fact: If your serpentine belt is loose, you may have other mechanical problems like under-performing water pump, which can cause the engine to overheat. Avoid performance loss.

Squealing Noises The squealing sound is most likely due to the belt slipping or a misaligned pulley. The noise is an indication that the belt needs replacing as soon as possible. Sometimes the squealing will start as a very light sound, but over time the squealing will get worse until the belt finally fails.

If a timing belt breaks, the engine will no longer work. If a timing belt breaks while driving in an interference engine, the camshaft stops turning leaving some of the engine valves in the open position. The heavier crankshaft will continue rotating by inertia, moving pistons up and down.

Replacing the pulley should only take an hour or two, and the parts will vary in cost from one type of car to the next. How many parts need to be replaced and how long the repairs take will depend on how severe the damage is. If the pulley is simply loose, then replacing it will be simple and straightforward.