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Article:
In the Nick of Time: Your Car's Serpentine Belt by: Michael Walker Recently, my friend called me from a roadside Dairy Queen in frenzy. His dad had been driving his Ford car down the highway and heard and awful noise. First, there was a squeal and then what sounded like a whip smacking the underneath of his hood. They weren't sure what was happening, but after investigating, found that a black rubber belt was half-eaten off its pulleys. 'Is the belt still on there?'¯ I asked. 'Well, half of it is,'¯ he continued as if the world were ending. 'My dad ripped the part that was hanging off and now only half remains!'¯ 'Have you driven it? How many miles are on that thing?'¯ I questioned. 'Yeah. We drove it into the parking lot here. I think it's got ninety thousand.'¯ He said flabbergasted. After a couple more minutes of my friend's ranting about his dad's mechanical shortcomings, I took a risk and told them to slowly drive it over to my house (which was only five minutes away). This problem seems all too common with owners of modern cars. The serpentine belt, both black and cracked, which had half-shredded itself under my friend's hood should have been replaced long before. The problem could have been prevented. Before this problem happens to you, you should be sure to check the belts when you do a regular check-up on your car. If you're a do-it-yourself kind of person, then when you change the oil, be sure that you check the serpentine belt with each and every oil change (or if you use synthetic oil that doesn't need changed as often, check your belt every '3
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