WOF and Service Essentials: Auxiliary Belts

In New Zealand, we all know how important seat belts are for the safety of passengers – but what about auxiliary belts hidden within your car, truck or vehicle?

What is an auxiliary belt? Why are auxiliary belts Warrant Of Fitness (WOF) and service essentials at our Christchurch automotive workshop? Well, belts hold a lot together. The humble auxiliary belt is used to transfer the power created from your engine to drive auxiliary components required on your vehicle, such as:

  • power steer pump
  • air conditioning pump
  • water pump
  • cooling fan
  • alternator
  • generator
  • superchargers
Can a failed auxiliary belt affect my safety?

Yes, a failed power steer belt, for example, will make your vehicle steering go very hard, making it difficult for the driver to steer the vehicle in the desired direction. Imagine going around a corner a 100kms per hour and suddenly you have trouble turning your wheels.

Can a failed auxiliary belt cause consequential damage to my vehicle?

Yes for sure, it can cause major costly damage. For example, if your water pump belt snaps and you keep driving, this will cause your vehicle to overheat and cook the motor. Here is a picture of a belt that broke and wrapped itself around the crank pulley winding the crank seal out causing a major oil leak.

Follow these auxiliary belt maintenance tips to keep your car, truck or vehicle running safely:

Book in a service. When you get a Warrant Of Fitness (WOF) inspection the belt is only visually inspected. Every service we do at Mighty Kiwi Commercial in Christchurch, we inspect and adjust your auxiliary belts if required.

Use the experts. Incorrect adjustment can make your belt squeal and if you do not have the belt adjusted ASAP it will become glazed and require replacement. A dry glazed belt will always squeal. Incorrect alignment can also make a belt squeal or somebody has fitted the incorrect belt.

Regular maintenance. An auxiliary belt can last (depending on application) normally around 30,000km-40,000kms or 3-4 years.

Auxiliary Belt Cost

It depends on the application and vehicle, there are a lot of good aftermarket brands available today and it is not always necessary to fit one from your manufacturer, 90% of the time they cost more for no real gain. Belts can range in cost from $20-$130 dollars per belt. As for the time it takes to fit them, this can also range depending on the application, generally most manufacture of vehicles and machinery make them easy to assess. We would allow 15 minutes to 1 hour.

At Mighty Kiwi Commercial Christchurch we do thorough Warrant Of Fitness (WOF)s and service inspections. We’ll gladly keep an eye on your auxiliary belts and help you avoid costly repairs while keeping you and your passengers safe.

Call us now to book 03 384 4476.