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The Land Rover has been a staple in the high-end vehicle market. Like most vehicles, the Land Rover is equipped with an idler pulley that sometimes fails over time. For this article, we will discuss the Land Rover’s idler pulley, the system it is involved in, and tips to identify a failure with an idler pulley.

The Function of An Idler Pulley

The idler pulley is part of the Land Rovers drive belt system. In a single serpentine belt system, the idler pulley is used to drive, guide the belt, and help add tension to the belt system. Typically, the drive belt system in a Land Rover and other cars control equipment like the alternator, water pump, air conditioner system, and power steering pump.

Each of these units has a pulley attached to it that the belt drives. The idler pulley is usually attached to the crankcase and drives the belt for the entire system. An idler pulley that fails will cause issues with all of these other systems mentioned and needs to be repaired right away.

Tips to Identify Failure in a Pulley

Since the idler pulley is key to the entire drive belt system, here are a few signs that could tell you the pulley is failing. Some of these symptoms could be other issues within the drive belt system, but since they all work together, any of these signs need to be a warning to have your Land Rover taken to a certified technician for inspection and repair.

• Chirping Sound: A chirping sound coming from the drive belt system could mean that a pulley in the system is going bad or the belt is loosening. Since drive belts normally do not loosen on their own, it is a good indication that the pulley or one of its system components is failing.
• Battery Running Low: Since the idler pulley runs the drive belt system, a failed pulley could mean your alternator is not fully charging your battery. If an idler pulley is allowing the belt to slip on the alternator, it will not generate enough voltage to keep your Land Rover battery charged.
• Vehicle Overheating: Just as with the alternator, the idler pulley and drive belt system control the Land Rover’s water pump’s efficiency. If the water pump does not circulate the water and coolant mixture fast enough, your engine or transmission could overheat. Overheating for any vehicle, of course, can cause irreparable damage.
• Loss of Steering: Most people do not realize how much power steering makes it easy to steer a car driving down the road. A failing idler pulley can cause the power steering to turn into manual steering which makes it difficult to control the car.
• Break Down: If there is enough damage to the idler pulley that it does not control the system as it should or if it completely fails, you could find yourself broken down during a commute.

Reasons for a Failed Idler Pulley

There are many reasons why an idler pulley fails on a Land Rover or any other vehicle. One reason is simply that the pulley was running for an extended period of time without inspection. Having a vehicle maintained properly by professional technicians can catch issues before they arise. Make sure to keep up with your Land Rover’s frequency of service.

Another reason for an idler pulley to go bad is due to poor workmanship. If you had a belt changed at any point on your Land Rover by a mechanic who is not certified to work on Land Rovers, they might have well-caused damage to the system by over-tightening the tension on the belt or other errors in judgment.

Prevention of a Failed Idler Pulley

All Land Rover and other vehicles, for that matter, require frequent and scheduled maintenance to keep them in top running condition. By using our services at Autowerks, located in Brenham, Bryan, Caldwell, Madisonville, Navasota, and College Station, TX, we can keep your Land Rover or other highly engineered vehicles in service for years to come.

Our customers trust us to service and repair their European model vehicles like the Land Rover and continue to return for our expertise. Contact us today at one of our locations to have your vehicle serviced.