a power steering hose leaked near my drive belt and it is squealing a bit. I have fixed the leaky hose and need to clean up the mess.
What can I use to clean the drive belt?
1 Answer
Quick googling reveals that drive belts may be damaged by oil leaks. Thus, I would change the drive belt instead of trying to clean it. Drive belts are cheap, but the trouble caused by a failed drive belt is very annoying. If the leak has been there for a long amount time, especially then I would heavily consider changing the drive belt instead of cleaning it.
If you clean the drive belt, you need to use a solvent that is capable of dissolving oil but will not damage the rubber of the drive belt. Quick googling reveals that ehow.com recommends a soapy water solution to clean oil from a drive belt (http://www.ehow.com/info_12039924_can-clean-oil-drive-belt.html). This is probably good advice, as more effective solvents may damage the rubber of the drive belt.
