Serpentine Belt - When To Change?

[The_Nuke]

Visually inspecting the serpentine belt is a good start, and if any of the tell-tale signs mentioned above are present, you should certainly replace the belt. However, the belt should NOT be deemed 'good to go' just because it passed the visual inspection. Modern serpentine belts are made with a different, more durable, material that will resist the cracking and fraying that would normally give it away as being overdue for a change. About the only visual clue you will see on some belts is the worn out shape of the belt grooves. They will be more 'U' shaped than 'V' shaped like they were when brand new. But that's a hard one to spot most of the time. I just go by mileage. If it's got 100K, it gets changed.

And don't forget the belt tensioner. If I change a belt on a vehicle because I believe it to be worn out or past its useful service life, I will always replace the belt tensioner as well. They have a service life just like the belts do. If they're not worn out now, they will be eventually. I choose to replace them at the same time just to keep things simple.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted by maxdustington
Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by SnowDrifter
Originally Posted by GZRider
I change serpentine belts every 6 years or 75k miles at minimum, it's not an expensive part but alternators and power steering pumps typically are. One imagines the belt suddenly snapping while the accessory components are under load is not going to do good things for their service life.

As a matter of fact, it would do nothing to them.

I was thinking the same thing. I can't imagine how it could hurt anything. They would just coast down to zero RPMs.
I thought the danger was that it could whip around and damage things, like your radiator.

I'm kind of ashamed that I didn't do anything about it, but I knew my A/C belt was gone and did nothing about it until later. While I didn't have A/C until it was fixed, it also started whipping around and rubbed away at the plastic timing chain cover. When I finally got it fixed with a sorely needed timing belt replacement, the mechanic cleaned off the cover and used heavy duty tape to cover over the hole that was left there.

I wouldn't necessarily worry about a radiator because one would rarely be in the path of a broken belt.

 

[dogememe]

All three of my vehicles could use new belts, as they are visually worn and 2/3 squeak in the mornings. But I'm not too worried and will change them when it bothers me too much or they have to come off for some reason (alternator, etc)

 

[Propflux01]

Thank you for the responses. I do think I will go ahead and replace it at the 100K mark, with a gates replacement. It does not have an auto-tensioner so noting to change there. Ill put the old one in the trunk.

 

[user52165]

Google "Gates belt wear gauge" and you can get one free.

 

[JustinH]

Just replaced both belts on my 2011 vehicles.

Rockauto for both, Bando for the Hyundai, Continental for the Scion.

$20 for the pair.

 

[user52165]

Are you sure about that?

 

[BlakeB]

My Chevrolet calls for 150,000 miles or 10 years, whichever comes first. It also says to inspect and replace as needed if you see excessive wear or cracking.
I used to have a Tacoma with the 1gr-fe. I've heard of a couple of the 4.0's breaking the serpentine belt and getting pieces of it wrapped around and worked into the front main (crank) seal behind the balancer/pulley. Talk about killing your engine in short order. I think most issues are caused by a misaligned belt, but they could fail outright and cause issues too.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/chewed-up-serpentine-belt-now-leaking-oil.429259/

 

[Propflux01]

Originally Posted by user52165

https://www.youcanic.com/guide/serpentine-drive-alternator-belt-replacement-hyundai-elantra-2011-16[/URL]

 

[Leo99]

Originally Posted by user52165
Google "Gates belt wear gauge" and you can get one free.


Don't know where mine is. Took a couple months to show up. Forgot all about it until it showed up one day in the mail.

I change serpentine belts out about every 100k miles. Easy on Corolla. Difficult on Rav4. The Camry looks easy. Used a Continental in the Rav4 and it looked worn after only 50k miles. Went to Gates and it looks fine after 50k miles.

 

[Dave9]

Mileage is not a good way to gauge it unless you drive the exact same environment, distance, time, years, etc as the estimate was based on for your particular vehicle.

Instead, examine the belt. Look for groove wear and deep cracks. Consider whether you are going on a long trip soon or travel in a hostile area whether it be the desert, Antarctica, a crack infested ghetto, or you just have children or elderly frail people onboard and travel outside of cell phone service range.

So there is no immediate need to replace it if no indication it is wearing, it won't suddenly fail if it looks good unless you have an engine component on a driven pulley that fails and that will wreck a new belt too.

On the other hand, belts are not expensive and at 100K mi if you plan to keep it another few 10's of thousands of miles, you might have piece of mind just doing that now before it fails if now is more convenient.

 

[Chris142]

Gate says check @60. Replace @90 along with the tensioner and any idler pullys. You can find a tool to measure the teeth.

 

[92saturnsl2]

Originally Posted by y_p_w
I wouldn't necessarily worry about a radiator because one would rarely be in the path of a broken belt.


On a NS pointed engine, the radiator is one of the closest things to the belt. Not saying it's likely to be hit, but certainly possible!

 

[GZRider]

Debris from the belt failing under tension can enter the alternator or damage the soft power steering lines/hoses off the reservoir rack and pump, I've seen it in person several times. It depends on the design of your vehicle, what the belt is made of, how it breaks and how much luck you have.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Originally Posted by y_p_w
This one looks different than any belt on my cars, but I understand it's normal and in good condition.

Those cogged belts are supposed to be quieter than normal belts. They are a life saver where the belts are noisy no matter what you do.

Unfortunately, Continental recently stopped making them

 

[Rolla07]

100k sounds like not a bad time to change it out. Good for another 100k afterwards (prolly)

I like the Goodyear Gatorbacks.

 

[oldhp]

Originally Posted by Ihatetochangeoil
Change it when you feel like it....Don't throw the old one away...I keep mine in the trunk...Just because I can sleep better with a spare WITH me...I can change it in 5 minutes, and a worn one is better than a broken one in the middle of nowhere...


Exactly.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted by Rolla07
100k sounds like not a bad time to change it out. Good for another 100k afterwards (prolly)

I like the Goodyear Gatorbacks.

I had one break at less than 100k miles. But it was also about 15 years.

The condition was actually kind of worn and cracked. At least the pieces I found were.

However, it's actually pretty easy to inspect belts. If the hood is open and one can place a finger on the ribs, that's about as good a time as any to feel if it's cracked.

As for keeping a spare replacement, I don't know about keeping the old belt as a spare unless there's no other option. The cheapest accessory belt I can find for the car I mentioned is $1.23 for a Dayco closeout from RockAuto. The OEM belts are maybe $7. I don't believe they age much uninstalled, but they probably get a lot of heat and who knows what under the hood.

 

[pezzy669]

My VW's. ('03 and '06) always started squeaking on cold starts around 60-70k. My '11 E350 in my sig is squeaking while cold so it is time for a new belt, tensioner and pulleys at next service.

I have been stranded on the freeway by a broken belt.....not something I will cheap out on ever again.

 

[Propflux01]

The current one does not squeak or show any sign of wear that I can see, but again, at the 100k I like to do a PM package. I loathe the thought of a simple failure that I could have prevented, happening in the middle of nowhere.