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serpentine belt Maintenance Question

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xaeniac

xaeniac

Golden Member
I have a 2005 ford focus with 90,000 miles on it. I have inspected the belt and it looks like there are no cracks, frays or anything wrong with the belt. The belt has never been changed. I drive my car decently and dont drive it like I stole it. I will have to hire a mechanic as the engine is way too tight for me. SHould the serpentine be changed? What are your thoughts?
 
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What does your manual say? If it says change it at 90,000 miles then I'd change it.

Usually, changing the serpentine belt is as easy as prying on the tensioner to release the tension, pull the belt off and put the new belt on making sure it is looping over the pulleys correctly.

Here's a video showing how to do it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D-Gsd0L-W4
 
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Most serpentine belts are designed for 100k miles and just because it does not have cracks or frays does not mean it wont shred out any time soon... A serpentine belt wears in thickness across its width so it can be quite hard to really see or notice... But also the nylon fibers that are the backbone of the belt slowly become weaker due to constant bending, age, moisture & even dry rot and without warning will fail at some point which most manufacturers put at 100k miles... Seen some go well over that and some quite a bit less... 90k miles is a good point to change it and not worry just be sure to use a quality replacement...
 
I think belts are one of those things that tend to far outlive the accepted standards due to modern design and manufacturing.

I've honestly never seen a serpentine belt break all of its own volition. Seen accessories lock up, or have damaged or misaligned pulleys. Seen tensioners fail epicly. Idlers come apart.

But never seen a serpentine belt just snap with no other obvious cause. V-belts, yes. Your common 5 or 6 rib single serpentine belt...nope. And that's also considering I've seen them oil-soaked to the point of having noticeable elasticity. Or so cracked that chunks of the ribbed side of the belt were missing. The nylon and/or polyester part just doesn't seem to break.

That said, it's certainly not a bad idea to change a belt that you know has 90-100k on it. But I disagree with the sentiment that a belt that passes a visual check is some kind of time bomb base purely on mileage. Kind of like saying a quiet, smooth-rolling tensioner/idler pulley could come apart at any time...sure, it could; but it's highly unlikely.

When you say that it's not cracked at all, are you looking at the right spot? You need to examine the ribbed side at a point where it goes around a smooth pulley. That way, any cracks are being pulled open so that they can easily be seen. If you just look at an area that's flat, cracks are not going to be easy to see until the belt is pretty damned bad.
 
Bartman39 said:
Most serpentine belts are designed for 100k miles and just because it does not have cracks or frays does not mean it wont shred out any time soon... A serpentine belt wears in thickness across its width so it can be quite hard to really see or notice... But also the nylon fibers that are the backbone of the belt slowly become weaker due to constant bending, age, moisture & even dry rot and without warning will fail at some point which most manufacturers put at 100k miles... Seen some go well over that and some quite a bit less... 90k miles is a good point to change it and not worry just be sure to use a quality replacement...
Click to expand...


Have seen one or two fail unexpectedly while in use.

I've recently become somewhat enamored with Gates FleetRunner belts. Not much more expensive than Gates' regular V- and MicroV-belts, but supposedly last a lot longer. Of course, it depends upon where you buy them. A set for my Silverado's 5.3 runs ~$45 at Amazon for the main serpentine and A/C belts while the same pair runs $90 at O'Reilly's, the only local place that sells them around here.

Most likely complete overkill for my truck, but I'd wager I'd never change the belts again on it. 😉 The green color is different.
 
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I didn't change mine until 120k.... They typically last a long while as long as they don't rub anywhere and break down.

If it were to go out, you'd just be stuck somewhere until you could swap it or get a tow.

I've also seen new belts not seat right and rub and break within the first few thousand miles... After you have it replaced, visually inspect it every now and again.
 
phucheneh said:
I think belts are one of those things that tend to far outlive the accepted standards due to modern design and manufacturing.

I've honestly never seen a serpentine belt break all of its own volition. Seen accessories lock up, or have damaged or misaligned pulleys. Seen tensioners fail epicly. Idlers come apart.

But never seen a serpentine belt just snap with no other obvious cause. V-belts, yes. Your common 5 or 6 rib single serpentine belt...nope. And that's also considering I've seen them oil-soaked to the point of having noticeable elasticity. Or so cracked that chunks of the ribbed side of the belt were missing. The nylon and/or polyester part just doesn't seem to break.

That said, it's certainly not a bad idea to change a belt that you know has 90-100k on it. But I disagree with the sentiment that a belt that passes a visual check is some kind of time bomb base purely on mileage. Kind of like saying a quiet, smooth-rolling tensioner/idler pulley could come apart at any time...sure, it could; but it's highly unlikely.

When you say that it's not cracked at all, are you looking at the right spot? You need to examine the ribbed side at a point where it goes around a smooth pulley. That way, any cracks are being pulled open so that they can easily be seen. If you just look at an area that's flat, cracks are not going to be easy to see until the belt is pretty damned bad.
Click to expand...

You mean to tell me you have never seen or heard of the compressor belt breaking issue on 1999-2002 half ton Chevy trucks with 4.8 & 5.3 liter engines...? Was an ECU programing/control issue and was very common...
 
Bartman39 said:
Was an ECU programing/control issue and was very common...
Click to expand...

Seems like I rather specifically stated that I cannot recall seeing a modern ribbed belt, particularly of the variety that is the size needed to run everything on a single belt, break because the belt material failed in normal operating conditions. If the belt is being damaged during operation, a new belt doesn't fix/prevent that.
 
Scarpozzi said:
I didn't change mine until 120k.... They typically last a long while as long as they don't rub anywhere and break down.

If it were to go out, you'd just be stuck somewhere until you could swap it or get a tow.

I've also seen new belts not seat right and rub and break within the first few thousand miles... After you have it replaced, visually inspect it every now and again.
Click to expand...
Id err on the safe side and replace the belt preferably before the rated service life. Internal damage from wear is usually not visible, and delamination can eventually occur. I had a water pump belt delaminate (but still function), with relatively little visible damage about 2000 miles prior.
 
I replaced mine around the 60-65k mark. I think my manual said to inspect it around that point (Prob every 60k) and my mechanic said it needed to be changed. Maybe he wanted a quick dime out of me.. But I played it safe.
 
i changed thebelt in my 01 dodge after about 150k miles. i thought it was just an old belt until the new one popped in 10 minutes. thats when i found the water pump shaft was at a slight angle, pushing the belt off the pulley. i ended up putting the old belt (half gone in parts of it, snipped off the straggling strings) and it got me off the freeway. i generally replace the belts on my vehicles if they are showing signs of wear or cracking.

i still have that old belt in my tool box, just in case i need it to get me off the freeway again.
 
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