Serpentine Belts

[Beowulf]

Ok, I have never broken one or even read a thread of it happening. Maybe no ones wants to talk about it, or it is just a boring subject.

Does anyone carry a spare serpentine belt?

Any stories of them breaking?

What Bush Fixes have you seen when a spare was not available?

Anyone have experience with those Orange Adjustable units

Bottom on Page:
http://www.recoverygear.com/otherprod.html

Also here:
http://www.wirthco.com/maintenance-safety-products-belt-repair-kits-c-1_2-l-en.html

 

[ntsqd]

I've never had one break, but so far I've only one vehicle with one. It was noisy when I got the truck. As per my normal habit the belt(s) that came off get stashed under the hood for spares in case they're needed.

 

[Taz]

Never had one break, but I do carry one as others with me have had them break

 

[Co-opski]

In the picture it is called a v-belt is that different than a serpentine belt? I thought a serpentine belt had ridges that ran the length of the belt and v-belts had a “v” shape and blocks on the inside of them. With timing belts they will often slip before they break, causing problems.

This product would be good for accessory belts.

 

[rickc]

Change the serpentine belt before it breaks and keep the old one as a spare.

 

[Beowulf]

In the picture it is called a v-belt is that different than a serpentine belt? I thought a serpentine belt had ridges that ran the length of the belt and v-belts had a “v” shape and blocks on the inside of them. With timing belts they will often slip before they break, causing problems.

This product would be good for accessory belts.

You are correct. This is the pick of their V-belt I could not find the Serpentine picture.

 

[Co-opski]

This looks like a good option or keep a spare like rickc said. It would not hurt to have one in the bush if you needed it.

 

[sandalscout]

I had one rip off just a single "strand" on one edge, scared the bejeezus out of us, going done the road and then just thump, thump, thump of a small 1-2mm stripp of rubber hitting the hood from inside. I pulled it, replaced it, and carry the broken belt as a spare. I imagine it'd get my several miles before it became a problem. I have read a review about the orange blets above, one guy said it was incredibly cool, someone else said he had a problem of it slipping and he thought he might overheat the engine because the water pump wasn't moving fast enough.

 

[motomech]

Ive had many break on me but it was not due to the belt it was due to a mechanical failure.
1.Alternator
2.Idler pulley
3.Tensioner pulley

 

[michaels]

i carry a spare (the old one), but i'm not worried about it.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I used to be an engineer on these systems at Litens Automotive, one of the biggest manufacturers of tensioners and idlers. We were usually also responsible for engineering the system overall.

Belts actually breaking should be pretty rare, and would indicate either a catastrophic failure somewhere else as mentioned, or that you neglected the belt for a LONG time past it's due date. They will usually start showing cracks in the rubber, and then pieces of rubber missing from the groove side long before they'd break. Having cracks in the rubber actually isn't an indication that's it's worn out, yet.

Running in a pinch with whole grooves missing is possible. The number of grooves is usually not a requirement for ultimate breaking strength, but rather fatique life of the belt. You should also think about replacing your tensioner anytime you replace the belt as they tend to have similar lifes.

Even though I don't harbour good will for Litens, I'd say you should always try to use one of their tensioners if it is the OEM part, as they really were far and away the best. Also, the Goodyear Gatorback belts seemed to be the best. When we had a test rig set up to torture test a FEAD system, we'd always use Goodyear belts to make sure they outlasted the components on test.

 

[Beowulf]

R_Lefebvre,

Now that is some great insight. Thank you for sharing your experience with belts.

For my particular application there is no tensioner. The tensioner was removed and the alternator was relocated under the bracket that hold my york compressor. The york has side tensioning bolts that moves the compressor away from the engine block thus tightening the belt.

It is a delicate balance on how tight to make the belt.

In regards to tension is there a good, but cheap, tension tester should use?

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Can't help with that, as we made tensioners, no need for a tension tester. Well, we had one in the lab, but it was laboratory grade and I don't know much about it.

However, pretty much, you want the belt just tight enough that it doens't squeal. No more. There's not much reason to ever go tighter. A little squeak at startup isn't a big deal.

The goal with the tensioners was to keep the tension as low as possible, while still not making noise because it's a customer complaint. From there, you have to scale up the tension setpoint to take account of wear, etc. But, the lower you could set the tension, the less ribs you need, the less ribs you need the less parasitic drag there is.

 

[01tundra]

I carry a spare belt, cheap insurance and light weight for something that's easily changed, but could ruin a day not having a spare......in my opinion.

Goodyear Gatorback here.

 

[Colorado David]

I had a timing belt tensioner break while I was at a small lake above Crested Butte, CO. The timing belt stayed on and continued to work while I got back to town, but the tensioner made a terrible sound all the way back. I had a guy at a four wheel drive shop there change the timing belt, tensioner, alternator belt, and water pump. We weren't approaching the life of the timing belt yet, but after the tensioner blew up, I wasn't taking any chances. Several years ago I had an alternator belt break out of the blue. I was on an Interstate and pulled off at the next town. There was a service station that wanted a lot of money to replace the belt, so I just bought the belt and then drove to a Walmart and bought wrenches and changed it in the parking lot for a whole lot less. My dad would never go anywhere without tools and spares. He never needed them, but he was always prepared. I haven't been caught without tools since.