Serpentine belt

Branson N Tucson wrote:
Have a question on how long is a reasonable time to replace the Serpentine belt on a Cat C-7 engine. It's been 28,000 miles since it was last replaced. Had one break and had a bill of $1,999.00 because it locked up the air condition condenser.

A broken belt will NOT "lock up" an A/C compressor or condenser (a condenser has no moving parts). A locked compressor could cause a broken belt and that could damage a condenser.

In general, serpentine belt are good for 10 years or 100K miles OR MORE !

Branson N Tucson wrote:
Have a question on how long is a reasonable time to replace the Serpentine belt on a Cat C-7 engine. It's been 28,000 miles since it was last replaced. Had one break and had a bill of $1,999.00 because it locked up the air condition condenser.

Thanks for your recommendations.

Branson,
Yep, me too on "...locked up the air conditioning condenser....". Now, first thing that's needed is:

year/make/model/chassis etc. that we're dealing with here. Lots of coaches were fitted with the C-7 and, in all three versions. The 300, 330 and 350HP versions. Depending on which model coach, length etc, replacing that Serpentine belt might not be too bad. But, on some, it's quite a job. Since 99.999999% of the coaches fitted with the C-7 are rear radiator, as stated, some can be a real bear to work on.

A good RV diesel tech, might be able to have the old belt off and the new one on in as little as 15-20 minutes, again, depending on access to it. But, even the best techs can be thrown for a loop in some of these coaches.
Scott

replace with the new Kevlar and silicon from NAPA never worry about it again same with Hoses.

Assuming you mean because of a locked up air conditioning compressor, then that is quite a job, If the compressor is driven with the serpentine belt, when it locks up it will distroy the belt no matter how new it is.

Hi,

Not sure for your rig, but I believe they often have a mileage limit and/or a time limit, whichever comes first.

Bummer about the AC Condenser. How long had the one that broke been in service? I am a bit puzzled about your statement: it "locked up" the condensor", though. I could see it damaging the condensor and causing a leak. The AC compressor can "lock up", but I'm not sure how a broken belt could cause the AC compressor to "lock up". A "locked up" compressor, though, could take out the belt, so maybe the compressor was the initial fault?

I will admit I know very little about DPs, though, so I'm mentioning the above to help me learn. One of these days I'm hoping my gasser grows up to be a nice DP! LOL

~Rick