when to replace fan belts

rgatijnet1 wrote:
I look at the belts this way.....they are NOT expensive, and it can be a big problem if one breaks. For that reason, I change them out at 30,000 miles, which for me is about every two years. This way I can change the belt in the comfort of my own shop and not on the side of the road somewhere.
In most vehicles when the belt breaks you lose power steering, the water pump for cooling, alternator, etc. This means that you can only go a very limited distance after it breaks and your coach will be next to impossible to steer. Then think about where you travel and Murphy's law, which means problems will happen at the worst possible time. Do you want to be stuck at the side of the road, or at a location where you can't even get off of the road? Sure you have a spare, but will it break at a location that you can replace it yourself?
Belts are just one of of those things that are too cheap to ignore and too important for your safety to extend their replacement until they fail.
I also use Gates belts after one of my Dayco belts failed at 15,000 miles.

EXACTLY!
Scott

RayChez wrote:
I never have had a fan belt failure that I can remember. But I do make inspection of the belts every so often. Once the rubber starts to show signs of cracking or flaking off, I would definitely change it. But belts now days are made a lot better then years ago. I have Cadillac Deville that has 69K miles on it now and the belt still looks in good shape. My coach has 59K and the belts still look very good.

But if the belt went out on rgatijnet1 at 10K, there has to be another problem, not the belt. It sounds to me like pulley alignment might have been off, or the idler pulley bearing going out. Ten thousand miles is nothing for a belt to go out.

My DAYCO belt went at 15K but the Gates belt is still going strong approaching 30K miles. Like everything else, all products are not created equal. I also replaced my idler pulleys when I had the chance. I replaced them with OEM parts, purchased from the dealer, thinking that was the best way to go. Here is what the package said.
AC Delco pulley
Here is what was printed on the pulley. Pulley stamping Made in Canada
And here is what was printed on the ONLY part of the assembly that ever fails. Made in China bearing
How long will the Made in China bearing last? Who knows but I did buy a made in USA bearing and installed it in my old idler pulley and keep it as a back-up. You just never know about the quality of parts any more.

I never have had a fan belt failure that I can remember. But I do make inspection of the belts every so often. Once the rubber starts to show signs of cracking or flaking off, I would definitely change it. But belts now days are made a lot better then years ago. I have Cadillac Deville that has 69K miles on it now and the belt still looks in good shape. My coach has 59K and the belts still look very good.

But if the belt went out on rgatijnet1 at 10K, there has to be another problem, not the belt. It sounds to me like pulley alignment might have been off, or the idler pulley bearing going out. Ten thousand miles is nothing for a belt to go out.

From experience I would say that you can drive about 1/4 to 1/2 mile without a water pump on my coach when towing. This is non-negotiable since your water has stopped circulating. Keep going and your engine is trash.
Now think how many times you have been in a location where you cannot get off of the road/bridge/tunnel in that short distance and you can understand why I prefer to spend the small amount of money rather than to risk another belt failure.

rgatijnet1 wrote:

OhhWell wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:

kaz442 wrote:
I have put 300-400 thousand miles on OEM belts. This was on several trucks. Only time I would replace them was when an alternated idler or tensioner failed. When was the last time you saw a broken belt laying on the highway?

JKaz

When one of my belts shredded at 15,000 miles it left pieces of it all over the engine. No pieces were big enough to be recognizable on the road. :B

That doesn't sound like it was the belt's fault or at best was just a defective one from the factory. Surely we are not going to change our belts at 10,000 miles now?

I never said that you should. Previously I said that it was a Dayco belt and I replaced it with a Gates belt which I will change again at 30,000 miles. At about $35 to change the belt, and after experiencing how tough it is to get the coach off the road after the belt breaks without power steering or cooling, I figure it is money well spent and $35 is not going to break me. Changing the belt at my convenience is a lot easier than changing one at the side of I80 in Iowa.

Ahh, didn't tie the screen name to the earlier comment about the Dayco. Must have been damaged in manufacturing or something. I usually get the NAPA belt and have to bring the old one in as opposed to looking it up as that always seems to net the wrong size.

I still don't see the tie in between getting a defective belt and changing at 30,000. I do completely get the logic behind changing it routinely for a comfortable environment and safety however. I'm really not saying that anyone is foolish for changing every 30,000 because they are not very expensive or difficult to change. I'm just going to go with regular inspection and the good 'ole listening for squeaking when it is humid or raining out myself.

OhhWell wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:

kaz442 wrote:
I have put 300-400 thousand miles on OEM belts. This was on several trucks. Only time I would replace them was when an alternated idler or tensioner failed. When was the last time you saw a broken belt laying on the highway?

JKaz

When one of my belts shredded at 15,000 miles it left pieces of it all over the engine. No pieces were big enough to be recognizable on the road. :B

That doesn't sound like it was the belt's fault or at best was just a defective one from the factory. Surely we are not going to change our belts at 10,000 miles now?

I never said that you should. Previously I said that it was a Dayco belt and I replaced it with a Gates belt which I will change again at 30,000 miles. At about $35 to change the belt, and after experiencing how tough it is to get the coach off the road after the belt breaks without power steering or cooling, I figure it is money well spent and $35 is not going to break me. Changing the belt at my convenience is a lot easier than changing one at the side of I80 in Iowa.

rgatijnet1 wrote:

kaz442 wrote:
I have put 300-400 thousand miles on OEM belts. This was on several trucks. Only time I would replace them was when an alternated idler or tensioner failed. When was the last time you saw a broken belt laying on the highway?

JKaz

When one of my belts shredded at 15,000 miles it left pieces of it all over the engine. No pieces were big enough to be recognizable on the road. :B

That doesn't sound like it was the belt's fault or at best was just a defective one from the factory. Surely we are not going to change our belts at 10,000 miles now?

allbrandauto wrote:
being that the belt is rubber its as much time as miles I would say 5 years 50000 miles cheap fix for peace of mind

Yup!

kaz442 wrote:
I have put 300-400 thousand miles on OEM belts. This was on several trucks. Only time I would replace them was when an alternated idler or tensioner failed. When was the last time you saw a broken belt laying on the highway?

JKaz

When one of my belts shredded at 15,000 miles it left pieces of it all over the engine. No pieces were big enough to be recognizable on the road. :B

I would not change it yet. Just make a simple inspection every so often and see if the belt is starting to flake off the rubber. When they start doing that, THEN it is time to change them out. Waste of money changing it at 30K miles.