when to replace fan belts

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.