Serpentine Belts and Hoses
I still have the original belt and hoses on my 2004 truck with 120000 miles. Would you change them or say if it ain't broke don't fix it?
Forum Discussion
The vehicle I just retired this spring was a 98 Explorer with almost 230,000 miles on it. It had:
-A Goodyear Gatorback belt installed at approx. 30,000 miles.
-Original hoses.
-K&N Air Filter installed at 50,000 miles, cleaned at 150,000 miles.
-Wiper blades were installed in the summer of 2000. (SilBlades)
The hoses were not dry-rotted, cracked, or soft in any way. I'm not sure what they were made out of, but my hat's-off to Ford's materials engineers for the choice of material!!
Honestly, had the belt let loose, I was prepared to change it on the side of the road. On most modern vehicles, the worst thing that will happen is the loss of AC and power steering. Most, if not all, vehicles have some level of fail-safe cooling system that will allow you to limp it some distance even if the belt fails.
Timing belts, on the other hand, need to be changed when the service schedule calls for it.
-A Goodyear Gatorback belt installed at approx. 30,000 miles.
-Original hoses.
-K&N Air Filter installed at 50,000 miles, cleaned at 150,000 miles.
-Wiper blades were installed in the summer of 2000. (SilBlades)
The hoses were not dry-rotted, cracked, or soft in any way. I'm not sure what they were made out of, but my hat's-off to Ford's materials engineers for the choice of material!!
Honestly, had the belt let loose, I was prepared to change it on the side of the road. On most modern vehicles, the worst thing that will happen is the loss of AC and power steering. Most, if not all, vehicles have some level of fail-safe cooling system that will allow you to limp it some distance even if the belt fails.
Timing belts, on the other hand, need to be changed when the service schedule calls for it.
