when to replace fan belts

[bass_n_bob]

I have the Ford F53 Chassis with 30,000 miles. At what point should I think about getting the fan belt replaced? I can find no reference to it in the owner's manual. THX

[Carm]

When I bought my '94 F53 Bounder in 2010 it had 46,000 miles on it, still had all original belts, hoses and plugs. When I removed the old belts they looked the same as the new belts except the old belts had most of the paint worn off the the flat side. The rad hoses were in perfect shape as well. I replaced everything as a matter of principle but I doubt I'll ever change anything again in the few years I'll own this thing.

I recentlly changed the belts on my car at 100,000 miles only because it called for it in the maintenance schedule, the old belts were all good.

If you're an old guy like me you remember the days when belts and hoses HAD to be replaced every couple of years or they WOULD fail, usually at night in the middle of nowhere, and this is before there were cell-phones.

I haven't had a belt or hose fail on any of my vehicles now for at least 25 years: I do change them, but not till they have at least 100,000 miles or more and the old parts never look like they're all used up.

[jtfcons]

If any doubt, change it and keep the old one as a spare. This is what I've done.

[Hikerdogs]

Our 2001 Went over 100,000 miles with the original belt and it was still in good condition when we traded it off. Many times in the dead of winter I would take it to the Ford truck garage for servicing rather than lay under it in the cold and snow. Every time I asked them to check the belts and hoses and replace them as necessary.

It seemed like an open invitation for someone to sell me something that I might not need. However it never happened. In all those years and all those miles they never suggested changing a belt or hose.

I did buy a spare belt at about the 6 year mark "just in case". It went with the motorhome still in the factory sleeve when we bought the new motorhome.

[jy]

I changed the belt on my 99 V10 chassis when it was 10 years old and had about 60k miles.The only tool needed is a 1/2 inch breaker bar.On my mh it has to be accesed from underneath.Its not a bad job but I wouldn,t want to do it on a hot engine.Also the first belt the parts store gave was too short.Had to take the old one in and match it up.Glad I did it at home on a cold engine.

[OhhWell]

Has anyone had a good OEM belt break at 30,000 miles? How about under 60,000 miles?

I replaced the belt, tensioner and both idlers when we got our coach because it was at 98,000 miles, something was squeaking and I wanted to do it all at once. The belt was in very good shape but obviously weathered.

The belt change was extremely easy with a helper in the dog house but would be a little bit of a pain done alone. All you need is a 1/2 ratchet and preferably a small length of pipe to extend the handle. There is no way in heck I am putting a new belt on every 30,000 miles unless that mileage is over 7 years or so.

I'm scared of the plug threading on the '99 V10 so I'm not replacing those until I get misfire. Shoot, I just replaced plugs on my Mazda MPV at 90,000 miles and all the old needed was a quick blast of carb cleaner to look brand new.

[rgatijnet1]

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.

[BUTCHPHI]

Let's see - I have a 1999 (bought new in July of 1999 - National RV Tropical with tag axle) chassis v10 with a 129000+ miles & 14 + years old. I am still running all the original hoses and the serpentine belt. I carry spares and I check them regularly (as recently as 4 months ago) and unbelievably they all still look and feel excellent. I am sure they will fail eventually but we do not travel nearly as much as we used to (maybe 7000 - 8000 miles a year) and unless I see that they do not look right when inspecting I am leaving them alone. I'm thinking they may last until I quit RVing, ha. By the way I did have the plugs changed around 94000 miles just because that was not something I wanted to have to do on an unplanned basis, but the engine was running just fine at the time. I believe that this particular RV by National had the cooling air flow around the engine, either accidentally or by design, dialed in about as good as it can get. Other than the plugs and routine lubrication this engine has required zero maintenance.

[booty51]

Inspect for cracks if none continue on. If you are concerned change it and keep as spare. I change hoses and belts at 100k on my vehicles, I usually keep them a long time, and have had to reuse old hoses due to failure of newer hoses. I was on I -10 Crossing the Achafalya and had a hose failure and a belt failure soon there after within 3 days of each other in a van I had. Both were fairly new, used old ones to get out of a bind. Now that I am older and have an RV carrying spares is just safer or smarter these days.

[Pauljdav]

falconbrother wrote:
I wouldn't even think about those belts yet.

x2. You can inspect them for free. No need to replace if there is no sign of wear. As to the poster whose alternator seized causing the belt to break, that can happen to a new belt.

[BobandShaz]

I would have a spare. Change belt in good weather not 40 mph winds in a thunderstorm beside the interstate on a blind corner.

[FIRE_UP]

bass n bob,
In all reality, if you think about it, belts have a seriously hard life. Eighty gazillion turns while the engine is running, heat, cold, dirt, debris, and more, as cheap as they are, I wouldn't even hesitate at the 30K mile point. Many rigs, especially the front engine models (gas) are actually quite easy to change it. Many times, almost no tools are needed due to the fact that the belt is held with a tensioner. And that tensioner only needs usually a 1/2" breaker bar or 1/2" ratchet to tweak to release tension and the belt falls off.

One thing you, or anyone does NOT want to do is, change it in the middle of the desert or, some desolate place, possibly at night (if you drive at night), in the rain, or any other less-than-perfect set of conditions due to trying to stretch more miles out of it. I know I wouldn't.

Scott

[pkunk]

I wouldn't change it yet. Check it out, get a new spare, have the tools needed and enjoy life. Gates belt tools Ford serpentine belt routing

[falconbrother]

I wouldn't even think about those belts yet.

[bass_n_bob]

actually there is a belt routing chart on the cover of the Ford manual.

[othertonka]

For the belt discussion regardless if you change or not, either find a belt routing chart or make one yourself, before you take the belt off or before it breaks. Without a routing chart, the belt is hard to route properly. I have a 8.1 chevy and there was no routing chart anywhere near the engine compartment or in the manual, so I got underneath and drew one for reference. just as a side note my 2004 workhorse 8.1 chevy web site says belt is good for 150,000 miles on the original belt, but a visual inspection that shows small cracks on the ribbed side of the belt would indicate "time to change" in my opinion. Find or make that chart NOW before you need it.

Chev belt routing

Although the OP is asking about Ford, I included the chev picture of a belt routing in the above link.