When to replace the serpentine belt?

That was typical for v belts. Groove belts are far less likely to slip and make noise as they go bad and the tensioners keep them tight even as they wear badly. Far more likely for a groove belt to break before giving symptoms, beyond the visual cracking mentioned above.

 

I think that's a great interval, maybe 8 yrs if in a very hot or cold area? Cheap insurance.

 

i ignored my serpentine belt.

one time way out in the boonie, my truck threw something. i heard it hit the hood. i pull over and open the hood and looked it. didnt see anything at first,then i noticed the belt. it was "ribboned" imagine a solid healthy belt shredded into about 50 ribbons. one half of the belt was shredded and the other half held. i had to drive off that mountain.
i watched temps, and listened. i kept pulling over and looking and pulling on the belt. it was crazy solid.

i went straight to the mechanic friend and he had a belt waiting. he changed it for me, while i stood there looking like an idiot. he did tell me modern Serpintine belts rarely catestophically fail. he said my belt split miles ago, and i simply didnt notice. NOW? i look for cracks and other signs of troubles when i change the oil.

dont be me, but honestly..i was sorta safe the entire time.

 

on what page did someone say before it breaks? My crazy xB has been running with the pwr steering belt twisted 180 on the pump with backside clinging to the pulley lip and correctly on the crank pulley, like it was meant to be that way. No idea how long it has been like that. New belt going back on the right way tomorrow.

 

I just carry my old belt in the truck.
As important as the belt itself is the bearing in the tension and idler pulleys. These can be pressed out and replaced with quality Japanese bearings for about 10 and $20 respectively (one has 2 bearings).
At 100K miles, my tensioner pulley bearing was spun.

 

Any updates on how good the belt is? would you still suggest getting the belt?

 

Yep. Amazing product. I bought another one and will put it on soon

 

I just changed mine along with all the idlers and tensioner pulleys yesterday. At 165k I didn’t see any cracks but it was about half the thickness as the new oem belt. Definitely needed to be done.

 

I just recently changed all my idler pulleys, tensioner pulley and serp. belt and I accidentally ordered an extra

$42 Gates 36174 Idler Pulley

Gates 36174 pulley. If anyone is interested PM me and I would be happy to let it go for cheap.

 

I just checked my belt today and noticed it's split in half! I have no idea how long its been like that but luckily I caught it.

Mileage is super low for a '14 truck only 70000km (approx 43000 miles) but it's almost 11 years old so I guess it wore out over time.

I'm trying to find videos on how to do it myself, can anyone recommend a good tutorial? It's a 4L V6.

Also wondering how I should check if any other parts need replacing like the idler pulley or if I should be ok replacing just the belt?

 

This was my reply to this thread several months ago. I should have taken my own advice. I'm currently just under 250,000 miles and I "THOUGHT" I had replaced the belt at around 200,000 miles. Apparently, I mis-remembered. I know I replaced it at 100,000 miles.

I have a newer F150 that I normally use for longer trips and pulling our small travel trailer but 2 weeks ago I decided to use the old Tacoma to pull it to a campground about 50 miles from home. My belt broke about 1/2 way there. I didn't hear anything. My 1st clue was the AC light blinking and warm air coming out of the vents. Then I noticed the battery light on. At 1st I thought it was the alternator. I was able to get off the main road and parked on the side of secondary road within about 2 minutes.

My wife called another couple we were going to meet at the campground, they were already set up. They came down and pulled our camper to the campground. My wife went with them while I waited on a tow truck to take it to the shop I use at home. That cost me $200.

I called my daughter and asked if her, or my granddaughter would pick me up at the shop and bring me home. That cost me $55. Grand daughter was out of gas so I pumped $35 for her and put another $20 in her "emergency gas envelop". I got home and drove my newer truck to the campground.

It cost me $200 for a new belt, but when I got it back it was leaking oil. Part of the broken belt had wedged between the pulley and engine block which broke the seal. That was another $200. But it's as good as new now and ready for another 100,000 miles.

My pulley's are still fine, no need to replace them.

 

Here is one... https://youtu.be/ZKq3FBsvFsI?si=gfSTSnTUDiNFuu-o

At 70k km your pulleys / bearings would be fine, unless they are rusty. I'd suspect time takes its toll on a belt (in addition to mileage) but it's revolutions that wear bearings. With such low mileage, your bearings in your pulleys should be fine.

 

100,000 miles

 

I picked up a new belt from the dealership and not even sure if this old one is split like I thought before. It looks like a line or crack but it's still one piece. Before I start going through the process of replacing this belt, just curious if this is something that needs to be replaced right away?

 

I would. I recently watched a "how to replace the serpentine belt on a Tacoma" and one video showed a belt that split in two along the same line that your belt has.
I'd also be looking at replacing the tensioner and idle pulleys on your rig as well.

 

the belt looks done
and you're hesitating on a $20ish belt showing a picture of something that looks like it came from the titanic.
However unlikely, a simple belt is the best case scenario.

 

well it's almost $100cdn around here.

but either way you're right it's done. I just got the skidplate off and it's nicely split down the middle.

Looking at that pulley it looks like there's a ridge so it's been worn on each side. Guessing that will need to go too.

 

While you have the belt off, spin each of those pulleys and see if they spin smoothly and quietly, or if they make any grinding noise or have play in them, replace them. Otherwise they should be fine for a while as long as that “ridge” isn’t actually raised metal, from the pics it looks like it’s still flat.

 

Yeah that ridge seems to be on all the pulleys and I believe it's the rubber melted on from the belt. It scrapes off with my finger nail so I think I can clean them up.

All the pulleys sound and feel fine except the lowest one, it sounds like an old skateboard wheel so i'll try to replace it.

 

I don't know why more folks don't realize how important the serp belt is. Even at 50k I would replace mine out of pure cheap insurance. I'm a Mechanic M-F and see people decline serp belt replacements every week.