Make your belts last longer

[89RedDarkGrey]

 

[Guest]

I would want to be sure my engine wasn't and interference engine or I wouldn't try this.

[padgett]

err 3800 has a timing chain, serpentine is for accessories. Now the "Twin Double Ovehead Cam" 3.4 I had for a while had a timing belt but the early ones like mine were non-interference. OTOH the BMW SOHC I-6 TD in the Vixen  had a belt and was intereference. I've sworn not to have another timing belt engine.

 

ps since I run my engines close to 180, everything under the hood lasts longer and the AC works better.

Edited September 6, 2017 by padgett (see edit history)

[Willie Wurke]

This is the accessory drive belt,  not a toothed timing belt.

[Tom99]

Interesting, I think it's worth trying.

[60FlatTop]

I watched the video and was cracking up. He made and long life belt. He poured the chemical back in the jug for reuse. And he saved the rag in a plastic bag. I bet if you went out to lunch with the guy he would order a hot dog and a small Coke.

 

I'm sitting here remembering a woman my Wife and I used to go out to dinner with, who stuffed her pockets full of condiments. Just happened to think of her out of the blue.

 

And I think he had to hunt around for that beat up 36,000 mile belt.

 

Well, it is lunchtime. I think I will go get a hot roast beef sandwich and ponder how I can be frugal with the five old cars out in my garage. If I go to the south end of town I can put my truck in neutral and coast most of the way back.

 

My Wife says I get, entirely, too much entertainment out of people.

 

Bernie

[nearchoclatetown]

He even saved money by not wearing gloves to rub this magic juice on his belts. 

[TerryB]

And here I thought this thread was about not having to buy new belts to hold my pants up by giving up pasta and jelly filled doughnuts!

Glad to see it's about getting more life out of a serpentine belt, a genuine top priority for sure.  Now where did I put that doughnut?

 

Terry

[Rusty_OToole]

If he put Armorall on that belt it would be cracked to hell in a month. I have seen it ruin good tires.  Does anyone believe this? I would like to but I think he is full of it.

[Guest]

I think this is a great tip. 

I have been using Aerospace Protectant for several years now on various automotive items. A pilot friend turned me on to it. We use a stretched limo at our night club which has a very long vinyl roof and, after replacing that vinyl once already, due to the harsh desert sun,  I was not anxious to do that again. My friend put me on to this A.P. and the vinyl roof has never looked better. I agree with an earlier post here that Armor All is not a good choice when heat is involved. 

I am not particularly frugal but I didn't earn my money by throwing it away either. I own enough vehicles (which computes to a lot of drive belts) that I think I will take this tip to heart and employ it.

As the video says, sometimes they are very difficult to replace and squeaking belts drive me crazy.

Thanks 89RedDarkGrey!

[Rusty_OToole]

If you have the protectant on hand it only takes 10 minutes. One thing that occurs to me is that those belts typically last 10 years anyway. Who keeps a car longer than that? I'm saying if you put a new belt on it is going to last as long as you own the car if you treat it or not.

[PFitz]

1 hour ago, Rusty_OToole said:

....................... One thing that occurs to me is that those belts typically last 10 years anyway. Who keeps a car longer than that? .................

 

Apologies up front Rusty, but I got a chuckle out of that one. Maybe it's just me, ..... but that seems like a strange question to be asking on an antique car forum.

 

Paul

Edited September 6, 2017 by PFitz (see edit history)

[tripwire]

Back in the day when I was a auto technician (mechanic) we never changed a serpentine belt due to cracks on the inside.  All of these type of belts will crack on the inside some time after being put in service.  However, if cracks appear on the back side, the smooth side, change the belt right away because it's about to fail.  Typically, this type of belt is good for 100k or more.

 

WParo in VT

[Spinneyhill]

The web site blurb pushes the UV protection this stuff offers, as well as a appearance improvements. So it is a UV blocker? Interesting it helps those belts, which are in the dark most of the time! I can understand it working well on a vinyl roof on a car - that seems to be its main function. it might also be good for vinyl tops on old cars in that case.

[cheezestaak2000]

how far we've come. my dad was a mechanic in the 30's and 40's and showed me a few old school tricks. his remedy for a squeeking fan belt was to hold a bar of soap against it with engine running. ironically, when he was in his 80's, he lost a finger tip while doing this very fix.

 

[Jim Bollman]

Just changed mine at 140K miles and 17  years old. It was still in good condition but the 7.3l Diesel is noise enough I didn't hear the water pump going out till it seized and broke the belt. 

[Vila]

I always thought the life of the serpentine belts may have something to do the weather condition where you live.   Extreme heat or cold may lead to a shorter life.

 

I have replaced the serpentine belts on both of my current daily driver cars 2 time in 140,000 miles and all the belts looked like that 36,000 mile belt way before I replaced them.  In fact all the belts looked like that at around 30,000 miles, but I continue using them well past that point.

 

I generally buy my daily drivers with 35,000 miles on them and unlike others I never sell them for use.  When I am done with my cars at 3 to 400,000 miles I call the junk man and he tows them away for scrape price.  That said, I may give it a try when I replace the accessory belt the next time. 

[Terry Bond]

Preventive maintenance (including belt replacement) works for me.

Terry. 

[padgett]

" ... last 10 years anyway. Who keeps a car longer than that?" Not quite the right place to say something like that Bought my blue coupe in 2001 and brought the Judge home in 87. Others are more recent.

[Larry Schramm]

7 hours ago, Rusty_OToole said:

One thing that occurs to me is that those belts typically last 10 years anyway. Who keeps a car longer than that?

 

Finally sold my wife's winter car, a 1998 GMC Jimmy with a couple of hundred thousand miles.  It was still running great, just wanted a change. 

 

Moved up 10 years to a 2008 GMC Envoy. 

 

I guess the comment was on which 10 years?

[Rusty_OToole]

10 years seems to be an underestimate of the life of a flat belt.  How many times have you put a new belt on, and kept the car so long it wore out and needed another? I think I have replaced 2 belts on 2 different vehicles,  both vehicles had well over 100,000 miles and were worn out after another 2 or 3 years. Greasing the belt with protectant would not have saved any money even if it worked, and I am not sure it works.

[Frank DuVal]

7 minutes ago, Rusty_OToole said:

both vehicles had well over 100,000 miles and were worn out after another 2 or 3 years

 

You drive 100k a year? What recently made car is worn out after 150K? I want to know so I do not recommend them to friends.

 

Our daily drivers are almost AACA eligible! Over 200K, no where near worn out. And none are Japanese makes.

 

If I wanted to drive new cars all the time I would not have formed an interest in antique cars.

 

Oh, I've been through multiple belts on the same vehicles, but once serpentine belts came along, not so often. No longer the replace every 3-5 years like V belts back in the 70s. Of course those might have been the $1.99 Road King V-belts!

 

 

[Rusty_OToole]

I was referring to cars with over 100,000 miles on them when I replaced the belts. One had 283000KM the other 345000KM. They (the vehicles) lasted for 2 or 3 more years before they were worn out and scrapped. In those 2 or 3 years they covered an average 10000KM per year. So the new belts were no where near worn out even without soaking them in preservative.

 

It should be obvious I was referring to late model daily driver cars with flat belts not pre 1985 collector cars with Vbelts or pre 1925 antiques with flat belts. If you can't figure this out, review the original video.

Edited September 7, 2017 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[Frank DuVal]

Well, now that makes more sense. Near 200K miles. You only drove them 12K to 18K more miles.  I still find it hard to wear a vehicle out in so few miles added. Is Salt a problem where you are?

 

My comment on V-Belts was to agree with you about not needing to replace serpentine belts as often as we replaced V-belts.

[mercer09]

I bet if you went out to lunch with the guy he would order a hot dog and a small Coke.

 

and whats wrong with a hot dog and a small coke?