New fan belt each month

[LHK]

My 6.5 is in a 1994 Chevy 2500. I had a bad fanbelt squeel that went away when I replaced the belt. Trouble is that, after only 2 or 3 weeks, the same slipping occurs again. I have been through 3 belts. The tensioner seems OK. Is there a way to tighten the spring or do you think there are other causes like AC compressor straining? The AC works good. The alternator is new and new batteries. Any ideas? Anyone else have this problem?

[Hubert]

The 6.5 is just real hard on the Serp. belt! I learned the hard way after ~ 4 belts in a little over a month. I tried a few different brands and only the top quality ones last any length of time. A cheap one will stretch out in 20 miles. A medium quality one will last say 200-500 miles. A better one may last 3000 miles. TOP of the line should last ~60,000 miles. Maybe more depending....

1. Is the tensioner straight?
2. Does it move thru its travel arc smoothly, build in tension, and the pulley spin freely?

If so its probably OK.

Check main pulley on crank if the rubber mount hub is going its harder on the belt.

If a new belt runs straight and true and does not bounce or anything but wears out quickly. And all accessories feel ok then it mostly likely is the quality of the belt.

Look at a couple of belts: thickness and "grip" of the backside and price. You decide on name brand and do a search for others opinions. IMHO I used the best Carquest sold and it has been ok. Polyclog from a discount store was junk.

[GMC Hauler]

If your vehicle has a vacuum pump, does the pump's pulley spin freely? they have been known to lock up and not spin...

[turbovair]

Use OEM belt only. Costs a lot, but it lasts!

[rjwest]

Also OEM tensioner. The " Fits All " type will not work. Tensioner should be in middle of operating range after initial belt stretch.

GM sells the tensioner with a pully ( not seperatly ) must be a reason... I all the other combinations
of non OEM, went through many belts.

GM belt and tensioner/pully seems to last reasonably well.

[rjschoolcraft]

The spring tensioner has been known to bind up. It is probably worn internally so that it's travel is limited. The previous advice is all good.

[More Power]

I spoke with Chris a few weeks ago about belts on the 6.5. We had replaced the tensioner on the way to Ohio in late August 2001 (factory GM replacement) because it had begun binding, which caused the bearings to run hot - eating out the grease seal - which caused some real problems on the road.

While at the Rendezvous, Chris decided to put a new belt on the 6.5, and picked one up from JK. That belt has been in service for more than 100K now....... and the indicator mark on the tensioner is still in the OK range.

So, this could mean JK has access to some really good belts or a tensioner is more important to belt life than we may have thought.

MP

[markrinker]

Belt tensioners have become a normal wearable part for my trucks. Only about $75 bucks and they are key to the lifespan of the serpentine belt. I replace them in pairs on all vehicles.

[Dvldog 8793]

Howdy
At one time I was going through about 1 belt every 1000miles. Those were the best at variuose stores. Napa, Carquest, Champion ect.... The GM belt at twice the price lasted about 10000miles. I never did find out why I was going through so many belts and it did finally stick with one GM belt for about 35,000. Before I started replacing belts my tensioner went out and I replaced with a new GM. Belt was maxed out in about two days. This was when I started the belt wars. GM is BY FAR THE BEST. I think they are Goodyear belts. I was told that a new tensioner requires a little break-in and sometimes can be two stiff, exerting too much constant preasure thus maxing out the belt quickly. A good tensioner should show just a slight bounce in midrange when the vehicle is running. Or so I'm told.... :rolleyes: I would think that if you have a noise then you have a component going bad. An ifrared temp gun can help you locate it.
I have since got rid of my vac pump and run a smaller belt, less thing to break the better!
hope this helps ....
L8r
Conley

[damork]

I could never get decent mileage from Gates or Dayco belts, not only on my 6.5 but on heavy equipment. Seems they were not the industrial strength you really need. The 6.2 trucks had problems as well and when GM released a fix for the original belt - it was made by Goodyear.

I worked with a guy who used to work at Gates that informed me the best belts to use in a GM were the OEM units. He said they were built for GM by Goodyear. Update 7/19/05 - just got a new GM belt same PN as in the past but made by Dayco and looks cheap - go for the lifetime warranty Goodyears at http://www.pickproparts.com.

You might also consider checking your alternator. I lost a GM belt prematurely due to a bad alternator, even though it spun freely when I checking the bearings for problems.

[ 07-19-2005, 04:43 PM: Message edited by: damork ]

[CareyWeber]

I think there must be something wrong if you are having to replace belt often. I have +190K miles on my truck and I have just installed my 3rd belt, so four belts counting the factory one. I'm sure if I had wanted to chanced it I could have used one less than that, but when you do trips to and from Alask(my truck has done 3 one way ALCAN trips) a new belt is peace of mind. This last belt I ran till it was outside the tensioner's range. I have bought my belts at Napa.

I have replaced the tensioner's bearing once and I have a new one in the truck waiting to be installed. I've never replaced the whole tensioner.

Now that I said that watch mine go out. :(

Carey