Serpentine belt replacement with *newest design* belt?

I didn't know they put cogs in serpentines, but V-belts have been
cogged for a long time now.

On 4 Feb 2006 21:02:08 -0800, wrote:

>I didn't know they put cogs in serpentines, but V-belts have been
>cogged for a long time now.

V belts are being obsoleted from what I read. They are being
obsoleted by single belts which drive all the accessories. Wih a v
belt you can only drive 1 or two accessories, then you need another v
belt. with a ribbed belt you can drive *the works* off one belt,
without having to distribute the load off to other belts. These
design changes have all come about in the industry in the last 10
years.

We are only using automobiles, but heavy industry, like road building
equipment uses belts also, and *downtime* on one of those big earth
movers costs big dollars. So big machines are now obsoleting v belts
also and replacing them with v ribbed and cogged.

Since my belt looked worn, and it was more than 3 years old, and since
I didn't know where it came from to begin with, I replaced it with a
Goodyear Poly V Gatorback, 85.5 inches long. That is right at the
limit of max length my automatic tensioner is designed to handle. An
inch shorter would have been OK, but I got what I got and it's a
beauty.

If there is one thing that I can think of that can *uck* up a car real
fast, it is losing a belt. Better to replace them before they snap
than after. OTOH, a good belt could last up to 100,000 miles, so it
is hard to say exactly =when= to replace it. It depends if you want
to go by time or mileage. I'll swap out again at about 80,000. It is
cheap insurance. Heck, they're only $30.

Lg

Lawrence Glickman > wrote:
>On 4 Feb 2006 21:02:08 -0800, wrote:
>>I didn't know they put cogs in serpentines, but V-belts have been
>>cogged for a long time now.
>
>V belts are being obsoleted from what I read. They are being
>obsoleted by single belts which drive all the accessories. Wih a v
>belt you can only drive 1 or two accessories, then you need another v
>belt. with a ribbed belt you can drive *the works* off one belt,
>without having to distribute the load off to other belts. These
>design changes have all come about in the industry in the last 10
>years.

This means we now have a single point of failure, where one belt takes
out everything.

What I liked best were cars that had several V-belts of the same size,
so when the alternator belt went you could take the belt off the air
conditioner and get home.

>If there is one thing that I can think of that can *uck* up a car real
>fast, it is losing a belt. Better to replace them before they snap
>than after. OTOH, a good belt could last up to 100,000 miles, so it
>is hard to say exactly =when= to replace it. It depends if you want
>to go by time or mileage. I'll swap out again at about 80,000. It is
>cheap insurance. Heck, they're only $30.

Well, keep spares in the trunk.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."