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Serpentine belt replacement with *newest design* belt?

I went to pep boys today to buy a replacement serpentine belt for my vulcan V6 182 cu inch, with air conditioning.

So what I end up with is a Dayco, lists for $56, got it for $35. Now, the reason I am listing this post is because this is a cogged serpentine belt. Looks like a cross between a timing belt and the multi-grooved serpentine belt I'm using now.

IOW, it has transverse missing material at measured intervals. Hard to describe, but I got this from the Dayco website: =============================================================

Dayco® Poly Cog® Belt

Designed for power transmission on multiple-accessory drives

This is the "cogged" version of the revolutionary multi-ribbed belt first developed by Dayco for the 1979 Ford Mustang. The multiple-rib design provides better belt-to-pulley contact for less slippage, so it lasts longer than conventional V-belts. "Multiple ribs" also eliminates the need for "matching", and allows "controlled slippage" in shock overload situations, such as when the AC compressor kicks in.

Today, as then, this belt sets the industry standard. The transverse-groove design runs cooler (up to 50 F), and dramatically reduces rib cracking, thereby increasing the life of the belt by at least 40%. The grooved design provides flexural stress relief, for increased flexibility in both normal and backside bending. The grooves also render the belt less susceptible to environmental factors such as dust and splash-induced slip. Dayco's superior manufacturing technology uses a rubber-impregnated fabric backing that maximizes load-carrying capability and minimizes the noise that is often associated with the competition's rubber-backed belts. Torque-carrying capacity equals or betters conventional multi-rib belts. The cord is saturated with a specially formulated treatment that insures length and tension stability for the life of the belt. Dayco Poly Cog belts meet or exceed SAE J1459 and J1596 specifications.

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So I mentioned to the counter guy *this belt looks bizarre. Mine has continuous material, this has chopped material.*

He says this is the newest design, and is BETTER than the old design I have in my vehicle at the moment.

IS HE RIGHT? Is it OK to run a transverse-groove serpentine belt in place of the one I'm using now? I haven't installed it yet, but have never ever seen this kind of thing before. What do you think? Bring it back or put it on the engine?

TIA

Lg

Reply to
Lawrence Glickman
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Reply to
Shep

Thanks Shep. That's a relief! Just wanted to check with the guys-in-the-know.

BTW, the failure mode is invisible to the eye, because it is the banding =inside= a belt that fails and causes it to snap. Nothing on the outside will give you a clue in most cases.

So the recommendation from the belt mfgrs. is to replace belts every 4 years. Just a heads up for anybody who didn't already know.

Thanks again for calming me down. I was thinking about this and couldn't settle the issue until I got an informed opinion.

Lg

Reply to
Lawrence Glickman

Since the serpentine belts are so easy to change and I always keep a small socket set in the truck anyway, I just purchase a new serpentine belt when the old one hits ~50k mi and keep it in the truck. I figure I may as well get max life out of the belt since when it goes it will equate to a 10 min pit stop to change it.

Pete C.

Reply to
Pete C.

Takes at least 30 minutes to change mine. Special tools, crawling under the car, removing RF tire, inner fender panel, etc. It's one of the few things that I dread working on.

Reply to
« Paul »

One of those transverse mount deals eh? In my case a plain old Chevy big block mounted the correct way. Takes about 3 min to change once you have parts and wrench in hand and hood open.

Pete C.

Reply to
Pete C.

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They may be telling you the design is new, but I have seen that type of belt for many years. The design is not new. Those missing chunks are supposed to help the belt bend I guess.

Reply to
Al Bundy

The idea is that the surface area is much greater, and therefore the cooling will be improved.

Well, I doubt you can get the old-style belt any more, anyway.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

UPDATE on that Al,

I went to put on the Dayco belt and it was 2 inches or 3 inches too short. GLAD I DIDN'T LEAVE IT IN MY EMERGENCY ROAD KIT!

I went to Autozone and bought a Goodyear Poly Gatorback, which has transverse groves in it also, but angled instead of perpendicular to the belt axis.

At least at Autozone, the computer gave me a chance to say I have a U CODE ENGINE! Evidently, there are differences in length. Pep boys are called boys for a reason.

If this Gatorback FITS, then I am in Heaven. I have to get the car back from the Mrs. first and let the engine cool off. Then I remove the old belt, pull it next to the Gatorback, and PRAY they are the same length!

Lg

Reply to
Lawrence Glickman

Actually you CAN get the old style belt, but it only has a 2 year warranty on it, and seeing a belt is supposed to be *good* for 4 years, I passed on that, and went to Autozone where they sell *good stuff.* ( relatively speaking )

Lg

Reply to
Lawrence Glickman

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

Reply to
tylernt

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

Reply to
Lawrence Glickman

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.

Well, keep spares in the trunk.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

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