Need to replace serpentine belt - opinions on brands? OEM or aftermarket?

[paulnola]

I need to replace the serpentine drive belt soon, but am not sure if this is one of those parts that should always be replaced with OEM. I am not very familiar with the quality & reputation of the most of the aftermarket brands that I've seen, such as Goodyear Eng., Dayco, Gates, NAPA Belts, etc. Any bad experiences or dissatisfaction with any of these? They seem to be very close in price. I did not consider any other house/store brands, as they were a bit lower in price, and possibly in quality as well.

Thanks

 

[Earl43P]

You can't go wrong with a Goodyear Gatorback.

 

[--weezl--]

a belt is a belt for the most part...

i've always used dayco by a matter of coincidence more than anything, never had any issues...


except for that one i had on my mustang that shredded into a strip not much bigger than a piece of spaghetti when it was -20 and i has nothing but water in the engine, and the water pump was frozen solid, and i started it but i think that might have been an issue with the temperature and coolant

 

[rangerbum]

I've always preferred Gates brand for belts. But I've also never heard any complaints for the gatorback either.

 

[JP02XLT]

I recently changed to a Gatorback on my truck, with the SC on this truck, it gets the belt replaced every year, the Gatorback lasted about 3 weeks, then shred itself to nothing, prior to that it squealed and made every other noise imaginable to man.

I even had it off several times looking for a problem but found nothing and had no noise or problems before the change to the gatorback. After it shredded I installed a Gates and have not had any noise or problems and nothing was changed except the belt.

Gates only for me, they also have a Kevlar version.

JP02XLT

 

[FloridaRangerGuy]

I've been through multiple Gates and Dayco belts over the years. Always started sqealing after a few weeks or so. Mainly after a good rain. Switched to the Gatorback per suggestion from some on this forum and have had a nice quiet ride since. Wear on the Gatorback minimal so far.

 

[shane96ranger]

I've used Kelly Springfield, Gates, and Goodyear. Never had an issue with any of them.

 

[infantry grunt]

gator back

 

[fixizin]

I've always had best long-term results (and least squeal) from the OEM belt...

THAT SAID, I've saved $10-$12 by going to the MAZDA dealer and getting a belt for the B3000, go figure.

Stealerships = racket? You bet. Auto parts in general = racket? You bet.

Auto parts FROM a FORD stealership = organized crime!

 

[--weezl--]

You realize this thread has been dormant for about 4 months, right?


Sent from somewhere naughty!

 

[FloridaRangerGuy]

.....and four months later.....gatorback still nice and quiet with minmal wear.

 

[fixizin]

You realize this thread has been dormant for about 4 months, right?

Does that make me a baaaad person? Probably. It's duh HEAT, I tell ya duh summer HEAT!... and our basketball team by the same name, they drive me crazy too.

Anyway, serpentine belt squeal on ze 3.0 Vulcan is a topic that NEVER gets old, eh? It's just a matter of time until the belt gremlin visits YOU.

 

[9050lx]

If you buy autozone belts it would be rational and prudent to carry a spare.(just buy 2)

 

[--weezl--]

did anyone mention dayco? i've used dayco belts many times, never had an issue... except for one time when it exploded... i think it was a dayco...

i had straight water in my mustang, when i moved from a place that saw it's coldest day of the year, around -7 celcius, to my current home, where i have seen -44... anyways, i went out in -22 and started the car up, a weird whirring/screech noise came out from under the hood, followed by a *whack whack whack whack* at a high speed, i shut the engine off and looked under the hood, i had bits of belt EVERYWHERE! as it turned out, the waterpump was frozen solid, (because it was full of water with no antifreeze) and the belt was stiff as a board, trying to go around the pulleys, it had shreaded sections of ribs off in long pieces, the whack noise i heard was pieces of belt hitting the hood, as it came around the alternator!... so i did what anyone who was broke and late for work would do... reached in, pulled the little belt off one of the smooth pulleys, and un weaved it from the rest of them, started the car up with no belt, let it run for 5 minutes or so, shut it off, let it sit, pulled all the little dangly pieces off of the belt, turned out i had 2 ribs that were undamaged, put the 2 rib belt back on the car, (after freeing up the water pump by chipping through the ice inside, by hand) started the car up, and went to work