I met a guy today and he was saying that when the Serpentine Belt breaks there is more than the belt that must be replaced. I always carry a Replacement Belt, but nothing else, like a Tensioner, etc. Can someone clue me in…

 

It's unusual for a belt like that to just break. Every one I have broken has been caused by a part failure, once a catastrophic alternator failure, once an idler pulley failure where it locked up. Another lost a band but didn't break when the plastic tensioner pulley failed and broke.

The two idler pulleys are usually cheap, if your van is old enough to be common in a you pull yard a spare alternator is also cheap; anything more major than that you probably can't change on the side of the road.

 

Thanks for the input. I have never had one break, but listening to that guy made me really curious. At 80, sure not going to attempt any repairs, other than a Fuse, Relay or Battery. When I lift the hood I am amazed at how much they have crammed in that space.

 

belt manufacturers list belt life at 4 years. I inspect mine and change it if its noisy or cracked. When the belt is off...spin all the pulleys by hand....any that are rough/noisy or have play should be replaced.

 

tech2 - thanks for the info on belt lifespan. I have been going to an Independent Garage, and they have been really great to work with. I am due for LOF in Jan, so I will have them look at it also.

 

On a '15 there will also be a stretch belt along with the serpentine belt. I haven't tried replacing a stretch belt yet. I guess I'll have to learn how to do that in a year or two. On my '15 the belts still look nice but it is very low miles. It's been my experience that rubber of any kind seems to be questionable after 7 years even with 0 miles just from age.

 

used to be if you buy the stretch belt from the dealer...the install tool comes with the belt. cut the old one off or turn off with a prybar, socket and ratchet