ym42

My car has 80000 miles now. Should I change the belt? Is it hard? Should I wait until the car hits 100000? Should I just carry one with me in case?

simmster23

well if your belt is starting to crack and dry rot or if its stretched then i would replace it now but I usualy replace belts and plugs and what not when i hit a 100,000 unless it needs it sooner

ym42

Ok, i will have a look at it. How do I know if its stretched?

simmster23

if you can pull up on the belt and theres alot of play in it then its stretched it should fell pretty tight

SpartaPerformance

There are many signs to replace belt, cracking, chunks missing, the grooves are dull. Do you hear a squealing when first starting the car? That would be a good indication the belt needs to go.

atomicpunk

The cars I have owned with serpentine belts I throw the old belt in the trunk to keep as a spare in case it breaks.

highline

alright, my stepfather does the same...if your stuck with a snapped belt, how are you gonna install it on the side of the road? Maybe I don't fully understand the install?

atomicpunk

All you need to remove and install the belt is a 1/2" or 3/8" drive ratchet or breaker bar, the longer the better for leverage.
I also keep a small plastic case with a basic tool set in the trunk to get me out of trouble that I had to use a few times with previous cars.
Also make a diagram of the belt routing on the pulleys, I looked in the owners manual and could not find it.

157dB

There are marks on the belt tensioner to indicate
a new belts length and an old stretched belts length.
Inbetween the two marks and its OK.

As to when to change it....

highline

funny question from me...so you just drop the tensioner with a 1/2" drive, install it, and 're-tension'? Obviously I've never changed a belt...