Still no problems or noises fro the Gatorback on my Jeep.
Best Serp belt?
- Thread starter MarkC
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Goodyear Gatorback! They are more flexable and produce less heat so they tend to last longer and grip better. Other then the goodyear Gatorback I have never had a preference between Gates,Dayco,Goodyear etc..... I have only had one belt fail on vechile in my life and that was due to a failed idler bearing. I usualy change out my belts long before they fail even if that is years.
i went thru 3 different belts to get rid of a angry beehive sound at low rpm on a chevy truck.
final cure was to go to motion industries here in dayton and get good quality bearings(non chinese)for the tensioner and idlers.
press them in and reinstall.
aftermarket idler/tensioner pulleys are ****.
final cure was to go to motion industries here in dayton and get good quality bearings(non chinese)for the tensioner and idlers.
press them in and reinstall.
aftermarket idler/tensioner pulleys are ****.
"The ones sold aftermarket are not to OEM specs?? Even if they are the producers of the OE part?"
You can never know- the manufacturer might sell a part that 'fits' but is just a stock part. Like cars that take platinum plugs and use a waste fire spark system. Normal platinum plugs only have platinum on the center electrode, but in waste fire systems, you need to have both electrodes platinum coated. The single plats. come in the right size and are cheaper, so you might get sold those.
And so with belts, you might get a generic belt material cut to the right length (so to say), whether your car is a low rpm v8, or a high-revving Civic motor. Or you might get a belt that's "close enough" in size, but a PITA to install, or squeaks because it's not wide enough.
I'm off after market parts. It's OEM for me, from now on.
You can never know- the manufacturer might sell a part that 'fits' but is just a stock part. Like cars that take platinum plugs and use a waste fire spark system. Normal platinum plugs only have platinum on the center electrode, but in waste fire systems, you need to have both electrodes platinum coated. The single plats. come in the right size and are cheaper, so you might get sold those.
And so with belts, you might get a generic belt material cut to the right length (so to say), whether your car is a low rpm v8, or a high-revving Civic motor. Or you might get a belt that's "close enough" in size, but a PITA to install, or squeaks because it's not wide enough.
I'm off after market parts. It's OEM for me, from now on.
thats odd becuase the napa parts store near me, theyre [most] belts are relabled gates belts.
JHZR2
Staff member
I put a gatorback serp belt and new tensioner on my 98 S10 ZR2 at 50k, as the tensioner seemed to be getting a clickety noise to it.
The tensioner fixed the click, the gatorback belt went on and was quiet from the first crank, no noises, thats for sure.
I guess each design is different...
On my MB, they put a dayco top cog v-belt on m power steering instead of the usual continental. I can vouch that for v-belts, they are quite good, and likely same for serp belts...
JMH
The tensioner fixed the click, the gatorback belt went on and was quiet from the first crank, no noises, thats for sure.
I guess each design is different...
On my MB, they put a dayco top cog v-belt on m power steering instead of the usual continental. I can vouch that for v-belts, they are quite good, and likely same for serp belts...
JMH
JHZR2
Staff member
Isn't that the truth regarding aftermarket tensioners!!! They feel flimsy out of the box, and you can hear the bearings slightly, eve n when new. It is Chinese 'good enough' junk!
Want to make me a 4.3 tesioner that is high quality??? Top prices paid!
JMH
Just checked the Gatorback on my daughter's Camry that has been in service over 100k miles, and it still looks like new.
32k+ on my Gatorback now, no problems.
Is Gates still the best? A Honda tech told me that the Gatorback belts make a blower like noise because of their strange rib pattern. Any truth to that?
Is Gates still the best? A Honda tech told me that the Gatorback belts make a blower like noise because of their strange rib pattern. Any truth to that?
I can't add much to this discussion, but, I thought Goodyear dropped the lifetime warranty on the Gatorback. Anyone know for sure?
And, this discussion ALWAYS turns out the same. No consensus regarding best brand....but, Dayco and Goodyear seem to elicit love/hate comments and Gates seems to get only positive opinions.
I also remember one thread where many people reported Dayco tend to be shorter than other brands...internet poo?
Have an excellent day, everyone! Life IS good, for now.
And, this discussion ALWAYS turns out the same. No consensus regarding best brand....but, Dayco and Goodyear seem to elicit love/hate comments and Gates seems to get only positive opinions.
I also remember one thread where many people reported Dayco tend to be shorter than other brands...internet poo?
Have an excellent day, everyone! Life IS good, for now.
I just replaced the original belt on my Buick with 99400 miles on it. It still looked (and worked) fine. I replaced it with an AC Delco that I purchased at Rockauto. Does anybody know who makes these AC Delco belts? I hope its as good as the original GM branded belt.
I replaced my factory Saturn belt at 50,000 miles. I put a Gatorback on, and I never heard any belt noise. I did this as experiment to test them against the Gates belts I put on other cars.
Dayco makes some belts with grooves in them, similar to a gatorback.
That in mind, on most cars, I install a Gates because they are easy to find.
Most GM factory belts are built by Dayco. I'm not sure if the ACDelco labeled replacement ones are built by Dayco or not.
Dayco makes some belts with grooves in them, similar to a gatorback.
That in mind, on most cars, I install a Gates because they are easy to find.
Most GM factory belts are built by Dayco. I'm not sure if the ACDelco labeled replacement ones are built by Dayco or not.
I've had good luck with Gates, wasn't thrilled with a Dayco belts.
Frank D
Frank D
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