Gatorback belts???

[leinad35]

The Gatorback serpentine belts are very good buy. The crosscuts makes the belt more flexible, better grip, and resistant to cracking that the solid serpentine belts run into.

Since you are changing your belt(s), check over your belt tensioner and pulleys. The belt tensioner takes the abuse of being under constant pressure and exposure to the elements. The bearings of pulleys eventually wear out, making the pulley loose or causing the pulley to lock up.

 

[hatcoleman]

I installed a Gatorback on a Ford F150 with 5.4.
It was much noiser than any other belt I have on motor previously. Sounded like a turbo kicking in. I exchanged the belt for another gator belt, thought I just got a bad one. It was noisey also. I did a search on another forum for the Ford F150 and learned mine was not the only one that had experienced the noise. E-mailed Goodyear and they said in certain applications the Gator belts were noiser. They sent me another Gator belt along with 2 standard belts. If yours is another type vehicle go ahead and try one.

 

[kruL]

>>>I installed a Gatorback on a Ford F150 with 5.4. It was much noiser...
Yep. Can't beat a Gates for quietness IMHO. Both seem to have similar service lifes, both are of the highest quality available. But I prefer the Gates for its quietness.

 

[Ironduke4]

I have used goodyear gaterback belts with no problems at all.
I just recently put a gaterback serpentine belt on my 1995 cavalier and it is quiet and works fine.
I also have gaterback V belts on my 1989 grand am they have been on there since 2001 with no problems at all.
Other brands i have used that were also great are gates microv and dayco polycog serpentine belts.
If you experience noise problems check your pulleys for dirt build up in the grooves i have had this happen and after cleaning out the pulley grooves all was fine.
I have also found out that the belts polish the pulley grooves and that can cause noise problems with a new belt.
So take some fine sandpaper or a scotch brite pad and scrub the shiny portions of the pulleys and the belt will run quieter.

 

[eljefino]

I used a gatorback serpentine on my cutlass ciera. Was noisy at first but broke in later.

I checked its grooves, they were not as deep as the old belt. I suspect the belt had to wear to my pulleys. But, once done, it was a great fit. Took a week or so to break in.

 

[robbobster]

quote:

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Originally posted by kruL:
Yep. Can't beat a Gates for quietness IMHO. Both seem to have similar service lifes, both are of the highest quality available. But I prefer the Gates for its quietness.

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I run Gates and Gatorbacks exclusively as my blower drive belt. I agree - they seem to have the best quality compared to some no-name belts that I've used, which got chewed-up quickly.

The Gates & Gatorbacks last a long time on my application. I can't attest to noise, as blower whine is all I ever hear.

I've got 6K on my Gatorback right now, still looks great.

 

[GSV]

I installed them recently on my wife's 99 Soob Legacy and my 98 Nissan Frontier. They seem to be doing great.

The only bad belt I've encountered lately was an Autozone Duralast. It lasted 100 miles on my Nissan's air conditioning compressor. I'd stay away from those.

I did notice some belt whine initially on the Nissan but the noise is gone now.

Good luck,

 

[sanitarium16]

Have a gatorback on my Mustang GT since January. I bought the car in December and the belt was very noisy. Changed it to a gatorback and replaced the idler pulley and it doesn't make a sound.

 

[srivett]

A few weeks ago I put a new v-belt pulley on my car. It sounded like a supercharger for about 1000 km but the noise went away. I had re-used the old belt which was worn down funny because of the old pulley.

Steve

 

[DoubleDee]

Does anyone have any experiennce with Gatorback serpentine belts. It is time to replace mine and I have seen this belt available.

 

[DoubleDee]

I am going to replace the idler pulley and the tensioner at the same time. This is for a 1996 Chevy Blazer with 65K on it. The tensioner is making a little noise(stethoscope) so I figure I will do it now. It seems that it should be either a Gatorback or a Gates belt then.

 

[T-Keith]

One company tested them for grip and found Gates belt grip better, but Gaterbacks last long and are quiet.

 

[TomH]

IMHO, I'd take a Gates belt over a Gatorback any day of the week.

 

[Matt_S]

quote:

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Originally posted by hatcoleman:
I installed a Gatorback on a Ford F150 with 5.4.
It was much noiser than any other belt I have on motor previously. Sounded like a turbo kicking in. I exchanged the belt for another gator belt, thought I just got a bad one. It was noisey also. I did a search on another forum for the Ford F150 and learned mine was not the only one that had experienced the noise. E-mailed Goodyear and they said in certain applications the Gator belts were noiser. They sent me another Gator belt along with 2 standard belts. If yours is another type vehicle go ahead and try one.

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Same here. GM 3800 V6 in my case.

 

[Brian Miller_dup1]

quote:

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Originally posted by TomH:
IMHO, I'd take a Gates belt over a Gatorback any day of the week.

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Stick with Gates. They seem to make top quality belts and hoses.

Brian