Gatorback Belts

[BigAl]

My '93 Nissan Maxima has had belt squeal as long as I have owned it. Nothing seems out of line and new belts only seem to help for a short time. The poly-v power steering belt seems to be the culprit. It will be glazed and cracked long before the others. It is the only one that has a back-side tensioner pulley.

Earlier in the week I replaced all 3 belts with Gatorback belts from Autozone. The ribs are made in 3/8" sections. The belts are quieter than I have ever experienced. I don't know how long it will last.

Anybody have experience with Gatorbacks?

 

[muddawgs]

yes. with a v6 caravan with a missing splash shield. the previous belt would slip and jump off if a puddle was hit right. the new belt was a typical sepentine with the grooves sideways in the belt. belt alignment was right on and the tensioner was good but would dump the belt if a little water was splashed up. the gatorback belt worked well and it never occured again. i later found out that this was a pretty common deal with those vans. they are a nice quality belt a little pricey though but worth the money in mho.

 

[T-Keith]

The gaterback seem to be very quiet and well worth it, prices are now usually comparable to other brands.

-T

 

[tmorris1]

I put a Gatorback on our van and haven't had any problems. I bought mine at Autozone and it was actually within a $1 of the Gates brand.

 

[boxcartommie22]

i used gator stretch belts on three of my vehicles and i was very diaapointed.. i went to dayco poly cog and gates

 

[lobo11]

No complaints with mine.

 

[dailydriver]

Gatorbacks are the only belts I will use on my LS1. My only problem with them is availability.

 

[AstroVic]

Gatorback belts are very popular with the Crown Vic, Grand Marquis, and Lincoln Town Car crowd. Belt squeal is an occasional issue at wide open throttle shifts on these cars.

I have used Gatorbacks and Gates belts on all of my cars. The Gatorbacks are very high quality belts indeed and they should serve you well.

 

[wantin150]

I'm happy to hear about the positive experiences. I am getting readyto replace the V-belt in my Toyota and bought a Gatorback. If this thread is still active when I do it, I'll post with the results.

 

[Matt_S]

I wouldn't recommend one for anyone with a GM 3800 V6. On my car at least, this belt caused a wierd whistling noise from the alternator pulley. A Dayco belt fixed the problem.

 

[Quest]

I use gates belts only (or OEM Japanese such as Mitsuboshi, Sumitomo, etc.) I'd stay away from belts suchas Dayco and to some extent, GY gatorbacks for they tend to squeal...

 

[Racerjk]

The Gatorback belts for my wife's GTP were a pain to put on, especially the blower belt! Good Lord they fit tight.

They seem to perform well, but next time I'm going to Gates or Dayco.

 

[jmacmaster]

A lot of guys with the 3.0 liter V6 in the Ford Ranger have had problems with squealing belts and have eliminated the squeal by switching to the Gatorback.