How to identify a Continental brand serpentine belt?

S

seekinginfo

Joined
Jul 16, 2025
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I ordered a Continental Mileage Maker from RA. When it arrived it was not in the usual cardboard wrap with belt sticking out each side. It was loose in a big box with paper stuffed in.
The belt itself has no logo on it and the part number on it is not the same as the one I ordered but rather the "alternate part number" RA supply on the info page. It is a similar number to the number they give it up front, lacking the last two digits.
They responded as usual by not answering my question about what brand it actually is and pointing me toward returning it.
Can anyone help me identify this belt? Continental's website is pretty much useless for this as well.
Three attempts to contact via their web page message form failed.

Thank You
 
Another RockAuto tale of disappointment.. not surprising from RA. But I post this I'll get the people who will say RA is awesome and they've never had any issues with them. With that kind of luck they should play the lottery immediately!

The best thing to do is return it and buy elsewhere, the saying "Faithful in little is faithful in much" comes to mind here.
 
what was the return address on the package. That will at least tell you from what parts warehouse it shipped.

At minimum it should have some part numbers on it. I can't think of any legitimate belt company that doesn't print something on the backing. Of course I had two huge issues with continental - one hose, and 3 of 4 out of round tires, so my suggestion is just order a Bando and save yourself the trouble.
 
I'm going to say it's not a Continental belt and you should just return it to Rockauto. Some random auto parts warehouse that RA uses got a belt returned to them and shipped it to you.

The part numbers you can read are a standardized belt designation, i.e. 7K1875, just means it's a 7-rib belt, 1875mm long.
 
researcher said:
Another RockAuto tale of disappointment.. not surprising from RA. But I post this I'll get the people who will say RA is awesome and they've never had any issues with them. With that kind of luck they should play the lottery immediately!

The best thing to do is return it and buy elsewhere, the saying "Faithful in little is faithful in much" comes to mind here.
Click to expand...
It's not actually Rockauto warehousing and shipping the product. They just dropship from 3rd party warehouses with published inventory.

I buy a lot of stuff from Rockauto and have relatively good luck. However, if I see it's coming from United Auto in Lakeland NY, I can guarantee I will not have the right part. If I order an ignition coil and it ships from United Auto, I might end up with a starter for a dodge van, an idler pulley for a Honda or a brake light switch in an unmarked box.
 
SwampSurvivor said:
It's not actually Rockauto warehousing and shipping the product. They just dropship from 3rd party warehouses with published inventory.

I buy a lot of stuff from Rockauto and have relatively good luck. However, if I see it's coming from United Auto in Lakeland NY, I can guarantee I will not have the right part. If I order an ignition coil and it ships from United Auto, I might end up with a starter for a dodge van, an idler pulley for a Honda or a brake light switch in an unmarked box.
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Yep, 1/3 the price of local brick and mortar is worth the trouble if you don't need it immediately.

I ordered ball joints from Parts Geek. They shipped from World-pac. One was used. If I had ordered from World-pac for twice the price would they have checked the box for me. I doubt it?
 
Got a couple pics. My old Samsung digi don't like to work right. IDk what the second pic numbers are for.
It is Made in Mexico. The part no. on the right side comes back as a Dayco on one result. Pretty sure that should be a heckuva lot cheaper than a Conti. Last Conti I had lasted more than ten years and I probably should have just waited to see if the new idler pully solved the problem before getting the Napa belt that is now failng me at 14 months. I think the tensioner is plenty tight since it is a workout to get the belt on. I've been wrong before. :-)
EDIT- Just came across a page that says that second number is a Bando too. I think this is confirmation it is a generic. Edit2- The return addy is Hempstead NY.
alt part no on left.webp


other numbers.webp
 
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Part numbers can't be trademarked-- this is why Intel went from naming their chips 486 to Pentium (TM). I've seen "white box" generic rotors with four or more cross reference parts numbers that matched name-brand competition.

As said above, those are "descriptive" part numbers based on numbers of ribs and lengths. 97.5 inches is 2476mm.

I suspect "Mileage Maker" is just Conti's B-team belt line made for a price point. I got a couple of Dayco Drive-Rite belts based on price and they were awful-- squealed like a bearing was bad in my AC clutch or something. Never again!

It's possible for that catalog number Conti doesn't even make your belt and just sources it from a 3rd party to fill out their catalog.
 
Hall said:
The part numbers you can read are a standardized belt designation, i.e. 7K1875, just means it's a 7-rib belt, 1875mm long.
Click to expand...

seekinginfo said:
To be clear 975K7 is the alt part number and the numbers after that dash arrow are the right side numbers I referred to.
Click to expand...

seekinginfo said:
The part no. on the right side comes back as a Dayco on one result.
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Read my comment ^ above ^

seekinginfo said:
Just came across a page that says that second number is a Bando too. I think this is confirmation it is a generic.
Click to expand...
Bando makes quality belts and I wouldn't hesitate to BUY a Bando. This situation is based on the principle: You ordered a Continental and the supplier threw a returned, loose belt in a box. I'd still return it. Ideally, RA keeps track and tells that warehouse to get their poop together or RA drops them.
 
seekinginfo said:
I ordered a Continental Mileage Maker from RA. When it arrived it was not in the usual cardboard wrap with belt sticking out each side. It was loose in a big box with paper stuffed in.
...
Can anyone help me identify this belt? Continental's website is pretty much useless for this as well.
Click to expand...
eljefino said:
I suspect "Mileage Maker" is just Conti's B-team belt line made for a price point. I got a couple of Dayco Drive-Rite belts based on price and they were awful-- squealed like a bearing was bad in my AC clutch or something. Never again!
Click to expand...
^^^^ @eljefino hit the nail on the head. Mileage Maker is a lower grade Continental belt as discussed in this BITOG thread from 2020.

If the belt is not difficult to replace, I'd just run it instead of jumping through Rockauto's hoops to return it.
 
seekinginfo said:
Got a couple pics. My old Samsung digi don't like to work right. IDk what the second pic numbers are for.
It is Made in Mexico. The part no. on the right side comes back as a Dayco on one result. Pretty sure that should be a heckuva lot cheaper than a Conti. Last Conti I had lasted more than ten years and I probably should have just waited to see if the new idler pully solved the problem before getting the Napa belt that is now failng me at 14 months. I think the tensioner is plenty tight since it is a workout to get the belt on. I've been wrong before. :-)
EDIT- Just came across a page that says that second number is a Bando too. I think this is confirmation it is a generic. Edit2- The return addy is Hempstead NY.
View attachment 289776

View attachment 289777
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oh that Hampstead NY address.. You need to do a Google street view of that place. I think that's the one is a hole-in-the wall shop that if you change the date of the image you'll see them stocking alternators outside! Oh sure, I really like my electrical parts to get wet.. lol.
 
tmorris1 said:
They bought out the Goodyear Gatorbacks that were awesome. They relabeled them as Elite series, but I can't find them anymore
Click to expand...

because they stopped making them about 5 years ago :sneaky:

Conti replaced the Elite polycog belts with something called the OE Technology series which are regular style belts. There is nothing wrong with them, though :)
 
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