I'm looking at my belt and see a lot of cracks on the ribs but the main belt body appears ok. is this normal wear or a tell tale of the belt is on its way out. I think its originall .1998 w only 54K. Should I just replace it or are the cracked ribs normal.

 

if I remember correctly cracks are ok as long as pieces aren't missing. Now if it was my engine, it would be replaced, not a real expensive part. Newer belts made of EPDM, generally never crack so you need a gauge to check them for wear, which you can get at gates.com for free.

 

At the belts age, no matter the mileage, it's time for a new belt & the dryrot cracks in the rubber are also an indication it's time for replacement.

I've been using Dayton Polycog for a number of years on my 99 4.0L Ranger & 94 3.8L Taurus with good results, in that they are running a little quieter & lasting longer than the OEM belt.
I've also heard good things said about the GoodYear Gator Back belt, but haven't run one of those yet.

Use a 3/8 drive breaker bar in the provided square hole molded into the belt tensioner, to relieve belt tension, so you can first slip the back side of the old belt off the walless idler pulley.
Install the new belt over All of walled pulleys first, relieve tension with the breaker bar & slide the smooth back side of the new belt onto the walless idler pulley Last & your finished!!!!!

Keep the old belt in the new belts container under the seat in case of emergency, because if the serp belt breaks we're stuck!!!!

Memorial Day holiday usually finds things like belts on sale, so check around. maybe you'll find what you want at a good price.

More thoughts for consideration, let us know how it goes.

 

I used the gator back once in my Plymouth years ago. It made a weird noise like I had a supercharger or something. I think if I was really worried about a belt breaking I would go buy a new spare, oh and don't forget tools to change it, how often does that happen?