[quote= . . . . . . , I braved the friggen wind to go out and get my owner info. In the "Scheduled Maintenance Guide" there is no mention that I could find of a "replacement" only inspection. . . .quote]

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thank you...THANK YOU very much for trying to help ! Yeah - I already tried that. No clue from the manual.

 

OK, I went out to the garage and retrieved my Haynes manual, they refer to it as a "drivebelt", made it a bit difficult to locate the maintenance suggestions.

Anyway, they suggest inspection intervals of 3 months or 3,000 miles, replacement at 48 months or 60,000 miles.

Anyone have a Chilton's, or a Ford service manual?

 

My dealer suggests 100K miles. He may be making easy money, but they will replace it on the next oil change. I am not attempting the change on the 6L. I cannot even see the entire belt.

 

Go to NAPA Autoparts and buy upper radiator hose part number 9066 and you won't ever have to take the hose off again, to remove the belt.

Stewart

 

I attempted to give it a stab as well, and your right, I cant even follow then darn thing.

 

Serpentine Belt thread - back from the grave

I finally followed my own advice & replaced the serp belt. This on an 80k V10.
This was the most difficult serp belt I ever replaced. But it's still easy, prolly 1.3 on a 1-10 scale. Way easier than the old skool v-belts.

Had to set the belt onto the lower pulley from underneath, used the 1/2" torque wrench, for it's long handle, on the tensioner.

There was a noticeable difference in length, not by eye but by feel when installing, between the old & new. New is tighter, plus the old belt is checked, a lot. A good spare!

 

For anyone that needs the diagram for their rig, see post number 9 in this thread.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/5...ml#post3750246

Stewart

 

Exactly what I was looking for, thanks Stewart. Rep points given....

 

When belts come into my shop we look for a couple of things on the actual belt: one is the cracking already mentioned, the other is glazing (shiny sections). The biggest part of the inspection is the idler pulley and the tensioner to ensure they are not at fault. For the belt - the cracking or wear can be different depending on the type of belt. On the older belts and newer, less expensive belts it is physical cracks in the grooves of the belt. The spec is supposed to be x number of cracks per inch - I say replace it when it's old enough to show any cracks as it's a fairly inexpensive part. The other type of wear can be in the depth or width of the grooves themselves. There is a tool available which measures this type of wear - but the symptoms will typically be squealing (belt slippage) since the grooves are not fitting the pulleys on your accessories well. The newer materials on these belts may not crack but can still be worn enough to warrant replacement. The glazing on the back (non grooved side) of the belt is just as bad and can cause squealing since some accessories and pulleys utilize the smooth portion of the belt to function.

 

This is what happened to me awhile back. Idler pulley & tensioner went bad. Actually the tensioner mounting assembly. The pulley was grinding into the block. Replaced belt at the same time.

 

Here's what made me do what I knew I should...

My son's Jeep had an alternator bearing sieze. That took out the serp belt. The belt took out both tranny cooling lines.

This all happened after a day of 'wheeling, as he was driving onto the ferry. A friendly jeeper towed him off the ferry. Left behind a good size puddle.

 

Thanks for the reps, Ryan!

Stewart

 

One word of warning. I lost two (2) belts on my 2003, but not due to belt "wear out". It was the water pump pulley in both cases. In the first case (at about 80K miles), I heard a "belt chirp" from under hood. The pulley was cracked and about to break.

The 2nd time was pretty much what you describe--the belt broke and wrapped itself up pretty bad in the engine compartment. This was caused by water pump pulley shattering.

Look to see if you water pump pulley is cracked. Also, check to make sure you did not damage any wires down by the lower passenger side. My belt chewed up the insulation on main starter cable and broke both block heater wires.

 

way back when i was a messenger in my 88 ford escort...i put 300,000 miles on it and was never stranded...i always changed the accessory belt, timing belt and water pump at the same time..70,000 miles....the mechanics would give me a funny look..the water pump?..why?..its not leaking or bad....over the years ive seen plenty of cars and trucks dead on the road with broken belts and water pumps....so i did it b4 it happened..better safe than sorry...and oops........my belt on my v-10 is the original i think...130,000..ive been eyeing it for a long time..looks ok..but its gonna go this weekend...

 

Well, the one I replaced (Gatorback) when I started this thread got chewed up again, so I replaced it last month, again with a Gatorback. Not many miles at all. I was thinking I must have not have had it seated well when I had replaced it roadside. The one I replaced last month is shredding now, so I know it has to be something else. An earlier post in this thread suggested the idler pulley/tensioner, so I'll check that out, and all the other points of contact. I had done that last time, but must be missing something.

So, anyone else have this problem?

(I will also be replacing that STUPID upper rad hose with the NAPA 9066)

Let you know what I find!