Hey fellas, I noticed a few frail edges (actual belt treads) on my serpentine belt yesterday when I was changing the oil and filter. Is it time to replace the belt? It's only got 104k miles on it, completely stock!

 

They were on the inner side (side closest to the water pump/compressor/etc.) of the belt but overall the belt looked good. I didn't see any cracks and all the ribs that I could see looked ok...?

 

Serpentine belts In my opinion should be changed every 100k, but at any time in between if they lose integrity. Mine got away with it untill at 190k and I just replaced the factory one. Theyre pretty cheap. $30-50. Cheap items should always be replaced as soon as any doubt of reliability is put in your head about said item. They're alot easier to put on if u have a buddy on top or under the truck to help. Thats my .02. But I am just a cave man.

 

I would be checking your tensioner and see if it's pulling away from the motor. It way be getting weak after all these years. If you find it faulty, look into upgrading to a super duty belt and tensioner.

 

My upgrade to the SD dual tensioner stopped all the uneven wear.

 

i do not go by set miles or time, but rather on how it looks. if the edges start to fray or has age cracks, it gets changed.
i usually get around 35-40k miles out of serpentine belts.

 

Thanks fellas!! I'll check the tensioner tomorrow to make sure it's good. I'm guessing I should stick with the OEM part F6TZ-8620-GA but wanted to see if I should consider something else? The OEM price is $48.

 

There are couple of good threads on how to upgrade to the SD tensioner and how to make sure you get the correct tensioner (very important) and the different length belt.

Don't read mine as it is a lesson in how to NOT do it right the first time. You may want to stop reading the rest of my response now.

It is a rather easy mod. But do some googling about it first, and then assess your skills. We can talk you through the seeming tricky stuff, (it is about the most imprecise, hatchet job mod you you will ever do on your truck) but you have to have a few tools.

There is no shame if the mod (or any mod) is not for you.

Plan on buying a tensioner and a belt. As the OBS design tensioner wears out, the pivot arm that the pulley is mounted to wears and flexes to the front of the truck, away from the engine. This makes the belt ride harder on the edges of the grooved pulley before and after the smooth pulley tensioner. This is what is causing your frayed belt edge.

Don't put a new belt on a crap tensioner.

(Oh, and please add some vehicle details to your signature.)