I have an 04 Excursion 6.0 with 70K miles on it. The serpentine belt has no cracks and is the original. How long do these belts last? I am going on a long trip and was wondering if I should keep running the original belt??

 

heres the thing with belts on this enigne. Just because it has no signs of craks does not mean its good.
the belt rides on the flat side of the water pump pully and the tensioner. Its been my finding that the belt will degrade on the falt side and cause slipping on the water pump pully when this happens.
belts last on avarage 60-100k miles depending on environment.
hope this helps.

 

Thanks man! Is replacing the belt the same as any other serpentine belt on my other cars? Just release tension and remove belt and install the new one???

 

ya kinda. use a search function for that there is a thread here that shows were the tensioner lock tab is.
It pays like 1.7 to install the belt so that would cost you about $200 in labor + $ 90 or so for the belt.

You can diy this in 15 min if you know how. the first time sucks and will take you 2 hours a few drinks and lots of bad words.

I just pull the fan and stator out but thats me I dont like to fight it and can still do it less then 20 min.

 

It's exactly the same. The tensioner has a "kick stand" to hold off tension while you remove and install the belt. Removing the small top fan shroud section makes it easier. If you study the diagram the belt will go around and over everything, even the fan.

 

I did mine last October, and it was a PITA, but I got it done in about 30min or so. I think having long arms helped.

 

Replaced mine after 100,000 miles and 6yrs. on my 2003 F-250 6.0

 

Dealer charged me 75 dollars for belt and labor.

 

Is there any aftermarket belts that are batter than OEM? or just stick with OEM?? Any special instructions on fan removal?

 

I would try to do it w/o removing the fan first. Its not that bad. Its just how I do belts most of the time, as I am normally there for another reason.
as a rule I dont replace many as thats not really in my skill group. the dealer pays me far to much to do maintace and they dont like us "a" techs doing it.

 

That's a great price.

I can't remember what I paid... but I do remember that the belt alone was pretty pricy!!!

I go with the 100,000 miles rule unless your having other issues or concerns. Check your owner's manual... I think it states 100,000 or maybe a few more miles for replacement.... but of course... belts can start to crack at any time.

Persoanlly, I would go with a Motorcraft brand belt and know it fits... the 6.0L motor is picky... so why give it reason to be picky with an "off-brand" belt.

 

Hey Stranger Long time no see.

Lots of folks have had great success with the Goodyear Gatorback also, but I'm like Jeff. If you got 100K from the first one why change from the motorcraft belt just to save a few pennies?

 

The belt stretches over time and the flat side gets slick. When you get a new belt and compare it, you will see what I mean. I changed mine at 60K. Looked OK with no cracks but it is just one of those preventative maintenance things I do.

I bought the Goodyear "Gatorback" belt at Advance Auto for about $35. I liked the design better and I think it is as good, if not better, then the OEM belt.

When I did mine I removed the air filter. Takes very little time and gives a lot more access. Took me 30 minutes to change mine.

Lock the tensioner, put on the new belt and release tensioner.

YOU DO NOT HAVE THE REMOVE THE FAN OR FAN SHOURD TO CHANGE THE BELT!

DSMMH

 

1999-2003 7.3 Diesel Technical Service Bulletin http://diesel.org/cms/wp-content/upl...epalcement.pdf

 

Thanks, newbie for your desire to contribute. But that's for a 7.3l and this is the 6.0l forum. You'll get the hang of it.