Serptentine Belt Broke Today
#21
Senior Member
Posts like a Turbo
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: vancouver, canada 1995 bonneville SSEi
Posts: 348
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by aukc
anyone have advise on when to change the serpentine belts before they break? Is there a general guideline on when the belts should be replaced (by age, or by milage)? If they look ok and don't make too much noice should I just leave them? I've got 92K on a '95, and I think the belts are original
#22
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Portage, IN
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My belt didn't break but it slipped off. One side, all the way around, was frayed. My 95 Series II has the motor mount in the middle of the belt, so it is no easy task to change it. (I was 10 hours from home but thankfully only minutes from the hotel when it slipped off. I too worried about overheating and valves getting crushed.) It turns out that my Belt Tensioner went bad. Looking back, my car had given me clues that I didn't realize at the time -- the small amount of fraying, the belt starting and stopping!!! The thing is my car has the "mother of all belt tensioners". It has a coolant line passing through it. So it is a more complicated part change. A GM mechanic once warned me that these things go bad around 140K. I was at 135K or so. I'm now at 262K! I also had my AC clutch go out 2 years ago. The belt and AC pulley kept spinning and made awful noises. I had little metal shavings around the pulley but at least it didn't lock up and interfere with my belt moving freely.
#23
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Portage, IN
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The pulley didn't break off. It has been awhile now, so I don't remember exactly anymore. But, yea, I believe it was the spring and/or parts related to the spring action. - Angela Bonner
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
2000bonnevillessei
Forced Induction
5
02-03-2010 07:03 PM
Rotgut
Performance, Brainstorming & Tuning
15
05-18-2003 01:56 AM