Alternator/Fan Belt Age

[Alan Lindquist]

Anybody use the factory supplied Alternator/Fan belt? I just mounted mine and I believe it may be 30 years old and it surprised me how well it maintained it's integrity over the years. Anybody have a bad experience with theirs?

1980 SC. The reason I used the spare belt is that the existing belt was dying a slow death. I was leaving for work and heard a chirp when starting the car - it's a daily driver, so it's easy to tell when something is different - so I made a mental note to check the alternator/fan belt. To and from work the chirping got noticeable when shifting. I watched the temp and kept an eye out for the alternator light. Got home after work and checked the belt and sure enough there were 8-10 chunks missing from the tractor tread. Part of the belt just chunked away. It's been on there for several years, likely well over 25,000 miles, so I guess it's time was up. It may have been too loose and got abused.

I recalled that I had a spare belt in my tool pouch and just for the fun of it decided to mount it to see how it looked. It is the belt that was with the took kit when I got the car 10 years ago - possibly the original spare from the factory.

It mounted up nicely and tensioned up with the same two shims that were set for the previous belt. Made a mental note to keep an eye on it and order a new belt from our host the next time I'm ordering something. One week, and so far so good.

The belt from the tool pouch seems legit after 30 years if it really is the factory belt. That's good news for anyone who has to do this on the roadside. I'll order a new belt soon and retire the spare belt back to the kit.