fan belt

[Kurt Henzler]

started truck just after running it for about 50 miles and heard funny noise. i shut it off within seconds and checked things out. my fan belt jumped one grove around the lowest pulley (close to the ground, and not the crankshaft one) i did not look to see what the pulley drives. just but my 1/2 entension in the spring loaded idler to loosen belt and put it back on. everything seems fine. the belt is not shreaded at all. it have mopar part numbers on it. 53041138aa. i guess it is a good idea to have a spare.



what causes this . i have 42,000 thousand without any problems. everything look in line too.

 

[swexlin]

Tensioner.



Although, these 3rd Gens like to eat belts on ocassion. Mine went at on 5400 miles, and all tensioners, pullies check out (according to dealer).



Do a search on serpentine belt in the 3rd Gen engine forums, and you'll find my thread and others. I agree, modern drive belts should last WAY longer than 42,000 miles. In 25 years of driving many different brands of cars and trucks, this is the first (stock) vehicle that I have had any belt problems. So when I saw so many other posts (see my thread) about belt issues with the 3d Gener's - it can't just be conincidence.

 

[JVantreese]

Don't leave home with out it.

Last summer my wife and I decided to take our truck for its maiden voyage by driving from Petoskey Michigan out to Bozeman Montana to visit our son. We were in Wisconsin on our second morning when a slapping noise told me something was unhappy under the hood. The local dealer had a tech take a quick look and said that the good news was that I only needed a new belt, but the bad news was that he did not have one. After doing a computer search we found that the only belt nearby was 90 miles due south in a small farm town. It was now 10:am on a Saturday and the dealership that had my needed belt closed at noon. We decided to make the trip south hoping that what was left of the belt would stay together for the ride.



Due to rural roads and a large amount traffic we found the dealership that had the needed belt at 11:45. The service manager was kind enough to take over the job that their one and only tech was working on so that he was available to help us out. After a careful review the tech said everything looked good but the belt had just came apart with 1100 miles on the truck.



A few days later while in Bozeman I stopped at the Dodge dealer and purchased a belt which now rides with us under the rear seat. I now have 11,500 miles on the CTD with no further belt problems. Because these belts are not always available, I would not leave home on any long trip without a spare belt.

 

[swexlin]

After a careful review the tech said everything looked good but the belt had just came apart with 1100 miles on the truck.

Yes, I remember yours was like mine - came apart early in life.



I too, carry a spare now, as I don't trust it. And when my original went, it took my dealers two days to get a replacement.



I ordered my spare from Advance or Napa, and it took a few days. Knock wood (alot of wood) haven't needed it yet, but I keep it under the seat.

 

[MickeyMiller]

I just orderd a spare from Geno's... what tools will I need if I have to replace it? Are there any tricks I should be aware of?



Thanks in advance,

Mickey

 

[jaybigboy34]

I had a buddy with on 05 truck that started shredding the belt after only 2500 miles. They checked his truck and everything looked fine to them. Don't really know what causes it.

 

[swexlin]

had a buddy with on 05 truck that started shredding the belt after only 2500 miles. They checked his truck and everything looked fine to them. Don't really know what causes it.

And I rest my case.

 

[RMalone]

Im at 32k in my 04. 5 no belt problems yet but Ill have to keep my eyes open and get that spare! Just curious has anyone had an aftermarket belt or oem replacement belt fail? I wonder if star didn't just purchase a large lot of junk belts. If not then there must be something wrong with the pulleys or tensioners, but everyone of you said all that checked out fine. Since this is not really a "safety issue" (tell that to someone stranded in the cold :{ ) I doubt they would own up to it until they have to. Gotta get that spare!!

 

[ERohloff]

Only have 700 miles on my 3500 and also going to do a "Spare under the seat" thing along with the fuel filters.

Suspect it's a belt issue (Ala the cheap ball joint approach??). Going to go with a "Non -Dodge" belt for the spare !!!

When I picked up the truck I also ordered a "Under the hood label showing the belt routing (It's not that intuitive and it used to be on the earlier trucks, on the radiator support). 3$ and not in yet. Might have to replace it myself so might come in handy.

bob r...

 

[swexlin]

Going to go with a "Non -Dodge" belt for the spare !!!

Well, actually, the belts that are failing are the belts that Cummins supplies with the engines. My replacement belt is a MOPAR belt, and it appears to be better quality (ribbed and crosshatched) than the ribbed-only OEM belt. The spare I ordered from Advanced or Napa is also cross-hatched.



I believe that Cummins bid out to a low-cost supplier, and that some fail. Only one person, as I recall, on one of the several threads over here and on DTR over the last few months about failing belts had a tensioner that was bad.



I will say that there is VERY little room for error in routing these belts. The pulley on the bottom of the engine, passenger side (water pump? AC?), the belt first groove rides RIGHT THERE close to the radiator side edge. It seems to me if there is even a "slight" misalignment, perhaps due to a tired installer at the factory who had done hundreds that day, that it will eventually ride off. That's my theory.

 

[Spooled-up]

I remember buying a "Gator" belt for my 2nd gen. It stopped the little screech when you turned the truck off and looked like a good quality belt. I'm going to look for one of these to keep as a spare.

 

[swexlin]

The replacement Mopar belt chirps only every once in a while. The OEM belt chirped every time, as did my Ford PSD belt. Nature of the beast, but perhaps the stress of shutdown that makes our characteristic "chirps" is also pretty hard on a substandard belt.