Gatorback Serpentine?

[JJPage]

I finally passed the 20k mark on the odo, and while doing a visual under my hood, I noticed the first rib of my serpentine was peeled off the belt and wrapped around the fan shaft. I have done a few searches on the forums and this seems to be a fairly common occurence.



The least inexpensive belt in Geno's catalog was $39, NAPA wanted $76. 99 REG, $91. 59 HD. I have not even inquired at the Dealership. I found this Gatorback replacement at AutoZone for $26. 62 including tax. They had to order it, they do not stock it, so I did order.



Does anyone have any experience, good or bad, with this product? I find the difference in pricing almost unbelievable.



I will also check my tensioner while I have the belt off, I see Geno's does have them for a very reasonable $20.



Jess

 

[BDaugherty]

I won't use a goodyear belt due to previous experience with them slipping, being noisy, and not lasting. I generally use either Dayco or Gates depending on price and availability. I've used cheap kelly springfield from autozone, too... but you really get what you pay for. However, they make great low price spares to keep for roadside emergencys.

 

[JJPage]

I won't use a goodyear belt due to previous experience with them slipping, being noisy, and not lasting. I generally use either Dayco or Gates depending on price and availability. I've used cheap kelly springfield from autozone, too... but you really get what you pay for. However, they make great low price spares to keep for roadside emergencys.

OK, that could account for the price difference, However, the OEM only lasted 20k? Six years old, but hardly any use.



I generally agree, you get what you pay for... just thought I might be due for a break. ha ha.



Now I am commited, so I guess I have to put it on and see if it is worth $26. 62?

 

[GOlsen]

I'm running a gatorback on my truck and I love it. It stopped my "shutdown chirp. " I've been running it for 3 yrs with no problems, squeeks, cracks, etc...

 

[hsmith]

Gatorback is the only way to go on our trucks. One of the few "good" parts you get from AZ!!

 

[CPittman]

The MOPAR part from the dealer is about $80. There are a couple of things that can cause it to jump a rib and peel the front rib off, too much slack (weakened spring) on the tensioner, or (in my case) a severely rutted idler wheel. Geno's fixed that for $20. The dealer doesn't sell the idler wheel by itself. They want around $200 for the whole tensioner assembly.

 

[AMink]

I used a Gatorback on my 97 and it worked well. No chirp, still going strong when I sold the truck.

 

[steved]

OK, that could account for the price difference, However, the OEM only lasted 20k? Six years old, but hardly any use.

I for one got over 100k out of my original belt (still carried as a spare, and still in good condition), and I have nearly that on an OE takeoff... if you have the same thing happen with a second belt (shredded), research that belt issue, might find something out of line. I know there were a few plagued by that issue... might even talk to the dealer about it because it is not normal and if you get it into the service history, could possibly have it fixed by the dealer.



I have ran Gatorback's with good success in several applications, however I have never ran one on this truck. I found a OE takeoff with under 500 miles from eBay for $20 shipped... they take them off to install the factory exhaust brakes.

 

[JJPage]

Thanks Guys, I appreciate all the comments.



I believe I now know, what I thought was a boost leak, was most likely my belt squealing... . It only happened a couple of times, on really hard WOT runs. I was never able to find a boost leak.



I will inspect everything very thoroughly while the belt is off, it is very suspect that the belt was so short lived, if nothing is amiss.



Jess

 

[TimothyLong]

I use the Gatorbacks too and have had a lot of good luck with them. I change mine out about every 60K or so. That's about when they start showing signs of wear on my truck. I kept the original for use as a spare.