At the shop now getting the oil changed before I head home for the holiday. Mechanic showed me the drive belt and it is cracked as hell so having them go ahead and replace it. Car only has 52k miles on it. Just curious if this belt usually goes this early?

 

yeah thats normal, my 06 z has 67k and my belts where replace at about 49k

 

That's about all you can expect.

 

how much did you pay for that op? im at 40k just trying to get my wallet ready

 

theres a DIY on here - change them out yourself and save your wallet for other goodies..

 

I had this done at around 40k , bought the belts for 55 bucks had a buddy put them on for 30 dollars took less than 10 mins.

 

Just bought an '04 with 55k miles and noticed the belts were cracked and made the dealer replace them before I bought it. I think they crack just as much from age as they do from mileage.

 

I have no garage, no tools, nothing. I would do it myself but not really able given those circumstances. Don't have any car buddies with stuff either Definitely spent way more at the shop, but wanted it done before I make my 4 hour drive home and back this weekend.

 

The biggest problem with "DIY" on this is getting the tension correct. Too loose and it will squeel & slip. Too tight and the pulley bearings will wear out, the belt will crack prematurely.

 

Simple, but but having the "touch" for adjusting is a must

 

One inch give in the center of the belt is generally about right. Time to do it is when you are changing the oil since the tensioners are underneath, at least on my '03. Always do them both while you are at it. And that is about the general age/mileage - did mine around then and need to do again at 100K. Funny because one is cracked as hell and the other isn't - kind of weird. Maybe I got one too tight??

 

It’s easy to have a perfect touch (even without a tension gauge) when adjusting the engine accessory belts. My main belt developed a tiny amount of squeal on a cold start and needed adjusting. The online service manual gives a specification for a tension meter as well as a belt deflection spec.

A 22lb force should cause a 4 to 5 mm deflection of the belt, measured mid span. I simply calibrated my thumb by pushing down on the bathroom scale and seeing what a 22-pound push felt like and eyeballed the 4 to 5 mm deflection.

PerfZ, even though the proper access to the adjusters is from the bottom, I did the main belt from above. I don’t have a jack or jack stands to lift the car up, so I just removed the engine cover and squeezed in from the top.

 

That sounds like a little much

I have the same problem with cracking on one belt (A/C). I didn't think it was too tight but it could just be a problem of the cycling of the A/C on and the resulting bump in tension.

 

Maybe, but if it doesn't squeal, it is probably OK. I would rather have it a bit loose than too tight. Another thought - you might want to start out a bit tighter and check it after a week - belts stretch.