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Serpentine Belt advantages?

Burbdood 74

Burbdood 74

Giver of not a single damn...
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OK, I have an 88 Suburban with a V-belt setup and I found a complete serpentine belt setup from a 91 Blazer in a junyard for $50. By complete I mean all of the accessories included with the brackets. I know that a serp setup is nice and I had one on my old 90 K-5 and it never let me down. But there's nothing really wrong with my V-belts on my Burb.

So what's your opinions on the serpentine belt setup? Is the swap worth it or should I just leave well enough alone and look to improve something else? I don't mind doing the work, but I don't mind not doing it either.




P.S. Next week I think I'm going back to the yard to get the serp system and swap it onto Fillmore in the Fall so it's up to y'all to help me make up my mind either way.


What say you?
 
They are nice for simplicity reasons but there are problems having only one belt should an accessory fail.
 
That was the point he was making. It isn't hard to carry another serpentine belt. They are much better than V-belts.

Martin
 
82355 said:
That was the point he was making. It isn't hard to carry another serpentine belt. They are much better than V-belts.

Martin
Click to expand...

Actually, the point i was making is that lets say your alternator siezes up, you cannot just keep driving until you fix the problem. If you used a V belt system you could simply remove the alternator belt and keep driving. The same goes for the P/S pump.
 
Exactly , on a trail you can run on the battery a while , then charge off a buddies rig ( swap batteries from rig to rig ) , then continue until your home . And you still have power steering with the other belt :)
 
If you do the swap be sure to get the serp waterpump. Serp systems are reverse rotation water pump. Your V belt pump wont work wit a serp system.
I like serpentine belt systems. Have one on my K5 with no complaints. But I dont think I like them enough to do a swap. V belts do the job just fine, and according to Murphy " If it works dont fix it".
 
Thunder said:
If you do the swap be sure to get the serp waterpump. Serp systems are reverse rotation water pump. Your V belt pump wont work wit a serp system.
I like serpentine belt systems. Have one on my K5 with no complaints. But I dont think I like them enough to do a swap. V belts do the job just fine, and according to Murphy " If it works dont fix it".
Click to expand...

Actually, Murphy says "if you do the swap i will be sure to complicate it in some way". :D
 
Serpentine belts are better than v-belts because they grip the pulleys better. More contact area means less belt-slippage. Only time I've ever heard my serpentine (only alt/waterpump/crank) belt make noise was when the alternator plug was screwed up, and the alternator output (thus belt load) went through the roof.

Personal choice really, I think everything made nowadays light vehicle-wise is a serpentine belt, and they are certainly a lot easier to change/remove.

However, if ANYTHING in a serpentine system fails, you are dead in the water. Idler pulley(s?), or any of the accessories seizes up and you aren't going anywhere. Common? Probably not, but I know I've seen a few people have idlers go bad, and I know I'm not the only one that's had alternators die.
 
I love my serp setup... I did have an alternator freeze and wipe out the belt, but wasn't a big deal at the time, did it on startup in my driveway.

I do carry a spare alternator and serp belt though. I can't see the other accessories giving up the ghost and freezing up like that, at least not without any warning. Alts are easy to change and they are cheap.

Idler pulleys give you plenty of notice when they are going, when you can hear them howling it's time for a new one.. $40 and all will be quiet.

Serp belts are also cheap.. carry a spare or two.

In a TBI truck I don't really see you going all that far on just the battery, at least not without it barely limping along.
 
According to the programming in my setup, GM planned for voltage down to 10 volts. On a fully charged battery I suspect that would get you pretty far, although I have to admit, I'm not willing to try it. :)
 
It's kind of pricey, but I have a March Serp setup on my truck. It uses the same pattern as v-belts but uses the serp pulleys and belts.

Seems to me it's the best of both worlds.
 
cheyennek20 said:
It's kind of pricey, but I have a March Serp setup on my truck. It uses the same pattern as v-belts but uses the serp pulleys and belts.

Seems to me it's the best of both worlds.
Click to expand...


Do you have more info on the March Serp setup??? (googling right now).
 
You guys make some interesting points. I guess it all comes down to personal preference. I just can't get over the "lose one, lose them all" aspect of the accessories with a serpentine belt.

On the other hand, dyeager makes a good point about the contact area of the wider belt. Oh what to do, what to do?
 
snuffy74 said:
You guys make some interesting points. I guess it all comes down to personal preference. I just can't get over the "lose one, lose them all" aspect of the accessories with a serpentine belt.

On the other hand, dyeager makes a good point about the contact area of the wider belt. Oh what to do, what to do?
Click to expand...


How often does an alternator freeze up? I'm pretty sure the reason mine did was the truck sat for a long time, the case on the alt was pretty oxidized.
 
It's not just your alternator. What if you lose a power steering hose? AIR pump (if you have one). Compressor.
 
Everything new runs serpentine belts. They don't give you that much trouble, and they ARE BETTER than V belts.

Martin
 
Now if you had an electric water pump and fans losing the belt wouldn't be too big of a deal and you would get a nice workout turning the 38's with no power steering!!!!!! I like the serps myself...
 
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