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Old 03-29-2016, 02:06 AM   #1
c214dick
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Serpentine belt replacement

Yesterday I had the serpentine belt replaced on our 03 Dodge 3500. This is not the first time but the third time in 2 yrs.
The first time it was because of it not being aligned properly, the second time because of a non heavy duty belt which was replaced under warranty. This time because ????
The belt put in today has a 2yr unlimited mileage warranty. It cost about $180 installed.
I looked up a how to video so I can replace it myself next time, if there is a next time.
Has anyone replaced their's. Any suggestions?
 
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Old 03-29-2016, 02:43 AM   #2
GregN
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Had to replace to one on my old truck couple of times. I always carried a spare one, just in case. The belt goes, you no go. I was pretty simple. Just make sure you have a breaker bar with the right size socket for the tensioner pulley. Make sure the belt is centered on all the wheels. I had one belt get off center, stripped away just a small strip of the belt. It whipped the hood blanket apart, thought rats had eaten it up until I found the problem.
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Old 03-29-2016, 02:52 AM   #3
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Replace the idlers too. They go bad too.
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Old 03-29-2016, 03:08 AM   #4
dieselguy
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Damned ... $180 installed ... I'm definitely in the wrong line of work. I realize not everyone has mechanical skills, but stories like this just chaps my ----. Usually the routing diagram is right on the radiator support or under the hood.
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Old 03-29-2016, 06:00 AM   #5
c214dick
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I have a spare belt but couldn't get my fat arm down far enough to access the tensioner.
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Old 03-29-2016, 06:44 AM   #6
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Go to harbor freight tools get a breaker bar. its Cheap and keep it in your tool box for the truck with a spare belt. and not only the idler but the tensioner itself goes bad and looses alignment and will destroy a belt. go to rock-auto.com they are the cheapest for name brand parts i use them all the time.
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Old 03-29-2016, 07:43 AM   #7
Art-n-Marge
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I have replaced my serpentine myself and will do it again when it's time. That $180 price is low where I live. Mechanics where I live can charge $250 to $300 to do this.

I don't save the old belt to use as a spare, because it's old and needed replacing and using this as a spare means it might bust, too. I really should buy a new one to use for a spare. It will be newer rubber and hopefully more supple in the event of an emergency. But then what to do about rubber that sits for a while... ugh, never ends.

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Old 03-29-2016, 07:55 AM   #8
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Do not own a Dodge but For us that Tow the best belt and I do not mess with just regular belts is the Gates "BIG GREEN" when you want the best spend the cash here is the part number for your 2003 Dodge 3500 GATES K081264HD {#25081264HD} FleetRunner®; K08 1-3/32" x 127"
w/Air Conditioning......Hopefully the one they put in for 180 bucks was this one
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Old 03-29-2016, 09:09 AM   #9
c214dick
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My spare is from Geno's and cost about $41 for the heavy duty green one. Not sure what the shelf life is. I do have a beaker bar in Monte but will transfer it to the truck. I'll try it on the tensioner to see if that will "ease" the pain of trying to reach it.
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Old 03-29-2016, 10:44 AM   #10
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About a year ago, had a cat get under the hood, started the engine, heard some weird noises and smelled something strange. Stopped the engine, and discovered the remains of the cat. Waited till the next morning, and the critter got himself out of the truck, minus part of his tail. He died in the garage. Had to replace the tensioner and the belt, took three of us to do it, along with a HF extendable ratchet wrench. Getting a new tensioner was the hard part. Not much room in any of these rigs to put a new belt on.
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Old 03-31-2016, 10:37 AM   #11
WaltBennett
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Had to replace the belt in my old Chevy 8.1L gasser and it was easy (even with next to no room with that monster engine). Had to replace the alternator in my Ford diesel and doing that was just like changing the belt. Had to remove one piece of plastic air shroud to get the breaker bar in, but it snapped right back in place afterwards. Go search online for a video on how to do it on yours. There's no end of posts by mechanics trying to work themselves out of business - guess not many look at them or something.
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