replacement serpentine belt for heavy 10R

Hello, My leather belt is worn and the splice wire is coming apart. I've heard of folks using serpentine belts anyone with first hand experience on serpentine vs leather.

I replaced the leather belt on my 9 with a serpentine belt and have no regrets about it. I just took the old leather one into an auto parts store and told them to find a serpentine belt the same length. After I installed it I was amazed with the difference, especially when taking heavy cuts. I would recommend it to everyone.

Great, thanks for the feedback. one question though, how do I splice it?

Ive used serp belts as a replacement, as orillies delivers to my shop.

Cut on a angle and splice back with a good strong fishing line.

Run the ribbed side on the pulley and the stiches will be in the groves of the belt.

A diesel truck usually has a 10-12 rib belt and can handle a lot of power with out slipping

Red1fire said:

Great, thanks for the feedback. one question though, how do I splice it?

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I've tried the serpentine belt fix several times, with mixed results. I first tried glueing it as described in a thread on this site. The glue eventually failed, even after a few attempts - may have been my fault, as others have used glue successfully. Then I tried splicing it with small braided steel wire, but the wire soon pulled through and tore the belt, ruining the splice. Next time I tried, I used 40 lb. nylon fishing line, and it likewise tore out the splice in time. My latest attempt follows a suggestion from someone on this site, and uses Power Pro microfilament braided fishing line in 80 lb. test. So far after a lot of use it's holding up great. I laced the belt ends together so the line sits in the grooves on the pulley side, and used a heavy duty needle to thread double strands through the holes, making three passes through each hole, resulting in six threads in each groove. I tied off the line on the non pulley side and secured the knot with a dab of super glue. The line is pretty slippery, so the glue is probably a must. I drilled holes in the ends of the belt at the splice, just large enough to thread the six strands of line through - if I remember right the hole size was just over 1/16 inch, but it's probably not critical.

Sorry for the blah, blah, blah, -- just trying to tell you what worked for me after several unsuccessful attempts. Bottom line, the serpentine belt works great, and with very little belt tension to boot. Oil doesn't seem to affect it's grip at all. if you can make it work, you'll like it.

I don't have a lot of mileage on my serpentine belt and zero experience with anything else. But I will say it took me three tries to get a glue-joint on the serpentine belt that I considered good. The first one was crooked so I removed the belt, the second one ended up snapping under static tension because I tensioned the HELL out of it just to see how far it could go. The third one worked like a charm.

I read every post on this forum about how to glue it up and what I ended up with on my third try, in my opinion, was not adequately described here before.

The way you glue the belt and how you sand down the belt prior to gluing makes a huge difference in how you will perceive the results. I wish I took pics of how I did mine the most recent time.

I just put a serpentine on my 13" today, and have put them on my 16" and 9" before this. I work them HARD and have only been able to get splices to last a few months at best. I don't cut them, use them as is. It is well worth the time to pull the spindle and unbolt the pulley. Just lay out your belt and measure the length and ask for that length belt. I have just been using the narrow car ones, and they can take a hell of a lot of punishment without slipping, but I am going to get the diesel one next time as roll a leblond did. The only problem with using an intact serpentine is you lose your safety, in a crash or jam it will not slip or pop off, something else will have to give.

You cannot use an intact belt on a Heavy 10 because even if you pull the spindle, you still have to cut it to go through the bed. Here is what I have done:

Go to Autozone and buy a belt longer than you need. Make sure you register for their frequent buyer program and have them log the belt for warranty. Cut the belt 2-3" longer than yo need. Then sand down the front (rib side) of one end and the back side of the other end for the same length that your belt is too long (2-3"). These sanded pieces will overlap. When you sand them down, you do not have to be exact. The point is to remove the ribs and then enough of the back side of the other end so the splice will be approximately the same thickness as the rest of the belt. DO NOT SAND THROUGH ANY PORTION OF THE CORDS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BELT. This cords are what give the belt strength. Finally use the two part plastic glue available at Home Depot. I think it may be Locktite branded, but I don't recall. In any event, it comes with a super glue like tube and a "marker" which in some way preps the plastic for the glue. Use the marker on both sanded portions of the belt, let it sit for a minute, then apply the glue. I do about 1/2" at a time. Don't try and glue the whole seem at once. Glue a little, hold it together for 30 seconds, glue a little more.

Wear gloves, that crap is nasty and hard to clean up.

My first belt failed after about a month. The glue seam did not fail. It failed at the edge of the seam where I sanded down into those cords. The cords failed under tension. I took the belt back to AutoZone to get a replacement, fully expecting to pay for it, and the guy promptly informed me it was under warranty and would be replaced for free. I explained that I had cut and spliced the belt and didn't expect it to be covered under warranty. He said that didn't matter. Of course, YMMV.

My current splice is going strong with no signs of premature failure.

Good luck,

Baxter

leod said:

I just put a serpentine on my 13" today, and have put them on my 16" and 9" before this. I work them HARD and have only been able to get splices to last a few months at best. I don't cut them, use them as is. It is well worth the time to pull the spindle and unbolt the pulley. Just lay out your belt and measure the length and ask for that length belt. I have just been using the narrow car ones, and they can take a hell of a lot of punishment without slipping, but I am going to get the diesel one next time as roll a leblond did. The only problem with using an intact serpentine is you lose your safety, in a crash or jam it will not slip or pop off, something else will have to give.

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How do you put an un-cut serpentine belt on a 13" or 16" ??