An interesting tool arrived in the mail the other day. It’s a belt wear gauge from Gates. Serpentine belts are now made of EPDC (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer) rather than neoprene. EPDM belts last a lot longer, but the wear is much less obvious. Some symptoms of belt wear for these belts include belt slip, hydroplaning, elongation and misalignment.
While some apparent signs of wear can still appear, such as abrasion, cracking, glazing and pilling, it’s much more likely that EPDM failures manifest in other less obvious ways. Many failures on alternators and other parts can be attributed to worn or improperly adjusted belts rather than any flaws with the other components themselves.
I recently looked at a 2002 BMW 325i that was for sale. It had 68k miles on it and the seller had all maintenance documentation, which showed the serpentine belt had just been replaced 500 miles before by the dealer. But watching it with a flashlight while idling the engine showed that the belt was frayed. When the seller brought the car back to the dealer’s service department, they found that the belt was indeed frayed.
See this Gates site for more info or to get your own belt gauge.
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