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Belt Replacement Schedule
What does Prevost suggest about the interval between changing the belts on our busses? Do you follow their recommendations, if any or do you have your own schedule. (Now, I know Jon probably changes his every 90 days. Sorry, Jon, I could not resist.)
I have 7 belts. 6 of them are changable by dumping air. Only the serpentine belt requires a wrench. I have 2 belts going to the AC, 3 going to the fan gear box, 1 operating the fan and the serpentine belt.
I changed all but the serpentine when I bought the bus 5 years ago.
I replaced the serpentine after a year so it is 4 years old.
After 2 years one of the 3 belts going to the fan gear box broke. I changed all three of them then. They are now 3 years old.
In the 3rd year one of the 2 belts going to the AC broke so I changed both of them at that time. They are now 2 years old.
I have driven 82,000 miles in the 5 years and 5 months since purchase and the miles are pretty evenly spread out each year.
I keep a spare set of belts on board so I have the belts.
What do you do?
Davy
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10 Replies
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I just did all of mine to get a starting point. I inspect them often looking for cracks between the teeth, wear on the side and general condition. Not sure if there is a time table to replace, so keeping an eye on them seems to work best. Like you, I also carry a complete set.
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Our 2005 Marathon I changed all belts at 50,000 miles. Consideration was the age of belts which I believe would be around 7 years. With the chassis age at 2004 I was now at 8 years. On examine there was some minor cracks, some glazing.
I think it’s all preventive and in the bus barn 4 belts was an easy change.
Along with the belt change I also changed out the belt tensioner attached to the engine. I was able to purchase the exact same brand with a little research rather then do a cross reference like part.
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Since I have a set of spares and all belt changes are fast and simple I really don’t have a specific schedule. I change them based on appearance. Like Tom, I look for any signs of wear, fraying, cracking, etc. and as soon as I see any questionable issues I replace them.
So far using that method I have never had a belt failure with one exception. I had a broken belt on the generator and that was the one belt I never looked at, and in fact I never thought about it because it was hidden behind the shroud. And of course that was the one belt for which I had no spare.
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Another belt which I changed, and always carried a spare of, was the belt for the generator blower motor. A royal pain to get to on our bus, but a must should it break and for whatever reason you’re dependent upon the generator. Mine was a project because I had to empty the storage bay to access the belt behind a panel, and it happened to be the spot where I stored all my tools and most of my spare parts.
I changed my engine belts based upon appearance, and never had one break. I did inspect them with at least a quick once- over every time I drove our Liberty.
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I replace mine every year because of the miles I put on then keep old ones as spares then you know they fitt if you have new belts as spares are you sure they all fit because sometimes parts people make mistakes it’s a bad time to find out on the road they don’t fit that’s why I put new ones every year then keep old ones I know they fit for sure That all belts on bus gen to
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I keep old ones as spares as well as a new set. I do check the numbers very carefully and then label everything before storing them. I even label the used spares. I want to know what I am grabbing when I need a belt on the side of the road in a hurry.
I did not think of the generator having a belt. All I have done to the generator is change oil and all the filters. It has not given me one ounce of trouble. Now I will go looking for trouble/generator belt.
DKO
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PAUL: That’s a belt I’ve neglected and probably should look at after 13 years and 2700 gen hours. How do you access?
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The motor and belt for the generator radiator blower are behind the radiator.
If my memory is correct,I accessed mine through a removable panel in the bulkhead between the first storage bay and the second bay which houses the inverters, electrical panels and generator radiator.
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Wow! I do have a belt hiding under a guard. The guard does not look too hard to get off. Thanks for pointing out the existence of that belt. I totally missed it.
DKO
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My Generator has a belt which has never been replaced in 3300 hrs because I can still see the factory gray engine color paint on it. Looks like it would be a RPITA to replace, right up against the bay wall, and the adjustment is on the back side (of course).
Anyone that’s changed one on a Vantare H3 chime in with the procedure.
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