Question for Auto Repair Guys – Serpentine Belt replacement

I have a 2012 Ford F-150 with about 90,000 miles on it. With about a 1600 mile Canadian fishing trip coming up next week, I want to make sure I do any necessary Maintenance needed prior to the trip. One of the main things I was thinking about doing is replacing the Serpentine Belt. I was told that I would most likely need to replace both the Serpentine and the AC Belt. My question is how long does those belts normally last? My 2nd question is, if the AC belt were to Break does it effect anything else other than the AC ? As you have guessed by this point, I’m not real mechanical. I want to do what is necessary to avoid any problems on the trip, but with all the other cost involved I don’t want to spend any extra money that is not needed at this time. Thanks in advance for all of your thoughts.

Check your owners manual on timing of replacement….not sure on the Ford’s but usually around 100k miles. Always best to replace all belts at the same time.

I don’t think the AC belts drive anything else but I’m not a Ford guy….you’ll have it all apart so I’d just replace.

The serpentine belts can be quite a job on some vehicles so be prepared.

I would bet @iowaboy1 might have some feedback.

Here’s my take…and I’m not anywhere near a mechanic but have seen a thing or two…

I’m not a huge fan of doing any “maintenance” or having “work done” on anything real close to my trip or any other scenario. Things happen and can leave you in a worse condition than before.

Take the furnace install/fix a few days before thanksgiving…which was supposed to be a 4 hr job…lets just say the food was cold that year as I had to go 6 days without gas. I’ve had a simple brake job go horribly bad as well.

Are you wanting to replace the belt just cause or are you having issues and NEED to replace? It’s an easy job but I don’t feel comfortable having something worked on than right away driving 1600 miles. I’d be more inclined to purchase a spare belt and bring it along with a socket set and replace as needed…yes, you can easily do this along side the highway (well…you could on most trucks, not sure what under your hood looks like).

This would be especially true with your Hub questions as well…bring a spare.

Not scaring you from doing preventative maintenance but for me, I never monkey with stuff too close to my trip.

I did both of mine on my 2011 5.0 @ 60,000 miles.

The serpentine is easy, just follow the diagram. The AC belt is a little more of a pain, but not hard. Wrap the belt around the AC compressor and then wrap it around the top of the crank pulley as far as it will go. Then zip tie the belt to the crank pulley at the top. Slowly spin the crank with a breaker bar on the nut until the belt pops on and then cut the zip ties. The zip ties are used to keep the belt in one place as you stretch it over the crank pulley. Ford did change the routing and setup a couple times, so yours may be different…

The AC pulley just operates the compressor, if it fails the only thing you will lose is AC. But to replace the AC belt, you need to remove the serpentine, so it’s a no brainer to do at one time.

I got to waste 5 perfectly good hours in Kearney, Nebraska due to a broken serpentine belt. I was towing a trailer as well and it was not a fun breakdown.

Depending on how remote you’ll be in Canada, a similar breakdown could really spoil part of your trip so I’d do the serp/drive belt if you are anywhere near the interval.

Buy them and throw them in the truck. Good piece of mind. Snap a picture of them now for routing later. Hopefully you can install them “after” the trip. Have fun !!!

I agree with bob clowncolor’s way of thinking.

I also get worried before long trips and start thinking of these things. I would bring a spare with for just in case and hit the road.
If it would give you more peace of mind I guess I could come with to help if you had a problem.
Enjoy your trip and tight lines.

I dont care what anybody thinks or says …it is cheap maintenance and a piece of mind if you change the belts at your mileage.
Try to inspect your belts and if you see ANY cracking at all CHANGE belts.Parts can be hard to find on weekends in Canada !

At least bring them with and as stated above take pictures. I have had a serpentine belt blow apart and rap around the crank pulley shaft and cause a no start after new one was put on, major fluke and is highly unlikely to happen but if your luck is like mine nowhere Canada is where it would happen.

That said….I’m embarking into the deep Canadian wilderness next week as well so if I see a f150 on the side of the road, I’ll lend a helping hand.

Good luck.

I made it !! after a fifteen hour day,sheesh !

if it were mine and it has that many miles on it or you dont have a record of it being changed,replace it now.
done correctly there is no reason for any problems,period.

while you have the belt off,spin the idler pulleys,if they wobble or sound raspy replace them now as well.
take a good look at the underside of the water pump for antifreeze seeping from the shaft seal,give it a spin as well listening for raspy bearings and check for shaft play.

the a/c clutch bearing needs checked while you are at,same deal,give it spin,however due to clutch plate drag,it may sound raspy but look for a wobble in it as well.

the F-150 series of trucks have been one of the simplest belts to replace if you have the right tensioner tools,Oriellys will most often lend you the correct tool if you buy the belt from them.

one last thing,DO NOT buy the cheaper belt !!
toss the old one back in the holder and behind the seat for an emergency spare.
best of luck on your trip !! post how you do with pics please!!

Just replace them for piece of mind and carry the old one with you,you never no.It is not a bad thing to replace them.

What he said….good luck fishing and catching.

ClownColor wrote:

That said….I’m embarking into the deep Canadian wilderness next week as well so if I see a f150 on the side of the road, I’ll lend a helping hand.

Good luck.

That makes 2 F150’s if anyone see’s sitting on the side of the road to stop and lend a hand – Good luck to you on your trip.

I looked the belt over real close and from what I can see it looks to be in good shape. I think I’m just going to take some of your advice and just purchase one to have along just in case. I’m also going to take several pictures to have on hand to help just in case something happens.

Iowaboy1 wrote:

I made it !! after a fifteen hour day,sheesh !

if it were mine and it has that many miles on it or you dont have a record of it being changed,replace it now.
done correctly there is no reason for any problems,period.

while you have the belt off,spin the idler pulleys,if they wobble or sound raspy replace them now as well.
take a good look at the underside of the water pump for antifreeze seeping from the shaft seal,give it a spin as well listening for raspy bearings and check for shaft play.

the a/c clutch bearing needs checked while you are at,same deal,give it spin,however due to clutch plate drag,it may sound raspy but look for a wobble in it as well.

the F-150 series of trucks have been one of the simplest belts to replace if you have the right tensioner tools,Oriellys will most often lend you the correct tool if you buy the belt from them.

one last thing,DO NOT buy the cheaper belt !!
toss the old one back in the holder and behind the seat for an emergency spare.
best of luck on your trip !! post how you do with pics please!!

Iowaboy1

When you say don’t buy a cheap one – How do I know if its a cheap one? Do you have any brands or a Price point that would help me know?

You guys make me feel like a horrible vehicle owner. All 3 of my vehicles are 190k-230k and I’ve never even looked at a belt… All of my reels are greased and my boat is waxed though

Most manufacturers and belt companies recommend replacement at 100k. Belt companies also recommend tensioner replacement also but they are selling them. So ?????

fishthumper wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>iowaboy1 wrote:</div>
I made it !! after a fifteen hour day,sheesh !

if it were mine and it has that many miles on it or you dont have a record of it being changed,replace it now.
done correctly there is no reason for any problems,period.

while you have the belt off,spin the idler pulleys,if they wobble or sound raspy replace them now as well.
take a good look at the underside of the water pump for antifreeze seeping from the shaft seal,give it a spin as well listening for raspy bearings and check for shaft play.

the a/c clutch bearing needs checked while you are at,same deal,give it spin,however due to clutch plate drag,it may sound raspy but look for a wobble in it as well.

the F-150 series of trucks have been one of the simplest belts to replace if you have the right tensioner tools,Oriellys will most often lend you the correct tool if you buy the belt from them.

one last thing,DO NOT buy the cheaper belt !!
toss the old one back in the holder and behind the seat for an emergency spare.
best of luck on your trip !! post how you do with pics please!!

Iowaboy1

When you say don’t buy a cheap one – How do I know if its a cheap one? Do you have any brands or a Price point that would help me know?

sorry for being late to the party again.
when you go to most parts stores they will offer you the cheaper part first,why?
people are broke and cant afford the better parts is one reason.
the car is a flip job and it can be advertised as having recent maintenance and that keeps the profit margin higher is another.

pros use the better stuff because they dont like come backs and they have a reputation to uphold,hey,its their name on the business and you cant blame them.
cheaper belts for example will not fit perfectly,they will stretch and almost render the tensioner useless,been there done that.

so,in a nutshell,yes,price points and like they say,you get what you pay for.
around here the cheaper belt will run thirty bucks,the better one will run you near fifty bucks but will last as long as the original or longer.

hope that helps you decide,its your butt that will be responsible for getting there and back without any problems,and,if you plan on keeping the truck,do you want to put a belt on it again next year??

best fishes !!