17
PSA: 90% of serpentine belt failures I see are from oil leaks, not age
I was digging through my shop records from the last two years and counted over 40 belt replacements. Only 4 of those were just old belts cracking. The rest had oil soaking into the rubber from a valve cover or timing cover leak. I read a study from Gates that said oil exposure drops belt life by 50% or more. So now I tell every customer with a wet belt to fix the leak first or expect it back in 6 months. Anyone else notice this pattern or am I just working on the greasiest cars in town?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
finley7771mo ago
Yeah it's like how people complain their phone battery dies fast but they leave it charging in a hot car every day. Fixing the root cause first saves you so much headache down the road.
8
barbarahill1mo ago
Oh man, that Gates study is super interesting - do you think most shops are actually checking for leaks before slapping on a new belt, or are we all just chasing the quick fix? I mean, I see guys throw belts on left and right but never mention the puddle of oil sitting right underneath. Feels like we're setting customers up for another shop visit down the road, you know?
7