Hi all, I just put a new gatorback belt on maybe 80 miles ago and it's starting to show a split or crack down the center on only a small portion of the belt, but it seems that it's showing signs of wear in the center down most of the belt.






Does this indicate that the belt is too tight or too loose, or maybe misaligned? I'm thinking maybe I should pull the belt again and check the 2 pulleys where the topside of the belt would contact and see if there's anything scratching it.

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

Remove the belt and check the pulleys for any ridges that may be digging into the belt.

 

Also, are you using a tool to verify the correct belt tightness? We need to eliminate that as a variable.

 

Ok, I'll pull it back off and check for ridges on the pulleys, but I'd like to point out that the belt I replaced with the gatorback did not show any splits or cuts on it. I only replaced it because it was squealing and I heard gatorbacks fixed that, and in fact it did.

And no, I don't have a tool to measure belt tightness. I just tightened it until it had about 1/2" of travel at the center between the two pulleys on top.

 

I wonder how old that belt is?

 

ok, I still think the measurement tool is better, no guess work. Have you checked the bearings on each accessory? Post a pic of your harmonic balancer. I would like to see if it's walking back into the timing cover.

 

Defective belt. It happens. Ask for a free replacement.