alternator drive belt

[Morgana]

Complete ignoramus question here, hoping that someone will find it easy to answer.
So there is oil leaking onto the alternator drive belt. Of course we are going to fix the oil leak.
Does it sound reasonable that they can't really tell how far gone the belt is and just know that because oil leaked onto it it could be messed up and needs to be replaced?
They seem like trustworthy guys and it seems plausible to me, I just feel like I should make /some/ effort to verify this instead of just saying Oh Okay.
Thanks for any clues!

 

[eDJ_]

My first question is....how old is this belt to start with or how many miles on it ?

#2, how heavily saturated with oil is it ?

#3 are you planning to go on the road with it soon ? (if not, reusing it to determine if the oil leak is actually fixed before replacing it with a new one)
The belt could in that event be cleaned with spray start and be reinstalled for the short term just to see. If no leaking is evident, then replace the belt with a good quality belt.

This is just my opinion and how I would go about it. Those who operate service facilities generally have to approach such solutions differently. I do my own work
so I can approach a solution like this.

I would be looking at a valve cover gasket leak and possibly a plugged up PCV valve for a source of the leaking.

 

[bullfrog !]

Usually oil soaked belts slip and wear out quickly although I have used Brakekleen spray to clean up small spills of oil that has gotten on the belt. If nothing else keep the old one and try to clean it up to use as an emergency spare as belts are getting expensive. Gates belts are better quality than most others in my opinion.

 

[Morgana]

Thanks Bullfrog! I'm relieved that it sounds legit. I'll see if I can get them to give me the old belt.

 

[Gr8ful]

We used to put dye in the oil & find the leak with a black light. I'd use the old belt until you find the leak as per recommended above.

 

[Morgana]

They seem to have found the leak - it's on the VVT solenoid gasket - and that's on the list of things they're going to fix too. I just thought it was a little strange that they couldn't say for sure how much oil had gotten onto the belt, just that if any oil got on it I had better replace it. But what do I know from strange? It seemed legit, I just feel better having run it by some car people first. I appreciate y'all being willing to share your knowledge! I'm heading to Arizona on the 29th and I definitely want everything shipshape.

 

[Tony's Dream]

I'm mechanically clueless, so unfortunately I must rely on experts. Over the years I have had mechanics replace parts only to discover that replacing the parts wasn't the issue, so they would replace something else. In my mind, replacing used parts should have an overall positive effect on your vehicle.....though I also no that its an expensive process.

 

[Malamute]

One thing to consider, once they are working on it to fix the leak, they probably had to remove the belt, and at least spend time cleaning it. Even if it wasnt at the end of its useful life, replacing it now is basically free as regards the labor for the belt itself. Having the old one for an emergency spare could save a tow at some point also. Few people buy them ahead.

 

[user 2252]

yup, replace the belt

 

[Morgana]

This makes me feel better. Thanks everybody!

In my fantasies about what some mysterious "They" out there should do to fix the world ... it would be cool if there were "know your vehicle" workshops. Sort of like Becoming an Outdoors Woman* but for cars. I would go!
---------
* highly recommended and they often have scholarships

 

[abnorm]

"know your vehicle" workshops. Sort of like Becoming an Outdoors Woman* but for cars.

Like the WRTR ?

 

[eDJ_]

Morgana, there are VoED's and Trade Schools that offer such classes. Usually they are night time classes twice a week. In some cases corporate women who travel internationally in their work will take these classes so that they can get an
IDP (International Drivers Permit) Depending on the country, they may want the driver to be knowledgeable of a car's systems and some basic mechanical know how.

Even if you are only in the USA, what's offered in these classes would be a solution to your needs.

 

[Morgana]

What is WRTR?

 

[eDJ_]

Women's Rubber Tramp Rendezvous

Abbreviations.com and WRTR

 

[bullfrog !]

^^^Usually held the week before the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous in Quartzite.

 

[Morgana]

Wow!

 

[Malamute]

This makes me feel better. Thanks everybody!

In my fantasies about what some mysterious "They" out there should do to fix the world ... it would be cool if there were "know your vehicle" workshops. Sort of like Becoming an Outdoors Woman* but for cars. I would go!
---------
* highly recommended and they often have scholarships

Something you can do to learn is find good youtube vids specific to your vehicle with certain problems, many of which may be titlted with figuring out that issue or fixing it. Online forums often give clues also. I was raised messing with vehicles and tearing motors apart, but theres enough difference in them now that I look up stuff on youtube first, or info on what the problem may be on forums then find the repair. Doing a brake job, find good vid, they show where all the bolts and parts are, do things in this order, look for blah blah, put back together with new or repaired parts.

The vids with someone droning on endlessly drive me up the wall, particularly if they dont really seem to know what they are doing. The best ones are short, to the point with minimal talking, just addressing what they are doing.

Example of a good vid, this is one I looked up recently. I believe this company has some of the better do it yourself vids. Replacing headlight bulbs is very different for different vehicles, and compared to how it wad done many years ago when I was doing this stuff more. I likely never would have figured out the bolt under the fender splash guard until after I broke the light mount trying to get it out.

 

[LargeMarge]

This makes me feel better....and they often have scholarships

.
For some strange reason, I read 'scholarships', and I immediately thought of Manuel at 01:38 in this scene.
Apparently, the script reads "I got your scholarship right here!", but apparently, the marketing department put the ixnay on it...

 

[towboater]

As a former dealer level mechanic and Service Manager I can attest to changing parts that were associated with the root cause of the failure. This is not an attempt to gouge the customer but a way to insure that the repair doesn’t bite us in the but a month down the road.. When say that belt fails and I get a call from another dealership wanting me to pay for it since our fingers were on it the previous month. Not saying that sometimes this approach gets taken to an up surd level. Best Wishes

 

[Morgana]

They not only gave me the old belt on request, they cleaned it off first. I was expecting to get an oily mess and have to beg for a plastic bag to put it in. See, if you set your expectations low enough people will sometimes exceed them Nice guys (and gals).