# Fan belt quality



## Oggie (May 29, 2003)

Are Duralast, etc. rubber belts as good as those made by Gates or sold by the Toyota dealer? I bought some from AutoZone, and it may be my imagination, but they don't seem as heavy or stiff as the ones currently on my Toyota Tacoma. Anyone else have some experience or expertise with them?


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## Old Vet (Oct 15, 2006)

There are only a few makers of belts in the world. If you have a problem with duralist then you will have a problem with gates. Every brand that is make is basicly the same. Although there are specificts that must be followed. Like the number of chords in it and the type of ruber in the belt.


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## insanity (Aug 22, 2004)

Never had any problem with auto zone belts. I wouldn't pay the cost difference, no matter. You could change the belt twice as often for the same cost. Plus its easy enough to keep an eye on it as far as wear. 
Theirs and GM looks the same to me.


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## e.alleg (Jan 13, 2006)

My '97 Camry has the original belts...almost 200k miles they don't go bad just keep them tight. Toyota belts are made by Nippon-Denso.


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## Guest (Jan 4, 2007)

Aftermarket belts may save you a dollar now, but in the long run OEM belts are "generally" a better bet (there are exceptions to every rule). Low cost belts may stretch more making the owner tighten them more often. They may not tolerate heat as well and the rubber may break down causing squealing or even breakage prematurely. You get what you pay for.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

As long as the Mexico made Autozone v-belts fit the pulley correctly (sometimes they dont), then I havent seen any stretching or longevity problems. If the Mexico belts dont fit pulley properly, return it and buy the Gates belt. They always fit but are two to three times the price.


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## DrippingSprings (Sep 22, 2004)

HermitJohn said:


> As long as the Mexico made Autozone v-belts fit the pulley correctly (sometimes they dont), then I havent seen any stretching or longevity problems. If the Mexico belts dont fit pulley properly, return it and buy the Gates belt. They always fit but are two to three times the price.


the only reason theyd not fit properly in the pulley is if you have the wrong series belt. So if you have a vehicle with 15 series and put a 17 in it the belts gonna be too wide and ride high in the pulley then eventually slip in and seem to stretch when it didnt. If it calls for a 15650 put that and not a 17650. Goodyear makes the duralast belts for auto zone. So its as good as a Gates or Goodyear. 

Also always make sure on the wide serpentine one belt runs all system that it has the same number of grooves as the pulleys on your vehicle. IE a k6 being a 6 groove k5 a 5 groove etc.

Also check to make sure all pulleys are the same size. Ive seen belt probs end up being the owner has replaced a alternator etc and it had a different size pulley. ALWAYS compare

Ive been a ASE certified parts specialist, manager, district manager and senior sales for two major auto parts retail chains for close to 15 years


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## Beeman (Dec 29, 2002)

The auto supermarkets usually sell 2 lines of belts, the in house line and the name brands. I have cured many problems by just replacing the cheapo belt with the name brand belt. Locally we get Dayco belts and as long as they are the Dayco in the Dayco sleeve with Dayco written on them I have no problems. The cheapo belts constantly stretch and squeal. But in the end it's your money and time.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

DrippingSprings said:


> the only reason theyd not fit properly in the pulley is if you have the wrong series belt. So if you have a vehicle with 15 series and put a 17 in it the belts gonna be too wide and ride high in the pulley then eventually slip in and seem to stretch when it didnt. If it calls for a 15650 put that and not a 17650. Goodyear makes the duralast belts for auto zone. So its as good as a Gates or Goodyear.
> 
> Also always make sure on the wide serpentine one belt runs all system that it has the same number of grooves as the pulleys on your vehicle. IE a k6 being a 6 groove k5 a 5 groove etc.
> 
> ...


I have no idea why they sell wrong profile belt for certain application and it is what they show for a particular application with their computer. Like pulling teeth to tell them a specific length and width, people at counter unless you get manager seem to be trained that the computer screen is god and must be relied on absolutely. Maybe they only carry the 17 profile in the cheap belts. I know if they ride high they wont last. If they fit then they are ok. All I know is if the cheapo belt is wider profile than old belt, then need to buy the Gates or whatever name brand belt they carry. Dont think I've bought cheap belt at O'reilly or other stores. Cant speak to how well they last.


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