MY FAN BELT EDUCATION

[bigred]

The fan belts on my Prevo are getting to the point of replacement .Not cracked or torn but the alternator/AC belts have been adjusted to the end of their travel and are really flopping around .I figured since I was going to have to take the cooling fan belt off in order to replace the alternator/ac belts that I would replace it also .All the numbers on the belts was very readable so I copied all the numbers and off I went to my "go to"NAPA house .The alternator/ac belts were a NAPA number B79 50 and the fan belt was a Gates number A94.Napa had the B79  50 in stock .It takes {2} .Then he looked up the A94 and said he had it also .Now this belt is 8ft long and about 2" wide,and I am really counting my blessings UNTILL he came back with a belt that was a 1/2 wide .Well needless to say we came away from NAPA with no info at all on the big belt so I got on the computer and started EMailing Gates belt company after shooting three blanks ,I got a guy that knew what was going on .Turns out that they take Three A94 belts and glue them to a common backing .Gates would then put the number of ribs in front of the A94 making the number 3/a94 or 4/a94 .Gates no longer offers this belt but I found it on the web "vbeltguys" VBG  . They do their numbers a little differently .Their number is A94/3 .Now the good part! Their price is under 25.00 dollars

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[Lin]

Interesting.  My Gates belt, c106, costs $42 on Amazon w/free shipping.  V Belt Guys offers their equivalent of $15.  Can this be a good quality product?

[bigred]

According to their web page ,the belts they sell exceed specifications ,what ever that means ,.I am going to order one today plus another B79 50 if they have it .I will keep you posted as far as service .I think their shipping is a flat rate of either 6.99 or 7.99.

[luvrbus]

Prevost OEM belts were Dayco and they were not very expensive,not like the high torque belt used on a MCI  

[chessie4905]

Funny thing about belts. I was looking for three matching v belts for my air compressor. Napa wanted60 to 80 bucks for them. I did some looking on E bay for belts and found equiv real!y cheap. I ordered three extra belts as guy said they all matched; no need for matching number. When I got them, I used the three that appeared to be the closest installed, but they were very close. They were made in India, but seemed to be well made and fabric wrapped all around. This was 7 or 8 years ago when little product came from there. The totall for 6 belts was about 1/2 of what the three would have been.

[eagle19952]

https://www.vbeltguys.com/

[luvrbus]

Belts are all over the map in prices do to the material and construction process.The 3 small belts that drive the  alternator on a Eagle vary from 3 bucks ea to 15 bucks ea the 3 buck belts last about a month.
Lin you can buy the belt for you MCI for less than 15 dollars from those guys or buy it direct from D&D Power Belts in Temecula Ca that where the belt guys get their belts from made in Israel,the OEM MCI Durkee/Atwood belt is a expensive belt but it's a good tough belt and will outlast any belt you install on a MCI  fwiw      

[Lin]

Cliff-- Could that belt company near Temecular have a different name.  I called DD Power and they are out in the midwest somewhere.  The guy said that their belts are from China, and they only sell wholesale.

[luvrbus]

It could be Lin I been there 1 time but I thought it was D&D,if the beltguys are selling belts made in China I would pass no matter how cheap the price was 

[bigred]

Cliff:Bought 2 alternator/ac belts  at NAPA yesterday that were supposed to be Gates belts ,got made in Mexico stamped all over them !!!

[Lin]

Many regular brands manufacture in other countries including China and Mexico.  My hope is that the quality and quality control by a company like Gates that has a reputation to uphold would assure a better product than a completely mysterious brand.  I certainly do not know that that is absolutely true.

[luvrbus]

Cliff:Bought 2 alternator/ac belts  at NAPA yesterday that were supposed to be Gates belts ,got made in Mexico stamped all over them !!!

Gates has had a plants in Mexico for many years,now Gates is just owned by a large holding co.The plant in Denver was tore down in 2014 but the office is still in Denver I think.Gates is just another American icon gone thanks to NAFTA  

[bigred]

Just another one of Ross Perot's giant sucking sounds!!!

[luvrbus]

Just another one of Ross Perot's giant sucking sounds!!!

LOL and it happen just like he said it would 

[bigred]

Lin: According to "VBELTGUYS" web site,they only sell D&D belts .I did order the big a94 today and it already shipped out of IOWA .