I thought I’d heard of someone using an old pair of panty-hose for a temporary fix, once, long ago. Your thoughts?
The pantyhose trick was for v-belts, as they have much deeper grooves on the pulleys. Most serpentine belts use a flat multi-groove belt, and pantyhose would probably slide off, especially on the smooth pulleys.
It probably cheaper just to carry a spare belt of the correct size…But this might be an option…
As stated by @Bustedknuckles it is a vbelt fix.The replacement of the belt is the best fix. OK,so I am on the road and the belt breaks, If I was desperate i could probably fashion a belt out of duct tape, fold it in half and overlap the cnd connections and make it a little bigger than oribinal serpantine belt to reduce stress, a 20mile fix maybe, but AAA should take care of towing me to a shp for a new belt.
Here’s the thing I do.
When ever we buy a used vehicle, one of the maintenance items is to replace the serpentine belt. You never know really how old they are!!!
So if the belt I’m replacing is not cracked with age…I slip it into the sleeve that the new belt comes in. Then I tuck the belt somewhere under the hood where it won’t fall out, or interfere with any moving parts.
Then you will always have a spare should you need one. Granted it’s not a new belt, but it would probably get you back on the road, to where you can get a new belt at the next big city on your way.
I’ll be taking a trip in my 2003 Dakota (235.000 miles) from near Milwaukee, Wi to Phoenix, Az. in February to help my buddy arrange his new shop that he built…1850 miles one way.
The one thing I’ll bring is my serpentine wrench. At least I know I have a belt.
Even if you only had the belt, a helpful traveler may have the wrench that you need to change it.
Yosemite
+1 for @Yosemite. That’s exactly what I do. I keep it in the trunk in the spare tire well.
When I have the belt changed I put the old one in the trunk. Even if the new designs make it impossible for me to do myself, at least i have the belt for someone else to put on. If you are in Podunk center, no guarantee they’ll have the belt on hand.
A temporary fix is rigging something up so as to make it last few miles home at midnight.
A temporary fix is not something to exit the driveway and head somewhere with.
Like Yosemite I put a new belt on and keep the old one in the spare tire compartment along with a tool to install it. Never needed it but it’s nice to have a backup if the situation arises.