I have a 2006 buick lacrosse… owned it since 41,000 miles… I’m just curious, yes i do know techincally to replace a serpeteine belt when it has cracks so to say… but at 91,000 i havent touched it yet… and seems to me to be in rather amazing shape… but is it one of those parts thats best to replace at a certain mileage? especially at this one where im going to hit the 100,000 soon, or is it still got plenty ofl ife left to it considering the solid state its in?
also I have a power steering issue btw… long story short, power steering pumps been replaced, no luck… ties rods/intermediate steering shaft is next attempt…could a serpetine belt actually be the culprit?? does it effect the steering? any advice would be greatly appreciated thank you!
the belt could look fine. IE no cracks or splitting. but it could be worn down where it no longer fits into the pulleys properly. if that happens then it will not turn the pulleys properly. this could cause issues with all belt driven accessories. power steering issue. yes it can effect the p/s by not gripping the pulley and turning the pump. IE slipping
“also I have a power steering issue”
Would you care to elaborate on that or just leave everyone guessing?
Just replace the belt. Who would replace the power steering pump and put that old (6yr/90K mile) belt back on there?
I have 130,000 miles on my '06 Corolla with the original serpentine belt. I carry a spare.
Why not just replace it! Cheap insurance. People try to extend the life of cheap parts only to have a major repair bill following a problem.
The service schedule for my car (not a GM) says to inspect the belt at 100K miles, and to replace at 150K even if it still looks okay. At 124K miles it still looked great but I replaced it since I had to change some hoses and had everything out of the way to do it.
I would say that some of them can last a very long time.