Just noticed my belt is starting to go bad - I've heard in the past that the Delco belts last the longest so gave the local GM dealer a call and they want $70 for a Delco belt :flipa:. Tried searching GMPartsDirect.com but can't seem to find anything. Can anyone help me out with a source for the belt at a fair price - Delco site lists the belt # as 6K1010.

IIRC, mine at NAPA was between 30-40 dollar range.

It helps to have a part number on gmpartdirect.com

Check out your belt, the specs should be printed on it. Mine was, afair, a 6PK2570 or so, and they _are_ pricy.

I've been through two Dayco belts (they last only three hours), then tried a Delco, but the Declo was too short. I'd say you be best off by getting a Goodyear belt exactly like the OEM one. They last more than 100k, so they're worth the money.

Bad belts are very hard on all the bearings and may lead to decreased alternator life, and the engine runs like crap with them.

Goodyear Gatorback is my preference. PN is same ending as Delco, XX46K1010.

What do you think is the expected life of these belts??

The reason I thought to ask is that a friend who bought an '03 Dodge Cummins happened to mention that he recently changed his at 45K miles, and the Tech at the dealership told him that this is expected - seems kind of short lived, to me ???

45k seems ok; the belts on the 6.5 seem to be some kind of long-live belts and are supposed to go for 100k :)

It's quite impressive how much these belts can take. I think you can have up to 15--20 HP on the belt on the 6.5 once the fan fully engages.

How much force would it take to tear it apart?

the Stealer got $59 of my money after I talked them into a discount for being a Cal Dept. of Forestry employee, oh wait, make that an ex-employee ;) beats paying $79.

On a side note, I found a place on e-Bay that had the same GM OEM belt for $30.20 shipped - they state that the stuff they sell is older or over stock goods but they do have a 30 day satisfaction guarrantee including refunding your return shipping if the item is returned in the condition as it was received by you. I went ahead and ordered one and will check it out - if anyone wants the link to the seller, PM me and I'll send it to you.

I tried Gates and Dayco in the past and never got beyond 15,000 miles from either before they started cracking, the Dayco actually flew apart on my way to work one morning. A Gates engineer actually told me that the OEM belts for Ford and GM were the best route to go as the aftermarket was doing cost cutting. That was 2002, and my GM belt from then is still going strong.

Gates and Dayco have given me nothing but problems wherever I have used them. I was a diesel/hydraulics mechanic in the oil industry and we did our best to find alternates.

Well - fast forward to today. GM has taken the cheap route and now are using Dayco belts - they are even stamped with the Dayco name. I bought one for $34 expecting to get a high quality belt. It is .040 thinner than the previous OEM belt and I'm disappointed, I intend to return it and go with Goodyear.

Here's a Goodyear source that seems to have good prices. I've never bought from them, but will be soon.

http://www.pickproparts.com/

Forgot to say that the belt I got from the dealer and the one I ordered off e-Bay are both made by Goodyear for GM. If the e-Bay belt looks good and doesn't appear to be an ancient, dried out, P.O.S. I will post back and let you all know - $30 for the good stuff is a sweet deal.

Just received the GM/Goodyear belt I bought off of e-Bay. Paid $30 total for it vs the belt I bought from the Stealer for almost $60. The e-Bay belt looks to be the same as the dealer belt and is just as flexible so don't think it's old stock. GM # is 12555009 for my 96 6.5 - the seller's e-Bay id is fruitridgeautomotive if anyone wants to save some money.

I bought my Goodyear Gatorback belt from Autozone for $35.00. This is the short belt to use with my truck and no vacuum pump (see sig)...

GM has taken the cheap route and now are using Dayco belts - they are even stamped with the Dayco name. I bought one for $34 expecting to get a high quality belt. It is .040 thinner than the previous OEM belt and I'm disappointed, I intend to return it and go with Goodyear.


Return it, I've had two of them, and both lengthened and became unusable. The second one started squeaking after only 3 hours and remained doing so during my last trip to Sweden. It was utterly annoying and somwhat spoiled my holiday :( After 7000kms the belt was lenghtened so much that I had to put the old OEM belt back on and get another OEM from Goodyear.

Never buy a Dayco, they don't even fit exactly and are nothing more than a PITA and a waste of money.