serpentine belt choice

[mchell]

hello all,

I've a s60 d5 from 2004.

I've changed the serpentine belt as the one in the car when bought was cracked and noisy. Tensioner also replaced.

Went to a Contitech 6DPK1841. 6 ribs and 1841 of length. comparing with the previous belt the most obvious detail is that the contitech one has one side rubber, the other is a kind of polyester. the original was rubber both sides.

The belt is silent, but i'm experiencing, as not before that much, an almost total loss of power steering assistance when the engine gets hot after a drive. It also depends of the day temperature (the hottter, the greater the loss of power steering assistance). When engine is cold, power steering is fine.

With everything else being ok (oil level, pump, rack), I would assume that the belt must be slipping due to increasing length with temperature and steering pump load.

So my questions are: is this a good thing for the belt to have one side made of polyester; and was 1841 the correct length for the belt?

I've checked again online and it appears that there’s a Meyle version of this belt with both sides made of rubber, 6 ribs and 1825 of length. Gates also does a version but again, just like the contitech, also has a polyester side.

Not finding any other belt length between this 1825 and the 1841, i guess that the former would be the next shorter length for a serpentine belt of the same profile (6 ribs) for a d5 engine. Or not?


Please let me know your thoughts and experience.

Cheers

[mchell]

anyone?

[b1mcp]

I'm not a materials engineer but I would just trust manufacturers like Gates and Contitech to produce belts in stuff that works. So I don't think that will be your problem.

The belt size you need should be a matter of fact, and will depend on engine/chassis number, whether you have Air Con or not, what tensioner is fitted (there are two types I think).

Gates have an online catalogue that should tell you what you need
https://www.gatesautocat.com/

[mchell]

ok thanks.

I also bought the contitech as a trusted brand. and i don’t see any issues with the belt whatsoever. the car has ac (as i think most volvos from this P2 chassis have) so the belts should be designed with the appropriate length. but checking online in several outlets of car parts (including those on ebay) there's even a third length of belt besides those mentioned in original post. I found Gates to have one that its 1838!

I don’t know how accurate these sites are in terms of information for this particular belt but its quite alot of variation: 1825, 1838 and 1841 lengths!!!???

Regarding the tensioner, it should be the one for my engine because it fitted, but don't know about different types. I’ve read somewhere there was a recall regarding the tensioners failing, and i don’t know if the one that came originally with the car (from factory i believe) was actually failing. just changed it for good measure.

also, if the side with polyester of the belt is driving the alternator due to the routing of the belt around, wouldn’t that lead to slippage under current demand, and therefore more heat and stretching of the belt? my car is by the way programmed to have the headlights always on when position is at 0, so there's always a fair amount of current being drawn from the alternator.

Even in the website you’ve sent, they show the 1825 and the 1838 belts, with identical diagrams for the belt. only difference being the chassis numbers it refers too.

cheers

[mchell]

From the website you sent I can see reference to chassis numbers but I cannot figure them out.

One refers to chassis to 545224, the other to chassis numbers from 545225.

If my chassis number is YV1RS799942411091, which of those two references am I supposed to take?

Cheers

[AndyV7o]

1825 or 1838/1840(same belt really) depends on chassis number, get gates app, dayco app, etc, check your chassis number.
Belt should be double sided, 6 grooves on both sides, sounds as though you have single sided?

[CricketyJimin]

As said, the belt should be ribbed on both sides. The length depends on which type of tensioner is fitted in my experience - my Euro3 D5 has a slightly longer belt than my Euro4 D5. Put the longer belt on the later engine and it rubs on the belt cover.

[CricketyJimin]

Originally Posted by mchell

From the website you sent I can see reference to chassis numbers but I cannot figure them out.

One refers to chassis to 545224, the other to chassis numbers from 545225.

If my chassis number is YV1RS799942411091, which of those two references am I supposed to take?

Cheers

That makes your chassis 411091, which is in the chassis to 545244 group.

[AndyV7o]

Originally Posted by CricketyJimin

That makes your chassis 411091, which is in the chassis to 545244 group.

So 1838/1840 belt 👍

[CricketyJimin]

Also, I've got Gates belts on mine. Same material on both sides so far as I can tell, but happy to be corrected if this isn't the case!