Drive belt question. (Infiniti M35)

[previnwaas]

The premiuim maintenance package recommends that one changes the drive belts at 30,000 miles. This seems awefull quick....and I don't want to pay mega dealer bucks to do it...so the question is - when should one change it at the maintenace 1 or maintenance 2 options do not seem to say when to change it....

[szh]

The right time is probably when you see any damage, fraying (even the slightest bit), etc. Ideally before it becomes necessary would be nice, but you cannot always predict this, of course!

Yes, 30k seems early (what does your manual say?) - doing it as a preventative measure at that mileage seems to be too quick, IMHO.

FWIW, I did mine at 60k on my car, because I saw faintest bit of micro-cracks in a few places when I checked it. No fraying, no other damage, but enough wear and tear that it seemed like the right thing to do!

Z

[previnwaas]

Thanks for the post man....Yeah I thought it was low too - manual says are 30k but that is under the premium "preventive Maintance" plan...I agree - will just watch and make sure...P

[szh]

The Service Manual says to start inspecting it at 60k, and keep looking every 15k miles from that point on and change if damaged.

So, I think that 60k is likely to be the earliest point at which you should consider doing a preventative change-out. That is when I did mine!

But, YMMV!

Z

[MRider]

Can someone tell me a fair price to replace the drive belt?

[M45Runner]

I have mine replaced at 44K miles and it already have some cracks on both belts. So, I would think something around 45K would be necessary - the cracks will be on the inside of the belts.

I did it myself - the belt (high quality one) cost me $56 and it took me about 40 min. to do the work - mainly figure out how to hold the tensioner in place (2 of them) in order to remove the belts and put the new ones on. But, it would be reasonable if the shop charge you $80-120 to have both replaced.

[SammyTheBull]

I just had mine replaced at Major Infiniti last week. 2006 M35 55k miles. They charged me like $180.

[tigerclaws1318]

Im at 31k miles and after a rainy day and starting the car I get a really bad squeaking noise coming from the drive belt. I know it seems really early to change the belt but is it really normal for it to make noises at 31k?

[loystock]

Where did you get that premium maintenance package info? The FSM only covers Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 (norma driving). Per Sched 1/2, inspect drive belts at 60K miles/48 months and every 15K miles/12 months. Replace if belts are damaged.

[M45Runner]

I just had mine replaced at Major Infiniti last week. 2006 M35 55k miles. They charged me like $180.

Well, dealership always charge more - I was quoted similar and decided to do it myself - It was a learning experience, since I have never owned a car that using auto tensioner for driving belts.

[M45Runner]

Where did you get that premium maintenance package info?

It is on your maintenance booklet from the factory. If you do not have that, you can view them online at http://www.infiniti.com, under Ownership -> Maintenance schedule.

[Noel J]

Im at 31k miles and after a rainy day and starting the car I get a really bad squeaking noise coming from the drive belt. I know it seems really early to change the belt but is it really normal for it to make noises at 31k?

Some people will say that is normal when the belt is wet. I think your time may be coming replace the belts. It really isn't hard to do. It would take a novice about 20 minutes to finish the job.

[GJEMD]

Actually you should be paying attention to the grooves on the underside. As the pulley wears the belt the grooves get deeper. There is a simple plastic device that fits into the groove. .you should be able to feel this device above the belt ribs. If not the belt needs replacing. Belt breakage is rare in less than 60,000 miles unless some malalignment.

[maqueswell]

Wouldn't the drive belt change differ in local climate? I mean in states that have HOT summers ie San Antonio, Tx would/should change the belts sooner than 60k. Heat is one of the worse enemies on rubber parts on a car.

[The00Dustin]

Some people will say that is normal when the belt is wet. I think your time may be coming replace the belts. It really isn't hard to do. It would take a novice about 20 minutes to finish the job.

If by novice you mean novice mechanic, then maybe, if you mean novice do-it-yourself-er, then yeah right. Once upon a time, I changed the belt on a 93 Park Avenue in maybe an hour, the two belts on my 2006 M45 took me every bit of two hours, and not because I wasn't just working on it or didn't know what I was doing. I followed the instructions in the FSM to a t and I spent the majority of the time trying to force them on because they were so tight. Maybe with the right tools or if you have done it a couple of times and figured out a trick it would only take 20 minutes, but even then I would assume that means you don't have the undercover on the car.

[Black_Mx]

He could be talking about the M35 since you have more room to work with. When I did it it just went in and out.

[junkyardmerkur]

Super easy. Do it while changing the oil - 5 minutes. Takes longer to remove the plastic cover under the car. FWIW I had 65k on the car and the belts had cracks. The powersteering belt was missing ribs in a couple of areas.

[thomasm35]

I changed my oil and and antifreeze (40k miles) last Saturday. and while I had the covers off I examined the engine belts. I noticed the AC belt looked good on the outside, but on the inside there were some cracks in the ridges. The other belt (PS & ALT) looked good and had no ridge cracks.

I'm going to continue to check them when I change the oil - hopefully they will make it to 60K miles without breaking.

Changing the belts on the 6cyl looks easy - especially when you are changing the oil and have the covers off. It looks like all you have to do is loosen the bolts on the tensioners.