Rusty A/C Belt?

[cfmistry]

So looking over my Tahoe today, I noticed the A/C belt is very red/brown. The main drive belt, however, is black. Neither shows any cracks, but I have no idea when they were replaced as I bought the truck with 148k miles on it. The A/C Belt says Micro-V on it so I assume its a Gates belt.

Anyways, does this rust mean anything? Should I replace the belts and/or tensioners?

Thanks,
Cyrus

 

[OR VietVet]

From the surface rust I see on other components in the pic I assume you are in a rust belt area. Belt could be picking the rust color up from the pulley(s). I would change it and the other belt as well if you do not know the mileage on them. I have seen belts come apart or break but showed no cracks. While you are in there would be a good time for tensioners and idler pulleys.

 

[cfmistry]

From the surface rust I see on other components in the pic I assume you are in a rust belt area. Belt could be picking the rust color up from the pulley(s). I would change it and the other belt as well if you do not know the mileage on them. I have seen belts come apart or break but showed no cracks. While you are in there would be a good time for tensioners and idler pulleys.

I took your advice and replaced everything. These trucks are so easy to work on, it probably took me 45 mins for both the tensioners, the idler, and the belts. Honestly everything looked in very good working condition but since I had already bought the new parts I threw them on. $100 for peace of mind I suppose. Replaced the driver’s valve cover with the updated one while I was in there but she still smokes a bit on cold start. :-/

 

[OR VietVet]

I took your advice and replaced everything. These trucks are so easy to work on, it probably took me 45 mins for both the tensioners, the idler, and the belts. Honestly everything looked in very good working condition but since I had already bought the new parts I threw them on. $100 for peace of mind I suppose. Replaced the driver’s valve cover with the updated one while I was in there but she still smokes a bit on cold start. :-/

Good call on the parts replacement. The smoke may be a sign of valve guides and seals problems or maybe even worse case scenario, piston rings. If you only see at start up I would never guess rings. There are many threads here about the valve cover replacement. Read thru them all.

 

[wjburken]

I took your advice and replaced everything. These trucks are so easy to work on, it probably took me 45 mins for both the tensioners, the idler, and the belts. Honestly everything looked in very good working condition but since I had already bought the new parts I threw them on. $100 for peace of mind I suppose. Replaced the driver’s valve cover with the updated one while I was in there but she still smokes a bit on cold start. :-/

You may have a buildup of oil in your intake manifold that is still getting sucked in with air which is why you may still be getting some smoke.

When I took the manifold off my 2007 I poured about 1/2 a cup of oil out of it.