timing belt brands?

[sh0rtlife]

while cleaning up and re-routing wires and hoses on my "project" with the milano engine i noticed that the timing belt is missing a tooth..soooo..guess i should change the belt NOW before i forget about it

did an ebay search and called around locally..alot of prices and alot of brands

any brands to specifically stay away from?


not currently worried about the water pump as im likely going to go with something after market that will last longer...or atleast thats the plan

[sh0rtlife]

your kidding...no one has any input?

[emerswf]

This is an important question! I’m more concerned with durability than cost but known options would be helpful.

Timing belts on the V6 engines are a big issue. I think they are the weak link
in otherwise great and very durable engine. The T belt can cause catastrophic failure in an instant that results in big $$. In the past I have gone with factory belts just because I did not want to be the one to test other brands.

Just because Goodyear is generally known to make good belts does not mean that the belt they supply for the Alfa is as good or better than the Factory? If I go with band X will the likelihood of failure decrease?

Does anyone have any data?

Verde with belt valves waiting for help. Ugly GTV6 alive and well hoping for a better outcome.

[alfavirusnz]

I`ll tell you a wee story which is the reason I use factory belts on any of my own cambelted Alfas.
I had an Italian workshop and while I had it decided I would rebuild the heads on my `81 Alfasud Ti I`d owned since it was 6months old and by then 15yrs old. I developed the heads on a Superflow flow bench and put in the tricky stainless valves etc, and on the recommendation of my cylinder head reconditioner put in some much stiffer valve springs. On assembly on the bench my parts manager supplied me with a non OE belt that we supplied to customer`s cars-no problem until I went to turn the engine over by hand-I stripped the teeth off the cambelt, no problem we thought, faulty belt-credit when the rep comes in we`ll just put another on which we did and the same thing happened, and again with another brand until out of desperation we put two new OE belts on and guess what-instead of pinging teeth the resistance from those heavy springs was overcome and I managed to turn the engine 720 degrees. Needless to say we got rid of the unnecessarily stiff valve springs and fitted more appropriate replacements but the lesson stuck-OE belts have a higher margin. I remember one of the alternative brands being Gates but I don`t recall the other unfortunately. To be fair we fitted those non OE cambelts to loads of Boxer and V6 engines based on cost(customer`s decision) and had no complaints but the lesson stuck and whenever we were aware of likely arduous use of a cambelt engined Alfa (racing, extremely hard driver etc) we always recommended OE and since then I have never ever used anything else but the Alfa Romeo stamped belts-it`s just for my peace of mind and the added margin of safety it gives me.

Richard J

`65 Giulia Ti, `69 gt junior, `74 GTV 2000, `76 Alfetta GTV, `77 Alfetta GTV, `84 GTV6

[sh0rtlife]

that said....where do i get an OE belt...IAP sells "oe type" which means there NOT oem belts

im not finding any that are true alfa stamped belts

what brand is the oem belt?

[alfa_ron]

I am a new member to the alfabb so I realize I don't have any "street cred". To my credit I started working on Alfas around 1976 at PSA in Atlanta and started my own shop, Alfa Atanta, from 1987 to 1996 or about when I closed due to a bout with cancer. Nuff Said.

During that time I worked on many V6 engines as well a owning a few. At the dealer we always used the OEM alfa belts Later as an independent shop my suppliers would often send me different brand belts so I understand your concern. Almost always it was a well known brand. To my knowledge we never had a belt failure (I know this is temping the Gods!) that didn't start #1 as some other engine problem or #2 a worn out abused belt. Maybe this was purely living right and luck but I think there were other factors.

The first was to Install it correctly. Don't kink or bend it sharply. Don't force it over the pulleys...It will slip fit if the tensioner is properly loosed. Check and recheck timing marks after you properly tension the belt. I am not up to speed on what people are using for belt tensioners these days but I can say that some of the early atempts at a "solid" replacement for the "oiler OEM" did not hold up. This may, I hope, not still be true. In any case be familer with the OEM install procedure.

The second was to be very clean. Degrease the front of the engine and cover and make sure dirt has not collected around the crank. We would find all sort of junk when we thoughly cleaned this area. Most cars that use a timing belt get 50-60000 miles off a belt but the Alfa (did have ) a weak waterpump bearing that generally only lasted 30-35000 miles and just guess what had to be removed first to get to the pump. Right the belt. We always felt that reuseing a belt was looking for trouble. Once a belt has been tensioned and run the fibers that give it it's strenght take a set and retensioning it will weaking it. Best option is to replace belt and pump around 35K or when the pump starts to seep. Once the pump starts to go they go fast. I heard that alfa was at one time developing a better pump so all of the above may not apply.

I think I would ask about an OEM belt but don't get obsessive. With careful and proper Installation on a stock camed engine you should be fine with a name brand belt.

[sh0rtlife]

guess i should have mentioned....the gtv6 had a belt in the box when i got it..and it was a true alfa belt..god knows how long it had been in that box tho..i put it on for the owner( the car is now mine tho)...

the milano engine is the one needing the belt

what bothers me is no one is mentioning brands...hell IAP lists 3 brands for the same belt so god knows what name brand id be getting if i go thru them...theres 2 brands i see listed on ebay and 4 brands i can get localy...all about the same price

[emerswf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sh0rtlife that said....where do i get an OE belt...IAP sells "oe type" which means there NOT oem belts im not finding any that are true alfa stamped belts what brand is the oem belt?

[alfavirusnz]

I`ve looked everywhere on both the packaging and on the belts of the factory items for a manufacturers tag-bearing in mind the Alfa factory would not have manufactured this belt themselves but no giveaways. I think however on an older belt I came across the reference to Spica and of course Spica is a part of the component manufacturing side of Fiat group. Gates, Goodyear and Quinton Hazell were the belts that stripped teeth in my little episode (I checked with my former parts manager) Alfa belts come from the Alfa parts network I`m afraid -despite our attempts to locate the manufacturer and buy direct in their packaging.
I know EB Spares in UK usually stock genuine parts-sometimes dealing with the manufacturer in Europe direct. worth a go if you want to go OE (original equiptment)
Alfa ron is absolutely right cleanliness is critical, bending or forcing the belt is suicidal, checking, then rechecking , then rechecking again is a must and even non OE belts are ok but you do get that extra insurance with an OE item.
Lets face it repairing an engine damaged by belt failure is a lot more expensive than parting out a little more for an original item made to the specs of the engineers who designed the engine. For me it`s a no brainer, especially when I`m revving the **** out of it in some mountain pass kilometres from anywhere with no cellphone coverage.

Richard J

`65 Giulia Ti, `69 GT Junior, `74 GTV 2000, `76 Alfetta GTV, `77 Alfetta GTV, `84 GTV6

[sh0rtlife]

see thats just it..i dont mind paying more for some insurance to the engine being there interference engines...the fact that you named some brands to stay away from helps me a great deal...since well IAP sells "oe-type" and lists the brands you had fail...means im NOT buying from IAP

with as many owners here with 2.5's and 3.0's i figured this would be cut and dry

what about "Conti tech" belts?

[AlfaTipo]

I would be less concerned with the manufacturer (who is that anyway, probably a couple of manufacturers with different branding?) and go with a decent supplier.

In other words, stay away from eBay and look at Alfa specialists like Centerline, IAP etc.

I am more than happy to use eBay for many things but a timing belt?

[RossoGTV4Me]

To get a AR factory belt call 1-407-856-5000 for a authorized new AR parts provider.

You will get a 12 Mo. or 12,000 mile warrenty on the factory parts.

[Alfissimo Int.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sh0rtlife while cleaning up and re-routing wires and hoses on my "project" with the milano engine i noticed that the timing belt is missing a tooth..soooo..guess i should change the belt NOW before i forget about it did an ebay search and called around locally..alot of prices and alot of brands any brands to specifically stay away from? not currently worried about the water pump as im likely going to go with something after market that will last longer...or atleast thats the plan