MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: duggie on June 16, 2011, 10:31:39 PM
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Just thought I would chuck in a general warning about the Gates brand of V-belts.
Having bought 3 fan belts for replacement belts on my old GQ wagon I found that when I went to fit them 2 of the 3 were the wrong length.
Yes they were branded with the correct length the packageing was branded with the right length belt but they were longer than the branded length.
Could have been a real problem if I had not decided to change my fan belts before going to the tip and when or if needed I found out that they were too long to adjust up and work properly.
So if any of you out there are carrying the GATES brand fan belts as spares for your 4 x 4, get them checked for length against the branded length, GATES are aware that they do have a problem but have failed in there DUTY OF CARE to advise the retailers and the general public of this problem. >:( >:(
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Nice work Duggie, looked at some yesterday.
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Thats piss poor on their behalf >:(
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Nice find before you were 2000klms from anything and needed them.
FWIW, shiz like that I just use Genurine, yea they cost a few more sheckles, but buying from www.nizzbits.com.au gary does good prices on genurine Shit.
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Lost
I do a lot of dealings with the local REPCO mob and I do get great service and discount from them. GATES had failed to inform repco of the problems they are having.
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You just have to check every bloody thing these days . How hard can it be to recall or check the product , the computer can tell where stock is ??? Cant it ????
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FWIW, shiz like that I just use Genurine, yea they cost a few more sheckles, but buying from www.nizzbits.com.au gary does good prices on genurine ****.
X2 for Nizzbits
Cheers
Parry
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Thats a shame for Gates. They are the premium brand of belts (&hoses). One thing I always used to check when purchasing belts for a multi-belt pulley was the serial no. If the serial no's match then the belts were parted off the same piece of tubular stock & are thus exactly the same length. I got caught once with 3 fan belts I bought for a truck a few years back. They were all the same nominal size but upon tensioning, one of them seemed looser than the other two. The pulleys didnt seem unevenly worn so I took 'em back to the supplier & asked the question. Sure enough the bigger one had a different serial no. so they supplied me with a 'matched' one & the problem was solved. If your buying belts for a multi-belt pulley always ask for a 'matched set'.
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Had the same thing happen with some radiator hoses. Part numbers printed on the hoses were right but the hose's weren't. They would of been a reputable brand - Gates or Mackay or similar, I can't remember.
I wouldn't stop purchasing Gates product just because of this as they are good quality.
I was told long ago when planning for a trip to put the new parts on the vehicle and keep the old parts for spares on the trip. In this case the wrong size belts/hoses would be an inconvenience, not a disaster (although if you're always running late like me and finishing prepping the vehicle at 10pm the night before a big trip it would be a BIG inconvenience!!!).
Peter H
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Thats a shame for Gates. They are the premium brand of belts (&hoses). One thing I always used to check when purchasing belts for a multi-belt pulley was the serial no. If the serial no's match then the belts were parted off the same piece of tubular stock & are thus exactly the same length.
x2
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Bugger GATES, What about some poor bugger broken down and cant go nowhere because GATES stuffed up on there Quailty control.
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Thats why you should always fit the new parts before any big trip and carry the old parts as spares.