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So i bought a Dayco alternator belt off ebay, from a UK seller, all seemed good. But after fitting the belt, it just squealed on and off. And it wouldn't tighten anymore. Contacted seller and they refunded me.
After a few weeks the squealing eased off. And has kind of stopped. So i felt abit guilty.
But i don't feel guilty anymore, the belt is wrecked after being on the car a few thousand miles. There's also 2 slits in the belt near the logo.
I buy all my cambelt kits from ICP, so just goes to show why you should always buy your cambelt kits from a trusted seller.
It also says manufactured in Argentina, is that right?
Luckily the worst that will happen battery will stop charging and loose power steering.
Actually it can be a lot worse...bits of belt can wrap between the crank pulley and cambelt cover, cover breaks (or melts through from the friction), parts end up getting between cambelt and pulleys, belt skips a few teeth, boom bent valves.
Doesn't happen often, last time I saw it was on a manky old 2.0hdi picasso (DW10) that had gone for 150k+ on the original belts.
The other time was a C55 AMG, that has a chain so no worries with the engine, but spent an hour unwrapping bits of belt from various pulleys. It also wrecked one of the plastic pulleys.
I noticed my alternator belt was fraying after about 20000 miles, and the frayed bits were flicking the top rad hose; it wouldn't have taken long to burst. Even proper belts seem to break down quite quickly.
Belts contain rubber. If it's been exposed to daylight (never understood why ancillary belts aren't fully boxed like cam belts), the rubber will deteriorate much faster.
Something that typically could last ten years under the bonnet, could be weakened by being on a rack for several years before even being used.
Since the likes of Euro car parts came into the scene, car parts seems to come from anywhere and everywhere, as they try and bypass the EU supply chain and cut out their wholesalers by sourcing from other factories. In other words grey market. It's possible they came via a North American wholesaler.
Edit to add: A lot has gone on in the UK with car parts supply as various motor factors has closed or been taken over (Euro Car Parts vs Andrew Page being the biggest one).
This has resulted in store closures and relocations. Inevitably stock has to be shifted or sold off. Old stock or stock that doesn't sell maybe dumped elsewhere, some even scrapped.
The problem here is if outdated/written off stock that supposed to be scrapped ends up being grabbed by enterprising individuals. And that's when they can end up showing up on ebay being sold by bedroom traders.
This is where checking out the seller is important. If his/her address isn't a proper warehouse or shop then it's likely he keeps his stock in the garden shed! Then ask how did that seller obtain it!
When I first got my Bugeye the old belt looked knackered so I sourced a Goodyear belt from local factors, not from ebay, it snapped after a few days, turns out Goodyear had a bad batch, maybe other companies have issues from time to time.
Ah nice find, i bought a gates belt first but didn't fit, was too big. Never had a problem with eurocarparts, but when ever you put your reg in it gives you multiple belt choices different lengths which is pointless. Interesting info though. Will get one from ICP.
14 March 2021, 06:19 PM
Counterfeit service parts
good job you kept an eye on it 😢
