Help!!!

[Dirk Diggler]

Hopefully, someone else will recommend a belt for you. I noticed on AutoZone.com that the Continental belt is $11 more, but has a 3-year warranty. Their cheaper Duralast belt has a 1-year warranty.

If you don't like doing this stuff, I would buy the belt, store it in my car, & ask to have it installed next time I had an oil change done.

The other thread on belts mentioned the Goodyear Gatorback belt as being a good one. Hopefully, others make suggestions. I haven't changed mine yet.

Would you say 65k miles is an appropriate time to just change it?

[Mark]

Would you say 65k miles is an appropriate time to just change it?

I don't know? I'm at 32,000+ mile with my Mirage. If needed suddenly, it doesn't hurt to have one on hand.

Hopefully, Fummins can answer this question for you, because he works on higher mileage Mirages.

This is what a google search gave me on the topic -

With that being said most serpentine/drive belts can last for a very long time before they need to be replaced. The lifespan of the belt will depend mostly on the type of material it's made of. Older style belts generally last about 50,000 miles, while those made from EPDM can last up to 100,000 miles.Jan 15, 2016

[pawpaw]

We have a 2006 Corolla that my son still drives. Back in 2009 (46645 miles) I replaced the OEM serpentine belt (which was squealing at times) with a Goodyear Gatorback belt. I also bought another tensioner JIC. This thread made me realize that Gatorback belt is still running silently on that Corolla and the tensioner is still sitting in a box in a cabinet in my garage.

probably close to 190K miles on the Corolla!

Maybe I should change it but I am suitably impressed and sold on the Gatorback belts.

[Dirk Diggler]

What kind of belt does the Mirage have?

[Dirk Diggler]

I'm hoping its just the belt that needs replacing and not a bearing going out. I'll find out tomorrow morning, and update on here what my mechanic says.

[Mark]

I'm hoping its just the belt that needs replacing and not a bearing going out. I'll find out tomorrow morning, and update on here what my mechanic says.

Looking at Steve's posts, he didn't change his belt until 190,000 miles. It still looked ok to him, too. This was his comments -

"190k miles - Replaced serpentine belt. The original belt looked perfect. I just didn't feel comfortable driving on a serpentine belt with nearly 200k miles on it."

I would just tighten it. They loosen up some over time.

[Mark]

Looking at Steve's posts, he didn't change his belt until 190,000 miles. It still looked ok to him, too. This was his comments -

"190k miles - Replaced serpentine belt. The original belt looked perfect. I just didn't feel comfortable driving on a serpentine belt with nearly 200k miles on it."

I would just tighten it. They loosen up some over time.

Now that I am home, I did a little more belt research for you.

The Goodyear Gatorback belts that people like are now also called the Continental Elite belts, but Continental offers three levels of serpentine belts. See below -

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...435372&jsn=327

If a chirping sound is your issue, the Continental Elite may be your best choice.

Serpentine Belt-Poly-V Continental Elite 4060485 can be found on eBay.com

I would still try tightening the belt first.

[Dirk Diggler]

Now that I am home, I did a little more belt research for you.

The Goodyear Gatorback belts that people like are now also called the Continental Elite belts, but Continental offers three levels of serpentine belts. See below -

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...435372&jsn=327

If a chirping sound is your issue, the Continental Elite may be your best choice.

Serpentine Belt-Poly-V Continental Elite 4060485 can be found on eBay.com

I would still try tightening the belt first.

Thank you for all that Mark! Ill ask my guy to just tighten it 1st. There's no visible cracks on the belt, but it does looked glazed, which I understand isnt good.

[Cobrajet]

The bulb you want is indeed a 194. These burn out ALL THE TIME on my car. I got so sick of buying new ones at $5.00 a pair that I went to a wrecking yard, found two already-pulled instrument clusters out of early '90s Ford Explorers, and took all 15 of the bulbs out of both of them. That gave me about 30 of the little ba$tards, which I keep in a small plastic bag in the glovebox.

As far as the belt goes, I just replaced mine this past Halloween. It is in the "What Did You Do To Your Mirage" thread, IIRC. The belt was a Dayco, and I replaced it for the same reason Steve replaced his...it was just time. The belt looked fine. This was around 130,000 miles.

The Dayco belt I used was a 5060485. It fit, but seemed a tiny bit short. I had to move the adjuster all the way in to get it to fit on. The process is pretty easy. One pinch bolt, one adjuster bolt. I don't think you will need to loosen the pivot bolt, or at least I didn't.

If you are under 75k, I'd heed the advice here and just cinch the belt up a bit instead of replacing it if it does not look damaged. The belts will stretch a bit with mileage, and may need to be adjusted.

[Dirk Diggler]

The bulb you want is indeed a 194. These burn out ALL THE TIME on my car. I got so sick of buying new ones at $5.00 a pair that I went to a wrecking yard, found two already-pulled instrument clusters out of early '90s Ford Explorers, and took all 15 of the bulbs out of both of them. That gave me about 30 of the little ba$tards, which I keep in a small plastic bag in the glovebox.

As far as the belt goes, I just replaced mine this past Halloween. It is in the "What Did You Do To Your Mirage" thread, IIRC. The belt was a Dayco, and I replaced it for the same reason Steve replaced his...it was just time. The belt looked fine. This was around 130,000 miles.

The Dayco belt I used was a 5060485. It fit, but seemed a tiny bit short. I had to move the adjuster all the way in to get it to fit on. The process is pretty easy. One pinch bolt, one adjuster bolt. I don't think you will need to loosen the pivot bolt, or at least I didn't.

If you are under 75k, I'd heed the advice here and just cinch the belt up a bit instead of replacing it if it does not look damaged. The belts will stretch a bit with mileage, and may need to be adjusted.

At the shop now, they said I should go ahead and replace because I'm at 65k miles. I just hope they get the right part. Last time I had to wait over 7 hours because the 2014 brake shoes have no aftermarket supplier. The owner ended up going to a Mitsu dealership and buying them himself. I'll show them your post if they come back telling me the belt isnt fitting correctly.