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Where do I buy a replacement belt or tensioner?

Belts and Tensioners

Belts and tensioners are standard parts you can buy locally. What matters is getting the right length for your configuration, and knowing one thing about the tensioner pulley.

Overview

Short Answer

For belts we recommend Gates or Dayco. Length is specific to your kit, so email us your order number and we will give you the correct belt for your setup. If you replace a tensioner, the pulley on an off the shelf tensioner has to be swapped for the CVF pulley on an 8 rib kit.

Belts

Use a quality belt. We recommend Gates or Dayco over bargain brands, because on a V8 accessory drive the belt is doing real work and a cheap belt will slip, squeal and stretch.

We do not publish a single belt number, because belt length changes with your accessory layout. Whether the kit runs A/C, which side the alternator bracket sits on, and which kit you have all change the number. A belt length from another customer’s car is not transferable to yours.

How to get the right one

Email contact support with:

your order number and the email used at purchase, or the full kit part number

We will pull your configuration and give you the correct belt for it. You can order that length direct from us on our 8 rib serpentine belts page, where every length is listed with its Gates part number, or take that part number to any NAPA, O’Reilly or Advance Auto.

Tensioners: one important detail

If you are replacing a tensioner, the tensioner body itself is a standard part. The pulley is not.

Off the shelf tensioners were not originally designed around 8 rib belts, so the pulley that comes on one will not suit an 8 rib CVF kit. The pulley has to be swapped for the CVF tensioner pulley, which is why we supply it. Order the pulley from us, fit it to the new tensioner, and the assembly will run the belt correctly.

If you are not sure whether your kit is 8 rib, send us your order number and we will confirm before you buy anything.

Before you buy a longer belt

If you are replacing a belt because the one that came with the kit will not fit, read our article on belts that seem too short first. CVF belts are sized tight by design, and a longer belt leaves your tensioner in the wrong part of its travel.