What are V-belts?

[Gamble97]

I went to autozone to get new belts for my car. I bought an alternator belt and I was going to get a belt for the a/c and they asked if it was a serpentine belt or a V-belt. What is the diff?

 

[Quasimondo]

Serpentine belts are a designed so that all of our accessories run off of one belt. DSM's have the traditional v-belt system where each accessory has it's own belt.

These cars don't use serpentine belts, I don't know why he asked if you wanted one or not.

 

[dave99gst]

commonly refered to as a serpentine

[Sorry, this is not a serpentine- it's a multi-V belt]

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

and this would be a V-belt

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

 

[FORMONTOYA]

Because the OTS went to AutoZone.....AutoZone in my area = dumbass.

 

[Gamble97]

I checked on Autozone.com and it asks the same question. I bought the power steering belt, and a/c belt. I got the serpentine belt for the a/c and it will not fit for anything. The other belt I need is the alternator belt right?

 

[dave99gst]

The other belt I need is the alternator belt right?

correct

 

[funkbuster]

dave 99gst hit the nail on the head with that post. Serpentine belt is the flat one, v-belt has a v-shape to it.

 

[Gamble97]

I went back today and the guy at the counter looked up my car and they showed up as V-belts. I guess the chick that looked it up last night did it wrong.
BTW, what is OTS?

 

[FORMONTOYA]

1. OTS = original thread starter.

2. And that's what I meant by the AutoZone stores around me = dumbass, it must be true nation wide.

 

[Defiant]

DSMs use multi-V belts, as pictured above. Serpentine belts are flat on both sides, and drive on both sides- usually to eliminate a gang of belts. Multi-V only use the inside.

 

[Gamble97]

So can I use one belt like this ^^^ or use multiple belts?

 

[andymoraitis]

No, you need to stay with the multiple v-belt arrangement. Take a look at any Mustang (5.0 or 4.6) and you'll see the difference between multiple v-belts and a single serpentine.

Defiant's picture is of a single serpentine (flat on both sides).