My 06 liberty has 55,000 miles on it and as far as I know the belt has never been replaced. I took a look at it and it has tiny cracks on the ribeed side in it, perpendicular to the belt. Everything else looks ok. There is no fraying or anything else that I can tell. I cannot see any cracks in the smooth outer portion of the belt. Is it time to replace it or can I wait another 6 months or so?

Do i need to replace the tensioner when I have the belt done or is that ok for a bit more? thanks for all your help in advance.

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Steve, Olean NY
2006 Jeep Liberty (Blue)
245/70-16 General Grabber AT2
Tow Hooks (Mopar)
Set of Mopar Skid's
Mopar rock rails (silver renegade style)

Only if it's bad.

But search is your friend here too
http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/vie ... hp?t=42482

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2004 TJ Rubicon.

You should always replace the tensioner with the serp belt.The tensioner will wear out as fast as the belt.

TJ, do you normally replace the whole tensioner assy, or just the pulley/bearing? IOW, does the tensioner part usually fail, or the bearing?

replace the whole thing they sell it as a unit

last time i replaced mine one of the bearings was shot and the tensioner was weak too

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03 Renegade (Black)
177k miles 3.7L gas - 45RFE
Command Trac / 4.10s
Lift: ft. 790+ rr. JBA4+
The last of the TrailReady Front&Rear Bumpers and TR Rock Rails
Jarhead Offroad light covers
31x10.5R15 RedLetter Grabbers on Blackrock Dunes
L.O.S.T #KD098632

It won't hurt to replace the complete assy as JeepinJarhead03 suggested but for what it's worth, the parts guy will tell you yes, you need to do this each time, the mechanic (in my case a 22yr Jeep mechanic) told me "no, not always". Who do you believe?... And yeah I replaced the entire assy when I did mine with 86K on the odo.

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2004 TJ Rubicon.

the honest answer is as oddball said, you don't have to unless it's making racket or making the belt jump, chances are, if you just change the belt you'll end up replacing the tensioner before you need a new belt again and seeing how it's a 5-10 min job even putting a new belt on it's not that big of a deal to wait till it starts acting up, just be mindful of it so ya don't throw a belt and end up wishin you had just replaced it all at once

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03 Renegade (Black)
177k miles 3.7L gas - 45RFE
Command Trac / 4.10s
Lift: ft. 790+ rr. JBA4+
The last of the TrailReady Front&Rear Bumpers and TR Rock Rails
Jarhead Offroad light covers
31x10.5R15 RedLetter Grabbers on Blackrock Dunes
L.O.S.T #KD098632

Last 3 OEM tensioner on my KJ lasted only less then 20,000miles combined,bearing were fine but the spring was shot.Just change the tensioner also,piece of mind and makes sure the proper tension is applied to the new belt.

What about the tiny cracks? Are they something to worry about? I have heard some people say that tiny cracks perpendicular to the belt on the ribbed side are ok as long as they are not deep. Is this accurarate or should get it replaced.

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Steve, Olean NY
2006 Jeep Liberty (Blue)
245/70-16 General Grabber AT2
Tow Hooks (Mopar)
Set of Mopar Skid's
Mopar rock rails (silver renegade style)

Replace it, cracks can be deeper than they look. Do you want to be stuck along the road at 3 AM

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MUDD'S MOTORSPORT'S We do IFS lift installs ,
03 OVERLAND EDITION /Kilby-Skidrow-Mopar-4XGuard skids/ 2.5 inch TOTAL CONTROL JBA coilovers -JBA Arms/MOABS-31 FALKEN WILDPEAK AT3W / 4.10's etc, 04 Kilimanjaro Edition loaded, plus 05 KJ limited

The FSM says these cracks are not a reason to replace the belt. Personally, when I start seeing alot of them, I replace the belt for peace of mind.