BELT BLOWN AT 9K Miles-URGENT READ

[M177ED1]

Posting as a public service announcement and to see if anyone else has experienced the following.

SITUATION:
2021 Ram 1500 Laramie 5.7L Hemi WITH E-torque
Current mileage 9,946
Bought brand spanking new.

On July 15, towing a 6k camper trailer, in tow/haul, adaptive cruise control.
60mph, Sierra Nevadas outside Reno headed towards CA.

Hooked up the trailer, got on the freeway, literally, from this exit to the very next exit, the truck shredded the main accessory belt.

No cause noted. Sounded like plastic bag in the fan, truck kept towing, no CEL no lights.

Pulled of the next exit, belt had shred from the front of the belt towards the back of the belt. Belt fiber EVERYWHERE.

All pulleys working, nothing seized, no road debris as the cause either.

Here’s the kicker. Not a single auto parts store (Napa, AZ, Oreily *could not cross reference and did not stock) and not a single Ram dealership with in a 4.5 hour drive stocks/Stocked a single Accessory belt for the 5.7 Hemi WITH E-Torque.

So, if you plan to tow. Bring a breaker bar, and order a belt ahead of time. Part # 5281514aa

Truck is currently at the dealership (was able to limp it home with 1/4 of a belt left after having friend pick up the trailer). By the time we got into town, the E-Torq/Alternator had stopped charging or running electronics.

Dealership is “booked out” for the next 8 days. And advised it would take 5-7 business days to ship the belt to them.

Part # from several Ram Parts Depts 5281514aa.
Mopar.com shows a belt diagram with the listed part number, in the correct configuration, but states that this part number will not fit an ETorq 5.7 Hemi.

So, not even Mopar is sure what belt fits what.
Tried to verify if the belt from a standard 5.7 would work, no dealership I called while broke down could verify.

Thoughts: maybe the ETorq seized momentarily caused the belt to shred but continued working.

Will keep thread updated.

 

[BowDown]

Posting as a public service announcement and to see if anyone else has experienced the following.

SITUATION:
2021 Ram 1500 Laramie 5.7L Hemi WITH E-torque
Current mileage 9,946
Bought brand spanking new.

On July 15, towing a 6k camper trailer, in tow/haul, adaptive cruise control.
60mph, Sierra Nevadas outside Reno headed towards CA.

Hooked up the trailer, got on the freeway, literally, from this exit to the very next exit, the truck shredded the main accessory belt.

No cause noted. Sounded like plastic bag in the fan, truck kept towing, no CEL no lights.

Pulled of the next exit, belt had shred from the front of the belt towards the back of the belt. Belt fiber EVERYWHERE.

All pulleys working, nothing seized, no road debris as the cause either.

Here’s the kicker. Not a single auto parts store (Napa, AZ, Oreily *could not cross reference and did not stock) and not a single Ram dealership with in a 4.5 hour drive stocks/Stocked a single Accessory belt for the 5.7 Hemi WITH E-Torque.

So, if you plan to tow. Bring a breaker bar, and order a belt ahead of time. Part # 5281514aa

Truck is currently at the dealership (was able to limp it home with 1/4 of a belt left after having friend pick up the trailer). By the time we got into town, the E-Torq/Alternator had stopped charging or running electronics.

Dealership is “booked out” for the next 8 days. And advised it would take 5-7 business days to ship the belt to them.

Part # from several Ram Parts Depts 5281514aa.
Mopar.com shows a belt diagram with the listed part number, in the correct configuration, but states that this part number will not fit an ETorq 5.7 Hemi.

So, not even Mopar is sure what belt fits what.
Tried to verify if the belt from a standard 5.7 would work, no dealership I called while broke down could verify.

Thoughts: maybe the ETorq seized momentarily caused the belt to shred but continued working.

Will keep thread updated.

Probably just a bad belt, I have a hard time believing the MGU seized then un-seized.

Rockauto shows that to be the correct belt, the other is the water pump belt

 

[M177ED1]

Probably just a bad belt, I have a hard time believing the MGU seized then un-seized.

Rockauto shows that to be the correct belt, the other is the water pump belt

At the end of the day, I guess I’m hoping it was just a bad belt, with some bad luck.

But, the second issue, the ETorq going out, while the belt is/was still running.

If it was just a bad belt. Would have been nice for at least 1 dealership with in a 4 hour radius to stock at least one.

 

[Rick3478]

Could have picked up a bit of debris unknown, or mice could have chewed on it, or just a defect. It's a pretty demanding application even for synthetic fiber in a hostile environment.

And toward the end, it may have just been slipping too much to charge effectively. Which makes me wonder how much wear/damage there may have been to the pulleys. Is uneven wear going to cause it now to start chucking perfectly good new belts? Could need some new pulleys. See what it looks like when it's cleaned up, I guess.

And dealers not having a belt in stock is just plain stupid, especially since they have been pushing this system. Or maybe they are failing more than they want to admit, and have already exhausted the replacement supply. Need another conspiracy theory to pass the time, there you go.

Hope your warranty is good, best wishes.

 

[cevans6318]

At the end of the day, I guess I’m hoping it was just a bad belt, with some bad luck.

But, the second issue, the ETorq going out, while the belt is/was still running.

If it was just a bad belt. Would have been nice for at least 1 dealership with in a 4 hour radius to stock at least one.

dealers not stocking belts (parts in general) is not uncommon. Dealers don't stock parts that don't sell within a certain time frame. e-torque belts may not be a part that is sold very much if at all. Why a dealer won't stock it.

 

[BowDown]

At the end of the day, I guess I’m hoping it was just a bad belt, with some bad luck.

But, the second issue, the ETorq going out, while the belt is/was still running.

If it was just a bad belt. Would have been nice for at least 1 dealership with in a 4 hour radius to stock at least one.

My guess is that the etorque needs a tight belt when in engine braking mode or regen mode. A frayed belt isn't going to deliver that so etorque may have disabled or thrown a code but a seized bearing/motor generally doesn't un seize and damn sure lets you know its not happy.
My supercharged corvette friends have similar belt issues as the SC needs a lot of belt tension to operate, the 1st thing I noticed about the etorque belt is that it looks very similar to the supercharger guys Gates Green Belt (HD supercharger belts), those are hard to find as well but I suspect a performance shop has a belt that will work

 

[BowDown]

Could have picked up a bit of debris unknown, or mice could have chewed on it, or just a defect. It's a pretty demanding application even for synthetic fiber in a hostile environment.

And toward the end, it may have just been slipping too much to charge effectively. Which makes me wonder how much wear/damage there may have been to the pulleys. Is uneven wear going to cause it now to start chucking perfectly good new belts? Could need some new pulleys. See what it looks like when it's cleaned up, I guess.

And dealers not having a belt in stock is just plain stupid, especially since they have been pushing this system. Or maybe they are failing more than they want to admit, and have already exhausted the replacement supply. Need another conspiracy theory to pass the time, there you go.

Hope your warranty is good, best wishes.

IDK, my modded supercharged friends are always having issues finding belts, even factory setups like the GT500 or the ZR1/Z06 and its always been this way. They will usually buy 2-3 spares when they find them.
My etorque belt has 40K on it now and looks fine

 

[sd2134]

Thought I would share this information. The eTorque has 2 belts the large serpentine belt and a water pump belt. The procedure is more involved the the non-eTorque. The water pump belt is a stretch type, says not to re-use the belt. Requires a stretch belt removal/install tool. The large serpentine belt has 2 tensioners (hydraulic and Spring)that have to be done in sequence.

Part numbers: Large eTorque belt MOPAR 5281514AA, water pump belt MOPAR 5281957AA

Link to procedure from another forum, post #8.

Has anyone tried changing the serpentine belt?

www.ramforumz.com

 

[BowDown]

I'd think you could place one loop of the new belt under the water pump belt at the top of the pulley and simply rotate the new belt on without removing the water pump belt or stretching it

 

[sd2134]

I'd think you could place one loop of the new belt under the water pump belt at the top of the pulley and simply rotate the new belt on without removing the water pump belt or stretching it

You have to go behind the water pump belt to go around the crankshaft pulley. The eTorque serpentine belt is on the inner set of grooves of the crankshaft pulley.

Link to 1 version of the strech tool.

https://www.amazon.com/Drake-Off-Road-Stretch-Installer/dp/B00AC60VEC

This picture may help.

 

[BowDown]

You have to go behind the water pump belt to go around the crankshaft pulley. The eTorque serpentine belt is on the inner set of grooves of the crankshaft pulley.

Link to 1 version of the strech tool.

https://www.amazon.com/Drake-Off-Road-Stretch-Installer/dp/B00AC60VEC

This picture may help.
View attachment 134638

No, I get that. I could easily place the serp belt between the pulley and the WP belt then rotate the crank slipping the belt on. My Z06 has a similar setup.

 

[killerformula]

Seems like an important fact here is that he didn’t shred the belt until he hooked up the trailer. The added force needed to get the truck moving probably caused the etorque belt to slip and start chewing itself up. I hope that’s just a fluke but it hardly ever is with these mass produced vehicles.

 

[Rick3478]

Seems like an important fact here is that he didn’t shred the belt until he hooked up the trailer. The added force needed to get the truck moving probably caused the etorque belt to slip and start chewing itself up. I hope that’s just a fluke but it hardly ever is with these mass produced vehicles.

Or maybe the higher shift points of T/H mode did it in, if the belt was marginal and not accustomed to the speed.

Or maybe picked up debris on the interstate ramp, those places are loaded with loose parts and cargo spills.

Trailer may be a clue, interstate may be a clue.

 

[BowDown]

Seems like an important fact here is that he didn’t shred the belt until he hooked up the trailer. The added force needed to get the truck moving probably caused the etorque belt to slip and start chewing itself up. I hope that’s just a fluke but it hardly ever is with these mass produced vehicles.

I towed a 2900 lb uhaul trailer loaded with 3000lbs of landscape stone with no issues and I can't see how a load would increase stress on a belt. The MGU is always going to exert the same amount of force on the crank regardless of the trucks load.
I'm still believing this was a bad belt, I know people with V-trim YSI blowers that take 300 hp to turn at max boost and they use a similar belt and etorque only ads 16hp and 130 lb ft of tq at the crank. That's nothing for these belts.

Curious as to the OP's cause but with belt material everywhere vs only in the MGU area suggests to me a belt failure

 

[Rick3478]

I towed a 2900 lb uhaul trailer loaded with 3000lbs of landscape stone with no issues and I can't see how a load would increase stress on a belt.

I think the theory was that pushing harder on the accellerator may have caused the motor/generator to kick into boost mode, where it wasn't needed before. Still, seems like something the belt should have been able to handle.

 

[BowDown]

I think the theory was that pushing harder on the accellerator may have caused the motor/generator to kick into boost mode, where it wasn't needed before. Still, seems like something the belt should have been able to handle.

I don't think etorque works like that, if I'm not mistaken, etorque is done by ~1500 engine rpm unless mds is engaged and the truck is in 4 cylinder mode.

 

[Idahoktm]

I think the theory was that pushing harder on the accelerator may have caused the motor/generator to kick into boost mode, where it wasn't needed before. Still, seems like something the belt should have been able to handle.

There is no "boost mode". Like he said, eTorque provides up to 16 hp and 130lb ft of torque for the first 1/2 tire rotation, whether you're towing something or not.

 

[theblet]

I would think something seized up to shred a belt. This happened to me once when my AC compressor froze up on my old corvette. If it were slipping, there would be a lot of squealing, low battery voltage, etc. I am thinking of a traditional ICE though, not an ET

 

[Pertzbro]

My 15's AC compressor seized up. Shredded the belt. No lights or warnings. Went another 2-3 miles and noticed my engine temps were really high and the AC quit working. Pop the hood and sure enough - no belt at all. Had maybe 15K miles on it.

 

[Dewey]

There is no "boost mode". Like he said, eTorque provides up to 16 hp and 130lb ft of torque for the first 1/2 tire rotation, whether you're towing something or not.

What if Start/Stop is disabled? I’m assuming no 1/2 tire rotation surge then. I’ve heard yes either way if off or on so honestly don’t know that answer.