Is a brown Serpentine Belt bad?

The other day my friend came over to my house and we were going out in my car. When I first started it up he was standing outside and noticed that the car was making a little bit of a squealing noise. So we looked under the hood and he noticed that the Serpentine Belt was getting brown on one side. He told me "That's a sign the belt is wearing out! If it gets to brown then it could break. I'd get it taken care of at some point."





I've heard that if the belt is ever cracked or fraying that you definitely should replace it. I had never heard about it getting to brown and wearing out. It does make sense, but I'm curious is my friend right? Should I be really concerned? The car is a 2002 Camry 4Cyl and has about 50,000 miles.
Is a brown Serpentine Belt bad?
I would not worry about it. Brown stains may simply mean it has gotten dirty. Most likley this is a result of running against an tension pully which has some rust on it. Perhaps the car got wet or did not run for a time? If you look at the belt path, you can see where the belt doubles back on itself and runs the flat back over the tensioning pulley.





You should replace the serpentine belt at the same time you replace the water pump and the cam timing belt, generally at 80-90,000 miles. This is a critical maintenance item as if the timing belt breaks, you rmotor is trashed and so then is the car.





Astrobuf
Is a brown Serpentine Belt bad?
Discoloration is a sign of wear. Squealing can be as well. 50,000 miles is pretty good for the life of a belt. Why take a chance? If it breaks while you're driving then at a minimum you've just doubled your repair costs by having to get the vehicle towed. Belts are a maintenance item. They should be replaced at regular intervals as opposed to waiting until they break.
Reply:Yes replace it before it leaves you stranded. If it is turning color on an edge, check the pulleys to make sure they are running correctly. If the discoloration is on one side there is uneven friction. The extra heat caused by misalignment can turn the belt a brown color. Regardless of mileage on the car, if the belt is cracking or fraying, replace it. It could catch you at a really bad time.

floral