I've got a 2000 Blazer LT with ~265,000 miles that I've owned since new. Back in 2015 I installed the , after having replaced the underpowered OEM alternator three time in the first 15 years. It seemed to be a popular upgrade, which in the 10 years since hasn't failed (admittedly, the truck isn't driven as much these days). When I did that I switched to the 96" Goodyear Gatorback (4060960) serpentine belt, as the new alternator needed a 1" longer belt. I also replaced the tensioner and idler pulley at the same time. A few weeks ago I needed to replaced the idler pulley, as its bearing was starting to make noise. I went ahead and replaced the tensioner and serpentine belt too, just for good measure. I wasn't able to find another Goodyear Gatorback belt. Turns out in the past decade that Continental had bought out the Goodyear Gatorback line, changed it into the Continental Elite line (which seemed to be of lower quality, as I found many reports of premature failure), and then just outright discontinued it. I installed a this time. All was well, for about a week, but then the belt started to chirp. At first it did it for a little while on startup, but then went away. Now it does it continuously, and is pretty loud and annoying. The old Gatorback I took off is still in great shape, and not stretched (tensioner is in basically the same spot as with the new belt), so I reinstalled it as a test. All is quiet again.

So that was a lot to basically ask, what are people using these days to replace the discontinued Goodyear Gatorback/Continental Elite line that retains the same quieting properties? Yes, I'm aware I've likely got some slight pulley alignment issues (likely with the alternator, as I never had belt noise issues before, and never used, or even knew of, a Gatorback belt before switching to the larger alternator), and I definitely have the typical 4.3 crank pulley wobble. I'm a bit too lazy to take the time to deal with that (unless I absolutely have too), seeing as this is basically just a winter vehicle. It pretty much only gets brought out once NCDOT decides to needlessly drop literal tons of salt every time there is even the slightest risk of snow/ice.

 

If you old belt isn't cracking and its quiet, then just run it. My Goodyear Gatorback chirps up a storm and always has.