Tips How To Fix Treadmill Belt Tear

A lot of people who enjoy running prefer to install their own treadmill at home since they don’t always have the opportunity to run outside or to go to the gym. It’s very convenient when you have your own treadmill in your house, but we should always take into account that any sports equipment needs maintenance. Therefore, it’s very important for a treadmill owner to know how to fix treadmill belt tear, how to adjust the slipping belt or how to replace the belt for a new one.

How To Fix Treadmill Belt Tear Without Replacing It

Sometimes it can happen that the treadmill belt is torn. The belt becomes opened, and some hazards appear. For instance, it may be dangerous to step onto that opening since you can fall and get hurt. Besides, the belt can just fail, which also can cause injuries.

How does the belt get tears? There are several reasons why the belt can become torn:

• The treadmill belt gets loose and can be torn while applying the treadmill;
• You or anyone else apply something sharp to the walking belt accidentally or on purpose;
• The deck gets too dry, warms up too much and affects the belt surface.

Of course, the best idea will be to purchase and install a brand new treadmill belt. However, not everyone has the ability or financial opportunity to install a new belt onto your treadmill. There are some solutions to this problem which don’t need a replacement of the belt.

First of all, if you have such an issue, you can apply a very strong and flexible special glue. To apply this method you need to find a piece of flat and thin rubber bike tire, but which should also be rather strong and won’t be broken. You just have to put the glue of any brand you like onto this patch and put the patch onto the treadmill belt tear.

In order to make the patch stronger you can do it from both sides of the belt. The thing which you should keep in mind is that the patch should go beyond the tear at least for a half of its size on both sides of the tear.

The only thing left to do is to wait for thirty minutes. And that’s it – you can apply the walking belt again. In other words, it’s a rather cheap and quick solution to your belt problem.

Another way to repair the tear is to implement a duct tape. The scheme is the same as you have with the glue, but the tape happens to be the patch itself. All you need to do is to find a suitable and rather strong tape which is also thin.

Useful Tips: Treadmill Belt Repairing Using Glue

In this video you will find useful tips. You will learn how to treadmill belt repairing using glue.

Fixing A Slipping Treadmill Belt

There is a wide range of various reasons  why your treadmill belt may slip. The problem can happen when the treadmill belt stops for a moment accidentally and slips. In other words, when you are running your foot lands onto the treadmill belt, and the belt stops for a second.

First of all, we would like to mention the most common reason why it can happen. Slipping can appear in case the belt is too loose. If you can take your hand and put it under the belt to the middle of the deck, it’s fine, but if your hand goes further, you can see that the treadmill belt is loose.

To tighten the treadmill belt you need to come to the back end of your treadmill. You should take into account that treadmills are often sold with a wrench for them. If yours doesn’t have its own wrench, an Allen wrench of some particular size can be suitable.

At the back end of the treadmill there should be a couple of holes where you can put this wrench and do the adjustment.

To do the settings you put the wrench into the hole and turn it clockwise half a turn. Then you do the same for the second hole. Try to do it evenly on both sides of the treadmill back end. After adjusting you can check the tightness of the belt again by putting the hand under the belt.

The best idea is to check the tightness by running on the treadmill. If you try it and see that the belt is still too loose, you should do the adjustment mentioned above again.

There is also another reason why the belt might slip, which happens to be the friction between the deck and the belt.

To check whether it’s your reason you need to put your hand under the belt again and move it along the deck. If you see that the surface seems too dry, it may be necessary to lubricate it.

The third reason for your walking belt slipping may be connected with the drive belt, which moves between the motor and the front roller. If the drive belt is worn out or is just too loose, it can cause slipping of the treadmill belt.

And, in addition to this, the treadmill belt itself wears out with time, so you might just need to replace the treadmill belt.

Replacing The Treadmill Belt

When you apply your treadmill for a long time or just get your treadmill belt damaged, it can need the replacement of the belt. It’s not only when you see the damage with your eyes, there are some hidden reasons for this need to appear.

In fact, replacing the belt in time is really essential since you can avoid the breakdown of the treadmill and getting any injuries during use as well.

When We Need To Replace The Belt

Of course, we need to replace the treadmill belt when the issue is obvious, for instance, the belt obtains some rips which affect its efficiency. If there are any frayed edges or discolorations, be ready to seek a brand new walking belt suitable for your equipment.

While the factors mentioned above are obvious, there are some more features which are not seen from the first sight and yet need to be considered.

For example, the belt might lose its smoothness. It’s not understood very quickly, but after some time of use runners can notice that it has become more difficult to run on this treadmill.

Moreover, if the treadmill turns hot during applying it, it may be also the reason for the belt replacement since the treadmill can get hot when the belt is worn out and does too much friction with the deck.

Actually, there are no set periods of the use of the treadmill belt, at the end of which you need to replace the treadmill belt. Of course, when you notice any damage, you should change the belt to a new one as soon as possible.

However, it’s usually recommended to check the belt of the treadmill every six months to a year to make sure that there are no damages which will lead to the replacement of the belt.

How To Replace The Treadmill Belt

First of all, you should make sure that the treadmill is unplugged so you won’t get any injuries if you accidentally push the “Turn On” button.

The first step you should do is to find the tension roller at both sides of the back end of the belt. Using a screwdriver you should loosen the bolts of the roller for a bit. You should do this until you can put your hand freely under the belt and check it for any damages.

If you have noticed any issues or damages, you will definitely need a replacement. You start with removing the motor hood, which is located at the front of the treadmill frame. Then to make the treadmill latched and upright you fold it up.

After that you find the bolts which are located under the board connecting the foot rail at the right side. You remove them, lower the piece of equipment down and put away the right foot rail.

When one side is clear, you can freely put the belt away as well. For this you unscrew the front and the rar rollers, lift them up and put them away from the mounting bracket. The corner screws and the belt are then removed.

To install a brand new belt you need to slide the belt over the board and sellers from the right side. Again you need to fold the treadmill up, and only then you should get to installing the mounting screws back. After lowering the treadmill down you put the rear and front rollers back.

When you have made sure that the belt has enough tension, you can then install the foot rail and the motor hood back.

Of course, if you don’t want to install a new treadmill belt yourself, you can call a professional service who could help you, but you should be ready to pay extra money.

In Closing

So, having a treadmill at home is a wonderful solution for those who enjoy running but don’t have an opportunity or ability to go outside or to the gym for running. And treadmills as any other equipment need proper maintenance.

For every treadmill owner it’s vital to know how to fix treadmill belt tear, how to deal with the slipping belt or even when and how to replace this belt.

We hope that this article is extremely useful for you, and you will be able to enjoy your running on the treadmill without any obstacles and problems!