LA Intake with Serpentine Setup

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Keystone

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When I picked up the 5.2 Magnum for my /6 -> V8 swap, I figured I'd keep the serpentine setup since all the accessories were on the engine, and also because I didn't have any of the required pieces to change it over to a V-belt setup, like the LA timing cover, brackets, etc.

I figured I was being clever by drilling the heads for an LA intake since I found an LA spec Edelbrock Performer for a decent price. That part went all well and good, but now that I'm putting things back together, I found out there is an interference issue between the alternator/AC bracket and the space that would be occupied by the thermostat housing.
resized 1.PNG



I'm not going to be running air conditioning, and I already bought the delete bracket/pulley, which luckily only uses 3 of the 4 holes.
resized 2.PNG


So unless someone has a better idea, I guess I'm about to get creative with the recipro saw and a die grinder by removing the unneeded portion of the bracket.
resized 3.PNG


Posting this more as an FYI for anyone who's planning out how they're going to go about doing their Magnum swap, since I didn't see this particular scenario mentioned before. I'll reply back with how modification worked out.
 
Hack it up. That's what hot roddin is all about.
 
Cut the whole ac pad off. Then just route the belt around the idler and across to the power steering pump. That is essentially what the non ac bracket is but the idler pulley rides about an inch higher. Been done plenty of times.
 
Cut the whole ac pad off. Then just route the belt around the idler and across to the power steering pump. That is essentially what the non ac bracket is but the idler pulley rides about an inch higher. Been done plenty of times.
This depends on the power steering bracket used.

A full size truck power steering bracket mounts the pump higher, so the non AC belt and routing works. However, some have reported a stock A-body battery location hits the pump.

A van power steering bracket clears the battery setup, but now the belt will not clear the water pump pulley.
 
I think that the earlier LA intake that takes the big thermostat has the clearance for the bracket. You'd have to drill for the Magnum pattern. See if someone has one you can drop on and see if it'll clear.
 
Well I cut it up. Here's the results.
Bracket 1.jpg


Bracket 2.jpg


I had to cut away one of the ribs to make clearance for the bypass hose, but that worked out too.
Bracket 3.jpg


This what the back side looks like after I was finished.
Bracket 4.jpg
 
This depends on the power steering bracket used.

A full size truck power steering bracket mounts the pump higher, so the non AC belt and routing works. However, some have reported a stock A-body battery location hits the pump.

A van power steering bracket clears the battery setup, but now the belt will not clear the water pump pulley.

Oh, so I didn't have to buy that Dorman pulley deal? I thought I read if you tried to get away without using it, the belt routing was so close at one point, it was almost touching. But what you're saying about the different PS brackets makes sense. I'm going to be using the truck bracket, but when I get everything else bolted back on I'll definitely take a look at that. If I can cut that entire side off, and not use the delete pulley, that would be even better. Thanks for the tips everyone!
 
Looks like you have it covered. Old school: A cut here a cut there and it works
If anyone else is looking for a factory alternator mount without the A/C section, I have one.
 
Now just get a shorter belt.

You can Google which belt by enter a search like.. dodge 1500 belt to bypass a/c.. or if you're not using PS as well..then use tape and deduct maybe 1 3/4-2" to make up for the tensioner when loaded.
 
This depends on the power steering bracket used.

A full size truck power steering bracket mounts the pump higher, so the non AC belt and routing works. However, some have reported a stock A-body battery location hits the pump.

A van power steering bracket clears the battery setup, but now the belt will not clear the water pump pulley.
This is not my experience. I have a 5.9 from a B350 with power steering and no AC, and my belt works ok. But I have noticed my idler pulley is smaller than any others I have seen before. Maybe that's the difference.
 
This is not my experience. I have a 5.9 from a B350 with power steering and no AC, and my belt works ok. But I have noticed my idler pulley is smaller than any others I have seen before. Maybe that's the difference.

Pictures?

Have a friend that swapped a 5.2 into his Wrangler and cut up the AC mount to make a non-AC one. He didn’t have issues either with the PS and the belt rubbing. Reason was, the Jeep’s use a high mount pump like the trucks, but with a different mount.
 
This is not my experience. I have a 5.9 from a B350 with power steering and no AC, and my belt works ok. But I have noticed my idler pulley is smaller than any others I have seen before. Maybe that's the difference.
Interesting. What year B350 is it from? Please post pictures. We always like to learn what works.
 
I verified there is in fact plenty of clearance for the belt to pass in both directions when bypassing the A/C. I'm just pulling the slack on the too long belt here, but it proves that this approach works. And again, this is a truck PS bracket
Belt.jpg


I even found that they show this very routing in the shop manual; at least the 1996 and '97 version.
Belt 2.PNG


What's odd is, the the non-A/C belt is showing as 88.5 inches
Belt 3.PNG


but when you search for that part number, people say it's too short. For example, look at some of the comments here:

https://www.autozone.com/cooling-heating-and-climate-control/belt/p/duralast-belt-885k7/66368_0_0

Maybe the factory non-A/C setup used one or more smaller pulleys, so when you try to use that particular belt on a truck that was originally A/C, you actually need a slightly longer one. Whatever, it turns out to be, I'll post back what worked for me to make it a littler easier for others.
 
I verified there is in fact plenty of clearance for the belt to pass in both directions when bypassing the A/C. I'm just pulling the slack on the too long belt here, but it proves that this approach works. And again, this is a truck PS bracket
View attachment 1715878826

I even found that they show this very routing in the shop manual; at least the 1996 and '97 version.
View attachment 1715878828

What's odd is, the the non-A/C belt is showing as 88.5 inches
View attachment 1715878840

but when you search for that part number, people say it's too short. For example, look at some of the comments here:

https://www.autozone.com/cooling-heating-and-climate-control/belt/p/duralast-belt-885k7/66368_0_0

Maybe the factory non-A/C setup used one or more smaller pulleys, so when you try to use that particular belt on a truck that was originally A/C, you actually need a slightly longer one. Whatever, it turns out to be, I'll post back what worked for me to make it a littler easier for others.
That same routing is shown on the truck itself, on a sticker on the radiator support. That is why I tried the first time on my truck when the AC compressor bearing went out. That clearance you show is exactly how mine looked. When I did this on my truck, I did not know there were two different idler pulley locations and I just bought the non-AC belt. It is possible the people saying it does not work have little mechanical ability and just cannot figure out how to get the belt on, which pulley has to be looped around last. Also, the reviews in that link that said it was too short were not full size trucks, they were Durangos and Dakotas, which have different bracket and pulley arrangements. When I used the non-AC belt it was on a 99 Ram 2500 with 5.9 Magnum.
B5EABFD1-1CF6-4999-8304-55576AA37A54.jpeg
 
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@Keystone, have you already mocked this up in your car? Wondering if the power steering pump and bracket will clear the battery and battery tray? Assuming this is going in an A-body and still running a stock location battery.
 
@Keystone, have you already mocked this up in your car? Wondering if the power steering pump and bracket will clear the battery and battery tray? Assuming this is going in an A-body and still running a stock location battery.
So the 88.5 inch belt should work? I'll give that one a try first then.
No, but I have read about the interference with the battery tray. I did a trunk mount battery in my blue car (a '73 Swinger with a 318) and it worked out very well. No slow cranking issues or anything like that. I bought a rather expensive AGM battery for it, and now I'm planning on selling that car in the spring, so I think I'll put that one back to stock configuration and use those parts to do the rear mount battery in the car that will be getting the Magnum. *Edit* ...which is also a '73 Swinger, albeit one that was a slant from the factory.
But before any of that happens, I'm going to be putting it on the run stand I built. I've never rebuilt an engine before so I'd like to verify operation, oil pressure, no leaks, etc. before actually putting it into the car.
 
I don’t remember the part number or length. That was a long time ago. But I did not measure. I just bought the non-AC belt and put it on. I just looked up my truck and cam up with same part number so, in theory, yes that should be correct.
If you are not in a hurry I can check this weekend to see if I still have that belt in the truck. After I fixed the compressor clutch bearing, I saved that belt as an emergency backup, but I don’t know if it is still in there.
 
I can check this weekend to see if I still have that belt in the truck. After I fixed the compressor clutch bearing, I saved that belt as an emergency backup, but I don’t know if it is still in there.
Thanks but don't spend any time on it. There's a local parts store that I'm sure will let me exchange the belt should it prove to be the wrong length, but I'm comfortable now that what's listed in the parts catalogs for non-A/C should work.
 
Here's a couple pics of my setup. Notice that small idler pulley? I think that's the only reason why it's possible for me to go without the AC compressor, because the van power steering bracket sits lower than the truck bracket. With the truck bracket sitting up higher Keystone's pic is showing it works fine with the regular larger idler pulley. But that truck bracket will hit the battery tray in an A body.

20220306_125416.jpg


20220306_125506.jpg


20220306_125448.jpg
 
So the 88.5 inch belt should work? I'll give that one a try first then.
No, but I have read about the interference with the battery tray. I did a trunk mount battery in my blue car (a '73 Swinger with a 318) and it worked out very well. No slow cranking issues or anything like that. I bought a rather expensive AGM battery for it, and now I'm planning on selling that car in the spring, so I think I'll put that one back to stock configuration and use those parts to do the rear mount battery in the car that will be getting the Magnum. *Edit* ...which is also a '73 Swinger, albeit one that was a slant from the factory.
But before any of that happens, I'm going to be putting it on the run stand I built. I've never rebuilt an engine before so I'd like to verify operation, oil pressure, no leaks, etc. before actually putting it into the car.

My belt is 91 inches, but again, the van PS braket is lower so maybe it would be different for you. I went on the rock auto website and looked at all the belts for the 94 B350 without AC, and in some of the part descriptions they tell you the length of the belt. I ended up buying the belt locally, but I used that as a part number reference whe doing so.
 
I don’t remember the part number or length. That was a long time ago. But I did not measure. I just bought the non-AC belt and put it on. I just looked up my truck and cam up with same part number so, in theory, yes that should be correct.
If you are not in a hurry I can check this weekend to see if I still have that belt in the truck. After I fixed the compressor clutch bearing, I saved that belt as an emergency backup, but I don’t know if it is still in there.
I checked my truck and that non-AC belt is not in there any more. I must have cut it at some point to measure a different project. It was Gates brand, and was purchased for my truck before I knew the non-AC bracket was different, but the belt still fit mine with no other changes, just bypassing the AC compressor.
 
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