CLose call V belt ruined

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gdizzle

gdizzle

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66 Dart \6. Freshly rebuilt engine, new belts. Finally got her on the freeway, got up to 65mph for 10 minutes. Seemed like it was doing good. Drove it around town for about 30 minutes.

I had just removed and reinstalled the Alt. Got it tight.

This morning I look under the hood, and I see the Alt v belt has flipped over and is sitting sideways in the groove. The belt is seconds away from breaking, cracked everywhere worn real good, and loose.
Any idea on what would cause this? The belt was under warranty so I got a new one, but this is a cheap belt. When i removed it I noticed that the pulley on the Alt. spins a little warped, not completely straight as it turns. Meaning it is not true as it spins. help!!

The new belt feels sorta thin. There is an option at Oreillys to buy a Gates belt which is about $15 more than this belt.
 
A wobbly pulley is not a good thing. Top width can also be a issue if it's too narrow.
 
Also make sure that all of the pulleys are properly aligned with each other...
 
mderoy340 said:
and buy the Gates belt.
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X2, you can and should verify the pulley alignments and all, but cheap thin belts can and do flip easily.
A little untrue on the alt pulley isn't going to be an issue with a good belt.

Once they do flip they will do it again almost immediately.
 
So you removed a used belt then put it back. No doubt the tension changed and that is a factor. In many cases the orientation of the belt is a factor, meaning the outside should stay to the outside, always mark before removing. A correct section belt will not contact the bottom of the pulley \_/ . Drive should be the sides of the \_/.
So... installing a new belt... Alternator belt shouldn't be banjo string tight. Bearing in the alternator, water pump bearing/seal cant handle too much load. Just tight enough so pulleys wont slide under belt when turned by hand.
To be honest, I consider all new belts and hoses a required part of a new engine.
 
Thanks for the comments. Well the belt that flipped was only 2 months old and was basically new. When I removed the Alt, I kept the belt on so it went back on same way. Though I did get it pretty tight. maybe too tight? So I now have the old one on, from before when I replaced it initially. For some reason I kept it in the trunk. When I look at engine as it is running and rev it up by hand, there is a point at which the belt looks like is it deflecting 1/2in in either direction, but as I rev past that point it smoothes out.
Also at low rpm, like when stopped at a light, I hear a rattle like a belt rattle? Or maybe the hood, unable to trace it cause it only happens when I am in gear, stopped.

is it common for the belt to deflect so much? Alignment looks good. the alt pulley is slightly tweaked so it is not spinning 100% straight. very small warp as it spins. Now I need to work up the confidence to get back on the freeway and let it run for a bit and pray the belt doesnt flip or worse, break.
 
gdizzle said:
Also at low rpm, like when stopped at a light, I hear a rattle like a belt rattle? Or maybe the hood, unable to trace it cause it only happens when I am in gear, stopped.
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If your parking brake works, chock your wheels, put on the parking brake & put the car in gear. Now you should be able to find your noise.
 
gdizzle said:
So I now have the old one on, from before when I replaced it initially. For some reason I kept it in the trunk. When I look at engine as it is running and rev it up by hand, there is a point at which the belt looks like is it deflecting 1/2in in either direction, but as I rev past that point it smoothes out.
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When you tighten the belt, you should not be able to deflect it more than 1/2" with your hand, or else tighten it a little more.


I always save my old belts and hoses and store them in the trunk in case of an "emergency" on the road, they can be installed and get you home if your main one breaks...

I learned that trick from a guy in college. He drove from New York to Detroit and his dad had spare belts and hoses in his trunk in case he blew or broke one on the trip...

So I stole the idea from them.... #-o
 
krazykuda said:
I like either Gates or Goodyear for belts and hoses... :cheers:
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I like them too, as well as the NAPA Premiums. Good belts are one of those things that are truly worth the price; it's a part that needs to run for a long time with no possible issues. Cheap ones have problems with amazing regularity....

I avoid the Gates ones with the notches on the outer surface, because I had 2 of that type from Dayco (their Top Cog type) and they were plain and simply crap .... they slipped like crazy if they got a bit loose, glazed up, and then would slip all the time without any noise.
 
nm9stheham said:
I like them too, as well as the NAPA Premiums. Good belts are one of those things that are truly worth the price; it's a part that needs to run for a long time with no possible issues.

I avoid the Gates ones with the notches on the outer surface, because I had 2 of that type from Dayco (their Top Cog type) and they were plain and simply crap .... they slipped like crazy if they got a bit loose, glazed up, and then would slip all the time without any noise.
Click to expand...

I don't like Dayco as much...

But you are right, why run a cheap belt that will fail way before a good Gates or Goodyear belt...

It's cheaper to buy one good quality belt that will last, then buy two cheap belts to go the same distance or less... One good quality belt will cost less than two cheapos and will last as long or longer than two cheapo's...


The question you have to ask is, "Who's @ss is walking when it breaks???"
 
If you have to hork on that thing to get it tight enough it's probably misaligned and/or bad pulley. You may have to add an idler in there somewhere so you don't have to crank it way out of alignment to get tension
 
I did make another discovery. The alt. was actually attched to a differnt screw hole. Meaning It used to be attached to the far screw hole, I had engine rebuilt, and when they reinstalled for whatever reason (actually cause they stripped it) they used the closer hole to mount it. I dont figure that would make any difference in the alignment or the way it sits, right?

Since putting the old belt back on, and not having it be so tight, it seems to work. But I still see it vibrating at certain RPMs.
 
gdizzle said:
I did make another discovery. The alt. was actually attched to a differnt screw hole. Meaning It used to be attached to the far screw hole, I had engine rebuilt, and when they reinstalled for whatever reason (actually cause they stripped it) they used the closer hole to mount it. I dont figure that would make any difference in the alignment or the way it sits, right?

Since putting the old belt back on, and not having it be so tight, it seems to work. But I still see it vibrating at certain RPMs.
Click to expand...


I would fix the original hole with a heli-coil and get it back to stock like it should be...

A loose belt will slip more and fail early. You need to be able to keep it properly tightened for better belt life and to make sure that it doesn't prevent the alternator from recharging the battery, not to mention it could also reduce the coolant flow if it slips on the water pump pulley...
 
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