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Alright, well my 98 LS1 keeps shredding/throwing belts. It has been doing this all summer. I have replaced Power steering (Turn one Pulley, and tried Stock pulley again), ALL the pulleys, and have even switched to a solid tensioner. I took it out and all seemed fine today, as soon as I hit the throttle a good amount I immediately hear the belt shred. luckily the solid tensioner kept 3 ribs on... so I was able to get home. I have probably went through 30+ belts this summer, and always get stranded. Every time I have tried replacing something, aligning the PS pulley with a laser tool made for it (as of now I have the PS pulley all the way on), and yet, still have no luck. I had thought the solid tensioner would be the fix I had finally been looking for. I wouldn't mind taking it to a shop, but the fact that it only seems to do it when I give it a good amount of throttle makes me not want to go that route.... I do not want some mechanic beating the hell out of my car.
I know people have had this issue and has been discussed to death, but I cannot seem to find an exact reason that this would be happening. I have had multiple buddies of mine look at it, some mechanics, and even they are stumped...
Car has a mild cam and stock internals.... I don't get it. I have checked everything I can think of.
Can anyone set me in the correct direction?
I feel your pain. I went through the same thing when I did my swap. Mine ended up being a pulley out of alignment. I wound up shimming the alternator bracket with a piece of a feeler gauge. It was that sensitive. It would just shred the belt especially when you poured on the coal.
Good luck.
That belt isn't right. What model of belt are you using?
If your pictures are post-shread and it has lost a lot of width, it definitely looks like the belt is walking across the pulleys - that would mean that something isn't lined up correctly.
If the pictures were taken at the same time, the belt is all the way to the outside of the tensioner, but inbound of the P/S pump pulley edge. Did this all start when you first removed the P/S pump?
That belt isn't right. What model of belt are you using?
If your pictures are post-shread and it has lost a lot of width, it definitely looks like the belt is walking across the pulleys - that would mean that something isn't lined up correctly.
If the pictures were taken at the same time, the belt is all the way to the outside of the tensioner, but inbound of the P/S pump pulley edge. Did this all start when you first removed the P/S pump?
Yes, this was after the PS replacement. it was when I started having issues. I was told by some, that the pulley just presses on tight, as there is a lip inside the pulley itself. Is this true? I tried that with both pulleys. What I don't understand is why the tensioner and the PS look aligned, and it looks as if the harmonic balancer is stuck out some. It could have been the way the belt looks, but the AC pulleys look out of align with the harmonic balancer also. I have the AC disconnected ATM but you can see where the belt would ride on the ac pulley and wasn't lined up with the balancer.
The belt I am using is AC delco 790k6
I feel your pain. I went through the same thing when I did my swap. Mine ended up being a pulley out of alignment. I wound up shimming the alternator bracket with a piece of a feeler gauge. It was that sensitive. It would just shred the belt especially when you poured on the coal.
Good luck.
Was this with the pulley on all the way?
And what brand of PS pump was it?
It definitely looks like alignment issues. What I'm seeing is that the belt is riding on the outboard edge of the tensioner pulley and the inboard edge of the power steering pulley (where it is being shredded). Something being off is causing the belt to be pulled in that direction.
I have the Turn One pulley and it definitely has a lip on the inside that allows it to bottom out on the shaft when installed for proper alignment.
I had this issue with a Taurus once (be nice...) and it ended up being the replacement power steering pump was the wrong model (the shaft was slightly longer). It shredded belts about every 3 days.
I used a straight edge and ran it across each pulley individually until I found the one that was out of whack. If you check each pulley and they line up properly, then I would next double check and make sure everything is tight, because my next guess is that something is flexing at high RPMs or a shaft is walking on you...
It's been awhile since I put mine on, but, I'm pretty danged sure the answer is yes. I'll double check when I get off of work and give you a definitive answer. (don't want to look like a dumb-a**!)
It's been awhile since I put mine on, but, I'm pretty danged sure the answer is yes. I'll double check when I get off of work and give you a definitive answer. (don't want to look like a dumb-a**!)
I have a billet PS pulley on mine and I used a special tool to push it back down on the shaft..
I also did a little trick by installing the belt halfway installed so I could line the pulley up with the rest of the pulleys and its been fine over a year since I installed it.
I went through a similar problem a few months ago. I found that my PS mounting bracket had cracked and was causing the PS pulley to be out of alignment.
Yea, I recall that the pulley needs to be pressed on. (Just tightening the bolt isn't enough.)
If it helps, I have a TurnOne pulley installed (operating normally) and the edge of it is 5.5 mm from the tank.
Assuming you measured at the smallest clearance, I was only able to measure about 3.6mm with my calipers, this is with the stock pulley pressed all the way on. The stock pulley and the turn one pulley I have are identical in size. I am going to start working on getting this PS pump off and take some more measurements.
Thank you all for the help, I will keep you posted.
Assuming you measured at the smallest clearance, I was only able to measure about 3.6mm with my calipers, this is with the stock pulley pressed all the way on. The stock pulley and the turn one pulley I have are identical in size. I am going to start working on getting this PS pump off and take some more measurements.
Thank you all for the help, I will keep you posted.
I'm also wondering if the pump you got may not be right and could be sticking out too far. (in the body or shaft)
10-06-2016, 07:26 PM
Belt keeps shredding, need help... 
