Kwik accessory bracket issues
I have stock Fbody acc and Fbody Kwik backet. No squeeks, but I shredded 4 or 5 belts when it kept slinging off at high rpm. I got some help from Kwik & new larger pulley with sides. Still came off. I ended up after much trial & error, using 2 washers between the bracket & head on one bolt and one washer on the other head bolt. Its like the it was cocked sideways just slightly & the belt was walking off the compressor pulley. Since jamming the second washer in there it has been trouble free since. I know this doesnt relate directly the the original poster's problem, but thought it may help someone else down the line. Scott
Scott, thanks for the HU..
I talked w/ Wayne today.
He mentioned several items. Gates engineers are telling him:
If the belt squeals, it's a tension issue.
If it chirps, it's an alignment issue.
He also mentioned what Scott has done. He also mentioned that the Camaro tensioner may have "camber" in it, and be causing issues.
I had mine shimmed w/ a .032 shim. Seemed to work for a while. I checked the differences in angles between the face of the compressor and the face of the tensioner. I had 4.6* difference. Cambered toward the back of the engine. Took the shim out. No load, & it's now .4* back. [I'm hoping the belt load will pull it close to 0*.]
I am also mounting a dial ind to check deflection of the entire bracket... More later.
I talked w/ Wayne today.
He mentioned several items. Gates engineers are telling him:
If the belt squeals, it's a tension issue.
If it chirps, it's an alignment issue.
He also mentioned what Scott has done. He also mentioned that the Camaro tensioner may have "camber" in it, and be causing issues.
I had mine shimmed w/ a .032 shim. Seemed to work for a while. I checked the differences in angles between the face of the compressor and the face of the tensioner. I had 4.6* difference. Cambered toward the back of the engine. Took the shim out. No load, & it's now .4* back. [I'm hoping the belt load will pull it close to 0*.]
I am also mounting a dial ind to check deflection of the entire bracket... More later.
Last edited by Old Geezer; Feb 1, 2012 at 06:54 AM.
The dial indicator was what I was going to suggest. Although I find it hard to believe that thing is deflecting too much.
Jon
PSI
Jon
PSI
__________________
Your Source for LSX Conversion Parts!
www.psiconversion.com
Ebay Store
Facebook/psiconversion
Instagram/psiconversion
'Dont Let EFI Pass You By!'
Your Source for LSX Conversion Parts!
www.psiconversion.com
Ebay Store
Facebook/psiconversion
Instagram/psiconversion
'Dont Let EFI Pass You By!'
Update>>>>> Measured every detail I could on the stock tensioner. Found nothing out of the ordinary. [Tensioner was on the bench, so no load.] I "think" the necessity of putting a shim, [.093 in this case], behind the smooth pulley that Qwik recommends, pushed the pulley far enuf off the mount, that the tension pulled it out of alignment.[Camber effect.] The stud is a cheapo casting and does not fit the pulley brg bore very well. Put it back on. Now, instead of squawking at elevated rpms, it does it at idle & elevated.
[Someone mentioned that releasing some tension cured the noise. I tried it, and the damn thing went quiet.] Less tension less "camber effect".
Since there's no way to adjust the tension, I got pissed off, and ordered the KATECH tensioner. NOT CHEAP, but a nice part!
WALA! No more noise at idle. I revved it a couple times and still no noise. I'm going to take it out and melt some rubber and see wtf happens.
More later....
[Someone mentioned that releasing some tension cured the noise. I tried it, and the damn thing went quiet.] Less tension less "camber effect".
Since there's no way to adjust the tension, I got pissed off, and ordered the KATECH tensioner. NOT CHEAP, but a nice part!
WALA! No more noise at idle. I revved it a couple times and still no noise. I'm going to take it out and melt some rubber and see wtf happens.
More later....
Last edited by Old Geezer; Feb 7, 2012 at 04:04 PM.
Funny thing this thread came back up. Worked on it yesterday morning and brought the Gates belt alignment laser tool. Tried spacing the bracket with a washer for each bolt, also used a 75.5" belt vs the 74.5". Torqued the Katech tensioner down and tried it. Sounds pretty good, drove for probably 50 miles or so, got the rpm up pretty good and also cold started at 29 degrees. It's quiet for now but if I have any more problems I'm saying screw it and going with an F-body or C5 setup. I'm gonna wait until I have a for sure answer before picking out the AC compressor setup.
Sometimes mine would squeak or squeal at start up then go away after some drive time, other times the opposite would happen. It would be nice if a company would make a complete solution instead of saying 'buy our stuff, then buy tensioner XXX, then do YYY and hope for the best'. I'd return my kwik bracket in a heartbeat.
Sometimes mine would squeak or squeal at start up then go away after some drive time, other times the opposite would happen. It would be nice if a company would make a complete solution instead of saying 'buy our stuff, then buy tensioner XXX, then do YYY and hope for the best'. I'd return my kwik bracket in a heartbeat.
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die
Verdad Gallardo
Still not right.... More 
w/ the KWIK bracket and the belt noise..............
Went over each pulley, checked alignment as best I could, added the KATECH tensioner, tried various tension settings..No luck.
Down to these last 3 items:
1. Replacing the alt/ps bracket as mine has been cut for LS6 intake, and a bracket was made to hold the idler that originally was mounted on the alt brkt.
2. Confirming the correct location of the p/s pulley. I measured it and it is 3/32" out ft of the end of the shaft. [The pulley on my truck, [08], is flush w/ the end of the shaft.]
3. Shimming the a/c compressor brkt out off the head about a 1/16th.
If this doesn't work, the stuff is coming off, and I'll redo my engine mounts and put the stock **** back on.....
Guess I'll start with the a/c brkt shims.. That's the cheapest part....
w/ the KWIK bracket and the belt noise..............Went over each pulley, checked alignment as best I could, added the KATECH tensioner, tried various tension settings..No luck.
Down to these last 3 items:
1. Replacing the alt/ps bracket as mine has been cut for LS6 intake, and a bracket was made to hold the idler that originally was mounted on the alt brkt.
2. Confirming the correct location of the p/s pulley. I measured it and it is 3/32" out ft of the end of the shaft. [The pulley on my truck, [08], is flush w/ the end of the shaft.]
3. Shimming the a/c compressor brkt out off the head about a 1/16th.
If this doesn't work, the stuff is coming off, and I'll redo my engine mounts and put the stock **** back on.....
Guess I'll start with the a/c brkt shims.. That's the cheapest part....
Launching!
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 213
Likes: 3
From: Manitowoc wi.
All power steering pump pulleys are originally designed to be flush with the end of the shaft when installed. I worked at a GM dealership where we had some issues with these pulleys not properly installed from the start causing the very problem you are encountering.
TECH Apprentice
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 360
Likes: 1
From: Kansas City metro area
Interesting thread. First thing - I love my Kwik F-body A/C bracket. It is just what i was looking for. I did not any any billet stuff. I have to say that I did learn more about belt chirp and mutligrove belts than i ever thought. I always had figured that muligrove belts would tolerate minor misalignment but I was WRONG. A couple things:
I am using the F-body accesories that came on my '98 LS1
I am using Kwik's A/C bracket and a Sanden compressor
Dayco PolyRib belts are more forgiving than Gates belts.
I shimmed the A/C bracket with washer (
) and hid them as much as I could. I went overboard on the tensioner pulley becuase of the camber issue. It works good and has kept the belt where it belongs with no squel or chirp. Tire spinning starts and resoanably high RPM shifts have not killed the belt.
I am using the F-body accesories that came on my '98 LS1
I am using Kwik's A/C bracket and a Sanden compressor
Dayco PolyRib belts are more forgiving than Gates belts.
I shimmed the A/C bracket with washer (
) and hid them as much as I could. I went overboard on the tensioner pulley becuase of the camber issue. It works good and has kept the belt where it belongs with no squel or chirp. Tire spinning starts and resoanably high RPM shifts have not killed the belt. 
A couple suggestions that might help. Measure the pulley spacing to the first groove on the pulleys. Clamping a straight edge to the front of the crank pulley then measuring the offset from that to the first groove is the reference you should use. Don't use the outside edge of any of the pulleys. I had an aluminum saw guide that I used for a straight edge.
You can use the same straight edge and a caliper to measure the offset to the first groove on both sides of each pulley. That should tell you if they are square
Second if you had a noisy belt then try cleaning the pulley's with a scotch bright pad and some acetone before installing a new belt.
http://www.gates.com/brochure.cfm?brochure=1026
You can use the same straight edge and a caliper to measure the offset to the first groove on both sides of each pulley. That should tell you if they are square
Second if you had a noisy belt then try cleaning the pulley's with a scotch bright pad and some acetone before installing a new belt.
http://www.gates.com/brochure.cfm?brochure=1026
Sure nuf! With the idler in the stock location, and the p/s pulley flush, I tried the suggestion that came from Kwik...Loosen all the bolts and pull up on the compressor. Tighten the bolts going into the head while holding the compressor up.
Finished and started...Squawk gone! [For now anyway]. Nasty weather today. Will "toast" some rubber tomorrow and see if the fix is in...
Thanks all for the help!
Will report back w/ "road test" results!
Update...... Toasted some rubber this am...Squawk is gone. [At least from 0 to 100, that is]
I'm almost 100% sure that the p/s pulley position was the culprit. Sent Wayne @ Kwik an update, too.
FWIW, the pulley was only 3/32" too far out. One wouldn't think that in the overall scheme of things, it wouldn't matter..NOT!
Now, I can hear the stereo, dispense with explanations to those who think the engine may be ready to STB, etc!
I'm almost 100% sure that the p/s pulley position was the culprit. Sent Wayne @ Kwik an update, too.
FWIW, the pulley was only 3/32" too far out. One wouldn't think that in the overall scheme of things, it wouldn't matter..NOT!
Now, I can hear the stereo, dispense with explanations to those who think the engine may be ready to STB, etc!
Teching In
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 35
Likes: 0
Having the same squealing issue too. 71 Chevelle with LS3 using C5 Corvette
accessory drive and Kwik/Sanden high mount accessory bracket. The dam
idler deflects a lot like you guys said. I shimmed the lower bolt on the idler
that tensions the belt (3/32" flat washer) and the squeal is gone! I only
shimmed the lower bolt on that holds the tensioner to the bracket. Did an
all out 7000RPM shift and it didn't toss the belt and no squeal. Dam squeal
sounded like a vortec supercharger LOL
accessory drive and Kwik/Sanden high mount accessory bracket. The dam
idler deflects a lot like you guys said. I shimmed the lower bolt on the idler
that tensions the belt (3/32" flat washer) and the squeal is gone! I only
shimmed the lower bolt on that holds the tensioner to the bracket. Did an
all out 7000RPM shift and it didn't toss the belt and no squeal. Dam squeal
sounded like a vortec supercharger LOL
TECH Junkie
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 3,092
Likes: 11
I don't have my car running yet but I had to make one adjustment with my KWIK A/C relocation bracket. Using the recommended Camaro tension system I swapping pulleys per the instructions I had to us a .070" spacer between the pulley and tensioner. The kit comes with a .125" spacer which I found to be to much for proper alignment with the idler pulley. A .062" spacer would be better but I had the .070" material on hand and it works but just barely.
