Need help on figuring out why my serpentine belt keeps coming off
#1
Need help on figuring out why my serpentine belt keeps coming off
I've gone through 4-5 serpentine belts so far this month. They usually come off while i'm idling. I hope I answer my own question trying to explain this but I just installed a new cam and it is untuned so it rough idles pretty bad. the cam is 232/238 598/601 lift. Would rough idle throw the serpentine belt though or could it be something else that was involved in the cam swap?? When the belts pop off it always destroys the fifth strand so all that is left is four of the bumps. It just doesn't sound normal for a rough idle to throw off the serpentine belt.
#5
That's the thing we got the balancer on as much as we could. We constantly backed the original bolt in and out to bang the balancer on until eventually I started stripping the bolt thread. at that point I cleaned out the crank nose and put a new bolt in as tight as I could. Is there anyway to misalign the balancer? It seems like there is room for it to go in more but it won't go on anymore even with a giant impact gun.
#6
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Have you watched they system to see where the belt shakes? If so, does it seem to be coming from the balancer?
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#12
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Two ways the tensioner can fail to hold the belt, both
of them probably "somebody else's fault" but can be
helped with a higher lip and stiffer spring.
Look down the belt-plane from the side and see if any
point (pulley) is out of plane from the rest. If so then
the belt really wants to walk off and only the lips at
the various points will prevent it.
A motor with a lot of stutter can pull and release the
tensioner on every hiccup making the lip less effective.
Which, or both, is the deal for you?
A higher lip, stronger tension spring will surely help
and a spring-less, fixed tensioner will be more immune
to motor jerking. But fixing the causes might be more
like a freebie.
of them probably "somebody else's fault" but can be
helped with a higher lip and stiffer spring.
Look down the belt-plane from the side and see if any
point (pulley) is out of plane from the rest. If so then
the belt really wants to walk off and only the lips at
the various points will prevent it.
A motor with a lot of stutter can pull and release the
tensioner on every hiccup making the lip less effective.
Which, or both, is the deal for you?
A higher lip, stronger tension spring will surely help
and a spring-less, fixed tensioner will be more immune
to motor jerking. But fixing the causes might be more
like a freebie.
#13
TECH Fanatic
If someone used too much muscle on the tensioner bolt when the belt was removed/changed the bolt can easily get bent. I used a breaker bar because the longer handle just made it easier.
Oops, the belt wouldn't stay on anymore.
Oops, the belt wouldn't stay on anymore.
#15
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This would definitely help, although I haven't used it personally, I have seen it done a few times.
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RAM CLUTCHES - MOSER ENGINEERING - ARH HEADERS - ARP - GM BOLTS AND GASKETS - MSD - NGK
POWERBOND - ASP - PRECISION INDUSTRIES - YANK - CIRCLE D - AND MORE!
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#16
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I have the Buick pulley and it's fine, but then I never
threw a belt before. I did have to sand the back of it
to keep from scraping.
There used to be people selling machined aluminum
ones that had an even higher lip. That's what I'd
recommend if you're having problems. But whether
you can find one when you need one, I dunno.
threw a belt before. I did have to sand the back of it
to keep from scraping.
There used to be people selling machined aluminum
ones that had an even higher lip. That's what I'd
recommend if you're having problems. But whether
you can find one when you need one, I dunno.
#19
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My old car never threw the belt but it was slowly shredding the edge and bouncing a lot. My tensioner was worn and leaning outward from the motor, pulling it out of alignment. It was actually shaving the edge of the belt and throwing fine rubber dust all over the place from it rubbing. New tensioner and all was well.