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Pulley upgrade, tired of squeeking belts, any hints

bot0611

bot0611

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I got standard V belts on the engine but the damn alt pulley keeps squeeking so i thouhg a pulley upgrade might help, any ideas.


Are the 80's camaro pulleys suitable
 
http://www.marchperf.com/csb_pulleys.html

might be alittle pricey, but it keeps your standard accessories and individual belts, the other option would be use a later model serpentine, but then you'd need the brackets, all the new pulleys and a reverse rotation water pump.

you've tried a new belt on that alternator?
 
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Try a Goodyear belt with the notches. They seem to squeak less as the notches/ teeth are trying to climb out of the groove and force it tighter.
 
How's the alignment of the pulleys? Condition of the belt? Correct tension?

If everything is in the correct working order, you shouldn't have any squeaks. Take a straight edge and place it against the pulley on the water pump, same thing with the crank (I'm assuming you have the style where water pump/alternator have same belt, power steering is it's own belt). The pulleys should be in line with each other. If the squeaking just started, I'd look at the belt or the tension on it.

On the other hand, it may even be a bearing starting to go out.
 
toomany said:
How's the alignment of the pulleys? Condition of the belt? Correct tension?

If everything is in the correct working order, you shouldn't have any squeaks. Take a straight edge and place it against the pulley on the water pump, same thing with the crank (I'm assuming you have the style where water pump/alternator have same belt, power steering is it's own belt). The pulleys should be in line with each other. If the squeaking just started, I'd look at the belt or the tension on it.

On the other hand, it may even be a bearing starting to go out.
Click to expand...

Thats what think too. V-belt systems where not in use for over 50-years because they did not work.

Also, check the upper Alt mounting bracket for cracks. GM upper Alt mounting brackets are notorius for cracking when they get old.
 
For a quick fix try running a bar of soap on the underside while its running,but please watch your hands!!
 
i had the same problem also , the previous owner had the pulleys misaligned and it had an awful squeal until i readjusted all of the accessory brackets and realigned all of my pulley! now my squeal is gone :D
 
i had to space out my alternator pulley 1/8 inch to make it allign correctly when i got my truck.it was eating up the belts and squeeling pretty good at high rpm.i also changed out the water pump pully for a aluminum shiny one.the original was a lil bent.
 
The pulleys are aligned, and it sqeels sometimes when i start the engine and when at first give it gas after a warm up, cappy belts maybe
 
Check the Alt brackets for cracking. If a bracket is cracked, then the belt and pullys may appear inline, while not under a load from the accellorator, but can be pulled out of align when under a load from accelleration.
 
I don't mean to harp on you but that really sounds like the wrong tension. Does it go away when you rev it up. Goodyear belts are way better when it comes to dealing with slightly wrong tension and lasting forever
 
yes, because after 50 years of V-belts, they finally realized, they suck, especially when they get wet.

even if you don't go with the new style of serpentine, still going with a serpentine belt like the link i posted for the March setup is a much better belt design, quieter, more reliable and grip better than v-belts.

ya don't have to go with the "March" serpentine kits, (ribbed belt kit) it's just the main one i thought of to look up, i do believe other places sell a serpenting pulley kit to use your standard accessories.

of course this is just my personal opinion and a definate preference.
 
How long is the bar you are using to put tension on the alternator while you tighten the bolts up?

a) long
b) really long
c) not even pulling it tight at all


I'm not saying that a serpentine belt wouldn't be a better setup. This has been discussed here many times. Sometimes people get in a rush to just rip stuff out when it's giving them problems, so slow down. Sometimes the conversion is a waste of money and sometimes it brings in a new set of headaches. V-belt systems can work - figure out what's wrong. The fix might be 100x easier than ripping it all out.
 
high quality belt will make a big difference also as was said.i have the thicker napa ones on mine for the alternator and water pump....ill have to look but i think they are from goodyear also.i know my power steering has a goodyear.they seem to be a lil bit thicker than a standard off the wall belt.they do last.its still on my truck 10 years later.i would love to have the serpentine setup but money is always an issue and it works fine in stock form as long as everything is aligned and belts are thick enough to grip the pulleys tight.tention is always an issue with belts also.serp setup has a idler to always make the tention correct.where belts stretch as they wear out and need to be checked and readjusted at least every few months.when you have the right tention which should not be able to push more than 1/2 inch in on the belt when its tentioned correctly.any more or less and you must readjust the tention
 
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