TheSamba.com :: View topic - Fan belt too loose

Mon Aug 11, 2008 6:33 am

I am maxed out on my adjustment for the fan belt (1700 stock - dual carb). The belt is a Conti 10 x 965. I tried another one and it seems to be just as loose. I know the belt is not supposed to be tight but this one has a good 15 cm's of deflection.

Is that too loose?

Does anyone recommend a shorter belt and if so what brand and size?

Craig

Mon Aug 11, 2008 7:21 am

something is wrong.

nothing wrong with trying to find a belt that will give you the right tension, but i would be looking closely at the pulleys and alternator bracket to see why the stock belt will not get tight enough.

Mon Aug 11, 2008 6:40 pm

Thanks Scott. I'll take another look.

Craig

Tue Aug 12, 2008 5:34 am

Sloride wrote: I know the belt is not supposed to be tight but this one has a good 15 cm's of deflection.

Is that too loose?

Well, 15 cm is about 6 inches. With 6 inches of deflection, how could the belt even be sitting in the pulley grooves of the fan or the alternator pulley?

Do you mean 1.5 cm?

Fri Aug 22, 2008 1:28 pm

Let's dig this up again because I have yet to resolve it and it seems to have gotten worse.

Dwill, I meant 1.5 cm's and not 15cms.

I have purchased two new belts. One a conti and the other at Canadian tire.

The new conti belt still requires me to go to full max on the adjustment and when I do so throws the belt.

I tried the belt from CTC and it thew it off as well and then proceed to chew the crap out of it for the 2 minutes it took to get home...

So it seems if I run the belt too loose it stays on and flaps like crazy but if I tighten it to where it should be it comes off.

Is it possible that the alternator pulley can be out of alignment. In other words, is there an in and out adjustment on it as well?

C

Fri Aug 22, 2008 1:50 pm

Yes, the bottom bracket that holds the altenator is attached to the fan housing with two 8mm cap screws, there is about 1/4 to 3/8" adjustment for in/out with that bracket.

When the belt is on, or with a straight edge between both pulleys you will be able to see the alignment.

Fri Aug 22, 2008 1:54 pm

busman78 wrote: Yes, the bottom bracket that holds the altenator is attached to the fan housing with two 8mm cap screws, there is about 1/4 to 3/8" adjustment for in/out with that bracket.

And a whole lot more when they strip and come out of the shroud, it happens fairly often.

Fri Aug 22, 2008 1:57 pm

post some photos of the alternator belt and pulley. show a photo of the adjustment slot in the alternator bracket. something is wrong. i've installed countless of those conti belts and never seen one that didn't fit, but if the alternator bracket is broken at the top or somehow damaged this could cause something like this. and like busdaddy says the lower mount might be the issue too.

Thu Sep 18, 2008 8:25 am

Have you tried taking off and adding shims vice versa to adjust tension? That should tighten the belt.