Shredding serpentine belts

[winbasic]

Hi,

My Volvo Penta seems to have an appetite for belts. I have installed a new sea pump and I've removed the alternator and had some surface rust cleaned off it and had it repainted. There is a slight amount of rust on the power steering wheel but the belt seems to be tearing apart from misalignment.

So I've got a few questions which I'm hoping someone will point me in the right direction with :-

1) I notice that when the engine is running, the idler tensioner seems to be moving quite a bit - should there be much movement in this idler arm?

2) How difficult is it to either remove the power steering pump or just remove the wheel off the front of it so I can get it blasted and repaint it?

3) The seapump is on firmly with no movement in the wheel. The power steering has no movement in the wheel and the alternator has no movement in its wheel. So if there are no movement in the wheels, is there some way of checking and adjusting the belt alignment?

Hope someone can shed some light on this for me - thanks in advance!!

Kind Regards,

David.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Shredding serpentine belts

Ayuh,...
#1,.. Those tend to be somewhat Bouncy...
#2,.. It's Pressed on,+ requires a Puller to remove the pulley...
#3,.. Use a straight edge against the faces of the pulleys to check alignment...

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Shredding serpentine belts

Double check the belts you are purchasing. A friend of mine had the same problem and it was simply the wrong belt. The width and depth of the "V" or of the cogging on the belt play a part.

 

[Don S]

Re: Shredding serpentine belts

Also check the idler pulleys. If they have bad bearings and setting at an angle they push the belt to one side.

 

[winbasic]

Re: Shredding serpentine belts

Thanks guys for the reply. I'm using Volvoa Penta original belts from the VP dealer and I've shredded two of them now. As for the pulley removal on the power steering; if I use a puller to remove it, how do I get it back on?

The tensioner still has plent of tension in the spring but is it possible that it's the issue? The other pulleys seem to spin freely and don't have any movement in them. I'll try and put a square edge against them and see if they look out of line.

 

[cr2k]

Re: Shredding serpentine belts

Well now you need a pulley pusher. Just kidding. it is a press fit. I think there is an installer for that pulley.

Check the idler pulley for bearing wear and any slop and side play.
A lot of times these are the cause.

 

[winbasic]

Re: Shredding serpentine belts

Well now you need a pulley pusher. Just kidding. it is a press fit. I think there is an installer for that pulley.

Check the idler pulley for bearing wear and any slop and side play.
A lot of times these are the cause.

Are teh idler tensioners easy to replace? I'm thinking that as there's a bit of corrosion on it then perhaps it's best I replace it but I'm concerned that with all the tension on it, I won't get it back on easy so just wondering if there's any tricks.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Shredding serpentine belts

Any corrosion is going to eat your belts.

 

[Fishermark]

Re: Shredding serpentine belts

I notice that when the engine is running, the idler tensioner seems to be moving quite a bit - should there be much movement in this idler arm?

I'm not a Volvo guy... but I had the same exact problem in my Suburban with a 454. I suddenly started going through the serpentine belts - turned out to be a bad idler tensioner. I believe the bearing was going bad and allowing the spring tension to pull it off line. Replaced it and had no further problems. Again, I am not familiar with your Volvo setup... so it may or may not be of help.

 

[winbasic]

Re: Shredding serpentine belts

I'm not a Volvo guy... but I had the same exact problem in my Suburban with a 454. I suddenly started going through the serpentine belts - turned out to be a bad idler tensioner. I believe the bearing was going bad and allowing the spring tension to pull it off line. Replaced it and had no further problems. Again, I am not familiar with your Volvo setup... so it may or may not be of help.

Sounds like a similar setup - I used to have a 350 Chev LS1 in my car and it had a similar idler tensioner setup. Was it hard to replace? I'm concerned about undoing bolts and having it spring everywhere or not being able to get it bolted back onto the block in the correct position.

 

[cr2k]

Re: Shredding serpentine belts

The tentioners only move a little. use a crecent wrench on the flats on it to remove your old belt and that is all the tension there is. Most of the time you can replace the bearing, usually a 6202 or simular. But some are really pressed in hard. You may have to replace the whole unit.

 

[Fishermark]

Re: Shredding serpentine belts

Was it hard to replace? I'm concerned about undoing bolts and having it spring everywhere or not being able to get it bolted back onto the block in the correct position.

It was not difficult. You want to remove the belt first, and thus relieve the spring tension. Then it simply unbolts as an assembly and is replaced as an assembly. That's IF (and a big "if"), it is the same type of setup.

By the way, I flew into Brisbane years ago and spent some time in your neck of the woods. Beautiful country you have there!

 

[winbasic]

Re: Shredding serpentine belts

It was not difficult. You want to remove the belt first, and thus relieve the spring tension. Then it simply unbolts as an assembly and is replaced as an assembly. That's IF (and a big "if"), it is the same type of setup.

By the way, I flew into Brisbane years ago and spent some time in your neck of the woods. Beautiful country you have there!

Thanks for the headsup - makes sense so I'll order the parts and see how I get on. Brisbane is certainly undergoing a few changes at the moment that's for sure. Great climate and brilliant boating conditions given we've got a large sheltered bay and also quite a few islands to the south all in close cruising proximity for all different weather conditions.

Which neck of woods are you from?

 

[Fishermark]

Re: Shredding serpentine belts

Which neck of woods are you from?

I live in Southwest Florida. When I was in Australia, I flew into Brisbane, then spent the majority of my time up in Mackay - and then a week on Magnetic Island off of Townsville. Of course that was in 1981... I suppose things have changed somewhat since then!

Good luck on the repair - be sure to tell us the results.

 

[winbasic]

Re: Shredding serpentine belts

One of my clients is an aviation mechanic (turbines, not piston which is even stranger!) and he had a look at the tensioner and said that it looks like it is just about worn out. Apparently there is an inclinometer stamped on it which shows you when the tension is nearly expired and this is nearly at that mark which could explain why after a run with high revs, the belt is flogging out.

So I've ordered new idler pulleys, new tensioner and I'm going to get a pulley to remove the power steering pump pulley so I can sand blast that so hopefully after that is all done and I line it all up with a straight edge, it'll be good as new! Parts are on order so I'll post back when the repair has been done.

Thanks to everyone for their help - it's been greatly appreciated!

 

[winbasic]

Re: Shredding serpentine belts (follow up)

Re: Shredding serpentine belts (follow up)

Hi Guys,

I thought I'd post a followup to this. I went down to the boat today and installed a new pulley and a new tensioner. I see why I had problems working out how to move the tensioner to put the new belt on - the bottom part where the 1/2" drive goes in was broken off. I installed the new one and placed the belt back on and started it and immediately noticed the difference. Previously the tensioner moved quite a bit, even at idle. Now, no movement and even when reving, only limited movement so I suspect that the old tensioner was losing tension and causing the belt to run out of alignment when running at higher revs.