Michael Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Now that my car "runs", I'm tackling practical problems. One such problem is the spontaneous ejection of the accessory belt (crank pulley, water pump pulley and alternator pulley). This is a Mark IV 454 with "long" (from a 1978 truck) crank pulley, a Stewart Components "long" water pump with stock GM pulley, and GM alternator on a semi-custom bracket. With belt tension adjusted for 1/2" of belt deflection with something like a 50-lb push, the belt will be thrown after ~1 mile of driving, if rpms ever rise above 6500 or so. I played around with offsetting the alternator to get all three pulleys more of less in-plane; doesn't help. Advice? Spend $2000 of fancy polished aluminum pullies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarrisonTX Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Check for allignment. Also, belts with the cogs on top (rather than the bottom) are harder to throw. Also, once a belt is thrown, it's done (according to Carcraft). Are you continually throwing the same exact belt? Try a fresh belt, with the cogs on top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnjdragracing Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Just to add a note: They also make different width belts, you might be able find the same length but skinner width which would make the belt deeper in the v grove. Just a thought / or reverse it, you might have a skinny belt and which is not wide enough to grip the V as well..... I have also change out the alternator pulley to the moroso bigger pulley which also has a deeper v grove. Also I would not think you would have turn a big block over 6500 rpm's to achieve the power you are looking for. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robftw Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 this was happening to me, I got pissed and just swapped over some GM pulleys and went 5 rib serpentine no problems since Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted September 22, 2012 Author Share Posted September 22, 2012 Thanks, guys! It was indeed the same belt each time. I played around with adding spacer-washers behind the alternator in hope of better aligning it with the plane of the crank pulley and water pump pulley... TBD. I'm rather accidentally buzzing the engine into its upper rpm range, because I still don't have a rev-limiter and there is no traction (despite welding the rear end... now I get two beautiful parallel stripes on my driveway). A decent rev-limiter is now priority #1. Any recommendations? The top-end is perfectly capable of supporting the high rpm (Brodix Race-Rite heads with dual valve springs matched to the cam, Cam Motion mechanical roller cam, Isky roller lifters, 3/8" hardened pushrods, Comp Cams roller rockers, blah blah blah), but the bottom-end is basically stock! Different topic now: oil-leak through front main seal. Hamburger oil pan, Bo Laws 3-piece aluminum timing cover. What's a good recommendation for an oil seal? The harmonic damper is stock 8" for externally-balanced 4.00-stroke BBC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robftw Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 Thanks, guys! It was indeed the same belt each time. I played around with adding spacer-washers behind the alternator in hope of better aligning it with the plane of the crank pulley and water pump pulley... TBD. I'm rather accidentally buzzing the engine into its upper rpm range, because I still don't have a rev-limiter and there is no traction (despite welding the rear end... now I get two beautiful parallel stripes on my driveway). A decent rev-limiter is now priority #1. Any recommendations? The top-end is perfectly capable of supporting the high rpm (Brodix Race-Rite heads with dual valve springs matched to the cam, Cam Motion mechanical roller cam, Isky roller lifters, 3/8" hardened pushrods, Comp Cams roller rockers, blah blah blah), but the bottom-end is basically stock! Different topic now: oil-leak through front main seal. Hamburger oil pan, Bo Laws 3-piece aluminum timing cover. What's a good recommendation for an oil seal? The harmonic damper is stock 8" for externally-balanced 4.00-stroke BBC. I use an MSD 8360 Pro Billet Chevy Ready To Run Distributor, its smaller than an HEI and has a built in rev-limiter function, Just get a summit racing gasket kit for the water pump / timing cover, mine had everything i needed in a single kit, i think it was 20$ How old is the dampner, i would replace it. I have a professional products 80001, its 6'' diameter and has a removable weight. Non-sfi approved, the sfi approved one is 90001 i think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leroylucky Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 I had the same problem with my ZZ4. Every time the wheels broke loose I would throw the belt. I went to the gator back belt and it was a little better. I finally switched to a Mach serpentine system. In the mean time keep an extra belt and a couple of wrenches in the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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