[78w72]

starter adjustment/shim issue?

whats the plan for the still squealing belt?

[ZeGermanHam]

Originally Posted by 64speed

changed the flywheel too

I know, I'm just wondering if whatever you replaced it with is correct. Normally I wouldn't doubt you, but the circumstances of repeated failures within such a small amount of time suggests to me some sort of parts incompatibility rather than a parts failure. Fingers crossed your new starter fixes it, though.

[64speed]

The first flywheel was wrong. I admit that. It was a flywheel that I put on after my builder tested the engine. I had just a regular Pioneer on there and with the power I was predicted to make I went with the Centerforce. Well its externally balanced so I replaced it LAST time this happened with a Ram billet flywheel. This is the longest the starter has lasted. I think possibly I was only getting engagement at the edge of the flywheel and as the teeth on the pinion wore they started making crappy contact. It would still start the car I suppose but it sounds horrible and I would rather not take the flywheel out again. As far as the belt squeal, I used belt dressing and it worked for about 5 minutes and it made a hell of a mess I am having trouble getting off. I am going to get a 1/2 inch shorter belt if I can get it on there.

[NeighborsComplaint]

Back to your belt squeek ... I had a set of Gates belts I bought on Rock Auto. The power steering belt squeeled like a pig no matter how much I tightened it. I bought another belt at O'Reilly's which was same identical length and it was silent with half the tension. I know you have all the bells and whistles belt system, but in my case I figured old car means old stock and depending on how it was stored it could be hard as a rock.

[64speed]

Bringing this thread back to life. They have started squealing after the AC compressor replacement and they will not stop. It’s ALL of them. 3 belts. I have tried different lengths, different tensions, you name it. I tried belt dressing and it worked for about 10 miles but mostly made a hell of a mess. Any suggestions?

[64speed]

I am thinking about sanding the pulley grooves. Bad idea?

[steve25]

There’s something odd with your set up!

Something has to be off minutely in the alignment between your water pump pulley and the pulley on the balancer that’s minimizing the engagement of your belts on one or both pulleys .

At this point I would be questioning if your water pump pulley flange was pressed on the correct distance, or if one or both bearings in the pump are going south once the pump warms up some.

Go buy a 3 ft length of 3/8” threaded rod.

Remove your belts and on either side of the motor set the rod into the pulleys so that it spans them with as much length of the rod as possible sticking up in the engine bay.

When you do this site along the rod is there any slight tilt to the front or the rear overall when you view it?

Make sure it’s set as deep into the pulleys as the rod will go.

Using this length of rod should magnify the issue if the alignment is off even if only a little .

[TedRamAirII]

May not hurt to pull the pulleys and bead blast the grooves. They can get polished and slippery.

[steve25]

Also you do not want any paint in the belt grooves on the pulleys, as that will transfer onto the belts and reduce there gripping power .

[HWYSTR455]

I've never seen where sanding pulleys ever works, or at least not for long.

List the part numbers of the pulleys.

List the part numbers for the belts you have, too.

If you lost 3 starters and replaced a flywheel, to me, first thing I would check is if the starter was shimmed right. How many shims do you have on the starter and what's you gear clearance?

These are 2 separate problems, not related to each other, keep that in mind.

Couple statements that may help:

*Once a belt starts slipping, it's toast. Only replacing them 'fixes' them.

*Pulleys do wear out, and like the belts, only thing that 'fixes' them is replacing them (full set).

*Never use any type of spray or sand/whatever on belts/pulleys.

*If you don't know what the clearance is or the spec that was used to shim the starter, then the starter wasn't shimmed properly.


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[73ta]

Get a belt tensioning tool, sometimes called a cricket. I can guarantee you that what you think is a properly tensioned belt isn't when checked with the tool! Ask me how I know.

[64speed]

They are CVF pulleys and I think the belts are glazed. I do know they are as longer than they need to be because the adjustment of the turnbuckles is at its max. I am gonna buy 1/2 inch shorter belts and see what happens.

[64speed]

Originally Posted by 64speed

They are CVF pulleys and I think the belts are glazed. I do know they are as longer than they need to be because the adjustment of the turnbuckles is at its max. I am gonna buy 1/2 inch shorter belts and see what happens.

I need to be clearer on this. I have used shorter before and they too eventually started screaming. I just think like NeighborsComplaint said, these belts are old technology and have probably been sitting a while. I’m going to quit buying gates and Dayco because I am having no luck with them.

[VCho455]

Can you post some pictures showing alignment, brackets, and pulleys.?

[64speed]

Originally Posted by VCho455

Can you post some pictures showing alignment, brackets, and pulleys.?

I will as soon as possible. I have a very busy week this week.

[P@blo]

Too busy to snap a couple of pictures after you asked for help?

On your starter issue, do you have 0.100” clearance or more from your ring gear to the starter pinion gear? I had a Powermaster starter that a shim was needed to move the pinion gear back away from the ring gear and was contacting the ring gear making a chattering squeal sound at certain RPM. Without the correct 0.100” clearance the pinion gear makes contact as things heat and grow.

Belts, what size alternator are you running? My factory AC car runs a 70amp alternator on single groove pulleys. A v-belt will tap out at a certain amperage and it might be worth considering dual groove pulleys, or a serpentine setup, after you verify you have the correct alignment, belts, and belt tension. I suppose you could load the alternator and see if the belt slipping got worse.

Alignment
Correct new belts
Correct new belt tension (set, run, and check again shortly after)

It’s strange because most of the time it is the power steering belt and you do not even run PS

[HWYSTR455]

True on the starter clearance of pinion to face of flywheel, but the critical clearance is the gear mesh.

You should KNOW what the clearance value is, and the thickness of shims it took to get there. Many sharpie the starter, flywheel, or bellhousing with that value so it's always readily availalbe.



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[nytrainer]

I had similar issues with my PS squealing. Someone on here (thanks) told me to get a 17mm belt and solved the problem. So part number starts 17-xxx where the x’s are the length (sorry if that’s obvious).

[64speed]

Bringing this one back. I’m at my wits end. Nothing changed in the time my car has been down for the trans repair but when I got in it to leave the shop today as soon as I pulled into the road I did some spirited driving and sure as hell it squeaked like a banshee at 3000. Is there any hope without a serpentine system?

[HWYSTR455]

List the part numbers of the belts.

List the part numbers of the pulleys.

Take a couple pics of either side of the pulleys on the engine.

We are flying blind trying to help because you are not providing enough info to diagnose.


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