From what I have seen on the net over the years is belt failure is a common problem w/454's. Best information I have seen is:
It is usually due to a bearing straining or complete bearing seizure. This causes pulley wobble, seizure and/or misalignment, either throwing or breaking your belts. Some bearings don't restrain or seize until they are warmed up or hot, so they are hard to identify. Most of the time it's the water pump pulley bearing. If your water pump has over 40K miles, replace it w/OEM. This could be an air pump, water pump, or ac compressor problem. Fan clutch can go out and take the water pump with it.
I have included a front pic of an '89, 454 showing fan belt routing if someone needs it for reference.
Dave
(https://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi286.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fll120%2FBaileyDave%2FWinnebago%2FChevy%2F89454belts.jpg&hash=848362b1cfe16cefa94550f142fe823a6e95be9c)
It's seems to be a common problem with 454's. It's also easy to see why they would squeal. The belts don't cover enough area on some of the pulleys. The one around the alt to waterpump and crank only covers about 20 degrees of the water pump.
Ive found that if I install GATES belts all my problems go away. If you look closely most other on the shelf belts are thin and the angle of the V on these belts does not match the pully V so they wedge in and wear very quickly. The GATES belts on the other hand match the pully and sit at the bottom of the pully. Also screaming belts are caused by not enough tension.
Yep, that is what our belts look like, which as luck would have it we just replaced with Gates belts...all 5 of them!
Some of the belts go into a groove on the same pulley other belts go to. One is a serpentine belt.
In Dave's picture, there is a missing belt. Right below the alternator you can see another pulley...which is a secondary air pump. The belt is missing in the photo...could have been taken off because maybe the air pump went bad and seized.
By the way, apparently the air pump does more for your engine than just being an emissions control. It helps with the air fuel mixture atomization, and even improves performance and fuel economy. There are 2 fat hoses that blow pretty high pressure air right into your air cleaner housing as part of the process, so you can see how that would be beneficial.
That said, replacement air pumps used to be crazy expensive, which is why folks would take them off or disable them, because the small gain it gives wasn't worth the high cost of replacing the pump/pumps. Now replacements are available for around 60-70 bucks. I intend to keep my AIR system working.
Kev
Okay guys...on the one hand, luck is with me and my power steering pump is fine...on the other hand, I was once again shafted by my AZ mechanics! $@!#@!
There appear to be three belts leading to the power steering pump pulley. Two are loose, and the third has slipped from the pulley and is all mangled and chewed up, laying loose near the bottom crank pulley. I'll have to remove the belt in the morning to take it with me to get the right belts, which looks like I'll have to take every bloody belt off the engine just to get it off.
I can see the belts in Dave's picture above, but the image isn't clear enough to make out the exact routing...in other word, which belt goes over which pulley and in which groove. Anyone have a diagram or drawing of the belt routing for an 1989 454 in a P30 chassis?
Thanks ahead of time guys!
Kev
Also, anyone have any helpful tips for replacing and tightening the belts with the radiator still in place? I really don't want to have to remove the radiator, and it sure is tight in there with the radiator in the way!
Kev
Refer to page A-2 (pdf page 217) of the Chevy Motorhome Chassis Service Guide that is downloadable from the Free Manuals section for belt routing and information. THat includes OEM P/N that can be easily crossed to aftermarket P/N.
Dave
"In Dave's picture, there is a missing belt. Right below the alternator you can see another pulley...which is a secondary air pump. The belt is missing in the photo...could have been taken off because maybe the air pump went bad and seized." That belt drives the second pump AND the Alt so it really isn't missing, just a bit short W%
I want to replace all my belts soon, just need the incentive to pull the rad or whatever it takes.
We removed the AIR system completely. all belts resized appropriately... it didnt' change mileage or power.. then again we put on BANKS at the same time.... ours has RAM air intake in nose, front passenger side of radiator.
Kev - if you need.. I can get under Gone and phone you on what belt goes where.. granted no AIR system... assuming a 1987 is similar/identical to a 1989... no clue what brand belts my mechanic friend put on her.. but needless to say I am going to check all this or next week .... All were replaced last summer. One came loose off the hydroboost after a 2 hr run in hot weather... nice to hit the brakes and ... eeeks.... wrench took care of it....
Tina
OK, I will be nice guy. Here is the 1985 and Later P30 454 belt diagram.
(https://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi286.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fll120%2FBaileyDave%2FChevy%2520P30%2F1985andLaterP30Belts.gif&hash=e4c1f363e412f22bd6b57ea397215b6da24ae391)
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll120/BaileyDave/Chevy%20P30/1985andLaterP30Belts.gif (http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll120/BaileyDave/Chevy%20P30/1985andLaterP30Belts.gif)
Thanks guys! And thank you Dave! I downloaded the manual and looked closely at the diagrams, and it appears that there are only supposed to be 2 belts going to the power steering pump, but I'll crawl under the RV again before I go to the auto parts store. It just might be very possible that the mechanic left an old belt just laying there wrapped around the lower pulley...or it might go to another pulley...or I might be reading the diagram and manual wrong and it might be a third belt. I guess the easiest way for me to check would be to count the grooves in the pulley on the power steering pump...lol! I'll let everyone know what I find out this evening after I have fixed everything.
Kev
Quote from: ClydesdaleKevin on July 10, 2012, 09:25 AM
Thanks guys! And thank you Dave! I downloaded the manual and looked closely at the diagrams, and it appears that there are only supposed to be 2 belts going to the power steering pump, but I'll crawl under the RV again before I go to the auto parts store. It just might be very possible that the mechanic left an old belt just laying there wrapped around the lower pulley...or it might go to another pulley...or I might be reading the diagram and manual wrong and it might be a third belt*. I guess the easiest way for me to check would be to count the grooves in the pulley on the power steering pump...lol! I'll let everyone know what I find out this evening after I have fixed everything.
Kev
*Mine has 3 EDIT 4!, not sure what goes to what...yet.
(https://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.justanswer.com%2Fuploads%2Frlroot%2F2008-05-12_184134_42248388.gif&hash=3a021786c0bef23f3dc61c1067db67d1cfa6103b)
(https://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fww2.justanswer.com%2Fuploads%2Fobvondw%2F2009-10-13_172017_1987_92_74L_P_Model.gif&hash=0775b918178eb761fcd23fed7cadee49dc15fdfc)
Thanks Don! That last diagram was the icing on the cake! Ours is the lower right hand set up, with A/C and two air pumps.
No wonder the power steering was out unless it was at high idle or higher RPMs! Its the inside primary drive belt for the power steering that is off the pulley and mangled...so the middle belt, which goes to the AC, is the only belt turning the power steering pulley, which its not designed for, being a very long skinny belt that really only uses the power steering pulley as an idler pulley. The outer belt is of course for the upper AIR pump, which drives off of the main belt for the power steering.
As my crappy luck would have it, it is indeed the innermost belt, which means I have to remove EVERY other belt to replace it... $@!#@!
Hey, at least I have the diagrams now, thanks to Don and Dave! Its going to be a project, but not an impossible one.
So, off to the auto parts store!
Kev
Thanks Don! That last diagram was the icing on the cake! Ours is the lower right hand set up, with A/C and two air pumps.
With your PS compromised you must not have much boosted braking at those low RPMs ?
Quote from: ClydesdaleKevin on July 09, 2012, 05:30 PM
Okay guys...on the one hand, luck is with me and my power steering pump is fine...on the other hand, I was once again shafted by my AZ mechanics! $@!#@!
Ouch for your mechanics! That seems a bit harsh, unless you left out some details that would indicate this was the mechanic's fault. Sometimes when you drive a 20+ year-old, 10,000+lb vehicle half-way across the continent, "stuff" happens, don't you think? I know when I work on things, no matter how careful, thorough, and diligent I am, sometimes something goes wrong.
Having said that, as you're changing out your belts, keep an eye out for worn bearings, wobbly or misaligned pulleys, bolts loose or missing from brackets, or anything else that could contribute to premature belt failure.
Recently, my wife drove my pickup, and mentioned that for a few minutes there was a grinding noise coming from the engine, that then went away and didn't return. When she got home, I popped the hood, and two bolts were missing from the power steering pump bracket, the pump had gotten caddywompus, and the pulley grinded a groove in another nearby bracket. Strangely, all that happened without throwing the belts! So you never know. . .
Tommy
Its a long sad story about the mechanics I used to use in Arizona. If you read my threads about travel from Arizona and Oklahoma and even Kentucky, you'll realize I'm being more than fair with those incompetent idiots.
That said, I found out exactly why it threw and chewed the belt, even though it had never damaged belts before they touched it. I mean really, I'm not a mechanic, but I didn't find it all that hard to change out the belts and tighten them...but when installing that belt, I saw that the mechanic had damaged the pulley by prying on it to tighten the pump...why he pried it there, I'll never know! Its easy to get a pry bar in from the top, and tighten the nut! Anyhow, he gouged it and bent it inward...fortunately I was able to get my smallest pair of vice grips on the pulley and bend it back outward, and a little emery cloth smoothed it out. Another thing the incompetent idiot did was use too long a belt! I matched up the belt to the one that came off, and it was too long, and couldn't be tightened all the way on the tightest setting...back to the auto store I went, got a belt an inch shorter, and it was a perfect fit. Incidently, the belt the manual and the auto store computers call for is a good two inches longer than the belt my former mechanics installed, so OEM would have been way too long!
The other belts were easy to reinstall and tighten, and now all my belts are back in order, the power steering is working perfectly again, and the belt tightness is perfect after running the engine for 20 minutes (had to let the trans fluid warm up to check the level after the filter and fluid change anyway.)
It wasn't all that bad a job after all! Even the power steering pump tightening process, which was the most difficult, wasn't all that hard to do from above. In fact, most of the work was from inside the house, except fixing the pulley, and getting the lower belts lined up in the grooves before tightening them.
Success!!!
Kev
Congrats. To top it all off this thread has a lot of useful information to boot! :)clap
Dave
I see the adj on the top A.I.R., the alt..the PS pump..where else? i??
For future reference, you may find a square hole in the power steering pump bracket. You can put a rachet wrench in the hole and use that to tighten the belt. It's there to prevent prying on the pump body (or pulley!) Rick
There is an adjustment bolt for the power steering pump on the inboard side of the pump, and the pivot bolt for it is reachable under the RV. This is the first belt to go on...use a pry bar from above under the pivot bolt, and rock it back against the water pump housing, then tighten the adjustment bolt, and go back under and tighten the pivot bolt. On ours, the adjustment bolt was 5/8, and the pivot bolt was 15mm of all things.
The adjustment bolt for the air conditioning compressor is easier, and this is the second belt to go on. The pivot bolt for the air is on the bottom left corner of the ac compressor, looking at if from the back. The adjustment bolt is on the top right corner, and has a tensioner built in, so you don't have to pry it against anything, just loosen the big bolt, and get a 7/16 socket on the tensioner bolt and crank it down until the belt is tight, then tighten the big bolt and the pivot bolts, both 9/16.
The adjustment bolt for the top AIR pump is 1/2 inch, located on the right side of the pump, and the 1/2 pivot bolt is located on the left side of the pump. You can use a pry bar against the metal bracket to the right of the pump, but I used a piece of wood on top of that bracket to raise the pivot point and keep the pry bar from sliding while tightening the bolts. This is the third belt to go on.
The adjustment bolt on the alternator, also 1/2 inch, is located on the left side of the alternator, and the pivot bolt is located on the front bottom right. This is the last belt to go on. You can pry against the same bracket, through the hole, that you tightened the AIR pump with. Once you get the adjustment bolt tightened, you'll have to tighten the 1/2 inch pivot bolt with a box wrench, since the belt goes in front of it and you won't be able to get a socket on it.
All in all not a very difficult job at all, and I could probably change out all the belts the next time in less than an hour.
Kev
Good to know, Rick! I was wondering what that square hole was for! Although I found it just as easy to use my long pry bar from above, with the end under the bracket where the adjustment bolt is, and using the water pump body as a pivot point...there is plenty of room to work the pry bar from this angle and you're not putting that much pressure on the water pump. I guess it would be just as easy to use a long breaker bar in that square hole, but the pry bar does the trick as well from above.
Kev
Thank You!!
Just take a look above, Ken...a whole bunch of diagrams and pictures of the belts and how they go.
Kev
yeah, page one, scroll up from your post.
Thanks for the information. Very helpful.
Tommy
Now I've had my tribulation with a thrown belt. We just got back from a weekend dry camp and buggy riding near central Ohio.
I parked in front of the house to open up and check for zombies before backing the rig in alongside the garage.Thats 27 feet of motorhome plus a 16 ft tandem trailer.
Fired her up and CLANG CLANG CLANG and i shut her down. The fan was wearing itself out on something. Raising the hatch showed nothing so starting again the clanging almost immediately went away, Gauges were good, so I backed her in to park.
Last week I fully inspected and found the 6 rib alternator belt had shredded leaving about a quarter inch of belt left. Still enough to turn the alternator barely. Thank goodness it didnt happen on the narrow 2 lane rural roads over an hour from home and help.
The job went well as Kevin described, many thanks to those who posted diagrams and especially the pic of the engine since you cannot see the bolts so Dave, that picture was the best.
Found and put on a new Gates, my lovely wife help route the belt around the fan which proved to be the hardest part.
And by the way, our first weekend camping without power was flawless. Three new coach batteries ran the furnace all night, with lights and even a movie on the in dash dvd/player and screen I installed a few months ago. We did cheat and used the gennie for the coffee pot, but boiling water on the stove was also an option. We awoke to upper 20's and heavy frost but were warm and comfy.
I told Betty she was an excellent patient and as long as she took care of us we'd take care of her.
Yay!!! Glad you got it fixed and had an enjoyable boondocking experience!
Kev
I hate to sound really really STUPID.. but it seems there is NO OTHER WAY to change belts but take out the Radiator
and AC.. and tranny cooler.. whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.... :'(
sure miss my 4107 greyhound.. no belts...
I just bought a super nice one owner 87 Pace Arrow.. needs some minor things...
but with 62,000 miles....and the AC belt is already off...? I sure hate to think of allllll this work... for belts....
A person sure doesn't wanta make any mistakes while changing all the belts.. huh... :D
I was looking at the dog house.. box.....LOTS OF SCREWS holding the WHOLE box assy...... and it goes up past the
front of motor.. ALMOST looks like someone could close their eyes and work BACKWARDS and upside down form INSIDE the MH to change belts...
wishfull thinking im sure.. oh well...
The info on this site is great....
Last ownwer had the Qjet rebuilt cause motor didn't pull smooth form dead stop.. stumbled eetc....
I found broke vacuum line feeding Dist adv. and adv seemed stuck in diaghram.. took apart and cleaned... and BLOCKED ALL VACUUM LINES to everything.. but the Dist adv.....
and THIS THING FLYS NOW :)clap
A set of Hedman Headers... and GEARVENDOR.. should get me 10 mpg easy... at 55....mph...
also a set of LITE advance springs to bring in total at 2200 rpm...
70 YO Master Mechanic....that wants to puke thinking about all of the work to change belts....... N:(
Where can I download a manual for my 1987 P30 454 t400 Pace Arrow..
or at least a manual that shows
the Dis assembly for Belt replacement ?
thanks, Mike
I was able to do my belts on an 86' p30 without toooo much cussing W% . I do remember I couldn't tighten down the power steering pump belt until I had the AC belts tight. My power steering pump was the worst of the bunch, it took metric wrenches from underneath to loosen/tighten (which are the only metric wrenches I carry in the rig) I think I was in the drivers side wheel well!! But I also cut my "road hazzard" plate in half (It's the plate that wraps around the steering shaft and componets and the brake MC), to better access the master cylinder and the left side of the engine. I used a sawzall and cut carefully, then made a backing plate and mated it back together with 1/4" bolts. It worked great. I wish I had a pic....Makes it easy to do exhaust gaskets too.
Quote from: Seeburgrepair on March 11, 2014, 02:06 PM
Where can I download a manual for my 1987 P30 454 t400 Pace Arrow..
or at least a manual that shows
the Dis assembly for Belt replacement ?
thanks, Mike
First, the P30 chassis itself is covered by the GM manuals (3 manual set) which are available for free for site members here (Members Area button at top of page). If you do not wnat join the site then here is a post that lists the different GM P30 manual sets:
http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php/topic,4974.0.html (http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php/topic,4974.0.html)
2nd, the Operators manual for your rig is available from the Fleetwood site: http://www.fleetwoodrv.com/partsandservice/manuals.asp (http://www.fleetwoodrv.com/partsandservice/manuals.asp)
I do not know if Fleetwood provides maintenance documentation for their rigs.
Dave
I feel weird, it's not that difficult for me to open my dog house and get to my belts after I take the air filter off..I teke the air filter bolt out of the carb lay a blanket over the engine and I'm good to go. Not upside down mind you, but actually laying flat face down looking down at the belts. I loosen one or two systems (A/C or Alt depending on what needs replacing) to get the belts off.
Thats what I did except for snaking the belt around the fan blades.
GO HOLIDAY RAMBLER! It is easierish to do on these but I'm about to acquire an electric fan that will have the same CFM as the mechanical fan plus one on the exterior to eliminate the hassle. Has anyone thought about putting on all new belts, water pump, pulleys and basically overhauling the whole front of the motor while you have it apart? I'm just curious if it's worth the hassle and cost.
Never thought of that.
Post an infoblog on that fan conversion you did. Pics too if you got 'em. I'm curious now. I know that can recover some HP from the motor.
Thats what I did circleD, when I had the radiator out getting re-cored, I replaced the belts, water pump, fan clutch, replaced the bearings in the alt and air pump...fun stuff
I've replaced the belts, as needed, and when we removed the AIR system, and replaced the fan clutch... but knock on wood if it ain't broke don't fix it... thus knock on wood :angel: water pump, alt, bearings etc. still original... ??? Have about 78K on her now.
tina
Ours came with the mechanical fan and 2 electric fans...which I rewired to control from the dashboard for different heat conditions. And then I added a secondary transmission cooler and another fan controlled from the same switch.
Kev
Changed the belts today. Took about 4 hours with a lot of learning as I went :-[ The only belt that was really toast was the first one on (PS to crank stand alone one). The rest were in good shape and are now spares. The back of my hands and arms are a bit beat up, pretty tight in there.
Tools required:
1/2" socket
1/2" box end wrench
9/16" socket
3/4" open end wrench
1/2" ratchet and short ext. to tension the PS belt via a 1/2" square hole on the pump
Bar to tension some belts
Light
Mirror
2 bottles water :P
Seeburgrepair , I'm 68...you can do this !!!
Our '89 Winne has the belt set-up with Air Conditioning and two AIR pumps.
We had a complete cooling system overhaul by a prominent local shop in Feb 2014. The radiator was really leaking bad but I had been sick so we decided to just suck it up and pay a shop to do it. They replaced the radiator, fan, fan clutch, water pump, thermostat, belts, hoses. I don't know what the part numbers were because the final bill, which was huge, did not list parts-just big numbers for sub-systems. Grand total $2,762. They became surly and combative when I asked for an itemized list. LOL. I've been spoiled by my Toyota dealer I guess.
Well here we are, 600 miles down the road and something new falling off the cooling system every week. Lots of missing hardware and misaligned pulleys. Turns out the warranty was 30 days. I guess the old saying: "if you want it done right, your going to have to do it yourself" applies. I've read this thread very carefully but I'm still not sure about belt part numbers. Fortunately I've been feeling better and am in a better position cope with this.
Don, Kev did you keep track of the belt part numbers. (I'm especially interested if you found that the factory belt length was incorrect)
Gates:
Alt/a.i.r./wp=K060560
PS=3L410
A.I.R. (the lone one)=7450
A/C/ps/wp=3L610<---Should be 7612, the 3L is too narrow.<------OR a 60in narrow which I couldn't find.
The 61 in. narrow drops too far into the pulley making it "too long".
Today i discovered that the Shop which did my A/C did use the wrong pulley at the power-steering pump - the most outward and this killed the belt.
So I did it back and had the idea - there are two pulleys left - could I just strap a belt in between ?
[smg id=6806][smg]
I don't really trust the couple of inches in which the A/C is driven. So I would have more security for all V-belts.
If any of these three belts would snap - the whole system would be still running.
Could this be a good idea ?
Getting this thread back to belt failures etc. etc.
I spent some time customizing the belt diagram for my vehicle (1989 Chevy 454 CA smog-dual AIR pumps). I also found the GM part numbers for the belts and a lot of helpful but sometimes contradictory information on belts from NAPA, Gates etc. etc.
I'm going to try to track down all of my belts <before> I have a crisis and need them.
Interestingly, after having a complete cooling system overhaul in February (2014), I was in another shop having an alignment done and alignment shop helpfully removed a little spacer from behind the smog pump pulley that was causing the belt to be misaligned. When I picked up the RV they gave me the spacer and essentially told me that it was "an extra unnecessary part". Little did they know that the spacer was meant to go on the outside of the pulley and is necessary to prevent the pulley mounting bolts from (possibly) bottoming out in the tapped holes thereby leaving the pulley loose on the shaft. I just love this stuff!
In answer to eXodus's suggestion that he use the "extra" pulley groove on the water pump pulley to drive the a/c compressor.
Here are my thoughts: The "extra" pulley groove is used when the first AIR pump is installed. That is, belt D. Otherwise it is vacant.
So, it might work -but- it would have to be the perfect length in order to stretch along with belt B to get the right tension in each of the belts.
... hope this helps.
I think I have the same setup in my 88 Chieftain, so thank you for your diagrams. I remember mine is just like this setup. I am going to order all the belts. Having good luck locating cheap belts on rock auto, except for your "Belt C" 14087549. I am also having trouble finding a suitable one cross-referencing online.
I already purchased this one, but as it says its excluding motorhome:
GATES K060560 {Click Info Button for Alternate/OEM Part Numbers} Century Series Premium OE Micro-V Belt; K06-13/16" x 56-5/8"
Info (https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=4227&cc=1059353)Fan, Alternator and Air Pump; Excluding Motor Home
EDIT:
Ok, looks like this belt will be okay to use according to this excellent post: http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php?topic=11119.0 (http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php?topic=11119.0)
Yes, you should have the serpentine belt for the alternator, fan, AIR pump. Are you still running the emission pump?
When I bought mine, the PO said he had done the belts when he had the radiator out, going into a little detail about how much of a PITA it was.
That being said, my alternator belt is the one I have problems with. When it's warm out, it will lightly squeal for about 20 seconds or so, then all is fine the rest of the time I drive.
I've got a method now, it's start the engine, toss it in reverse with the foot on the brake, and slowly work the wheel back and forth a couple inches to drop the RPM's down. This results in the belt "catching" much faster than if I just let it high idle. I can watch the alt gauge go from around 12.5V to 14V. Once it's a bit past the halfway mark, all is well. When it's hot, and I restart it, it's never an issue, only when the engine has been sitting.
I've tried a couple times half-heartedly to figure out how the hell I'm supposed to get to this stuff. I can't get far enough under the dash to access the belts, as the A.I.R pumps and accompanying lines get in the way of everything, I can't get to it from the underside because my arms aren't long enough to adjust the alternator.....and I'll be darned if I have to pull that radiator back out, no idea how that's done. I think I just need to tighten the belt a bit, reckon I'll get to it one of these days...
Every time it squeals it is life out of the belt. I will bet the belt is cracked by now. Better to figure it out at home and not on the side of the road "One of those days" D:oH!
Don't you have a doghouse cover on the inside you can take off and get directly to the top of the engine with?
Did you try tightening the belt? The alternator pivots on a bolt to act as the tightener. Just loosen the bolts, rock it over to tighten the belt, and tighten the bolts. This would be from inside the coach after you remove the doghouse.
To change out the belts and hoses, it's fairly easy after blocking up the front end, remove both front wheels, remove inner wheel wells. You can pretty much sit on a bucket in there and work on the engine in the pouring rain and not get wet. It's a dream come true. If yours is tough to get at from the top, try from the wheel well.
Quote from: 87Itasca on July 29, 2016, 12:31 PM
When I bought mine, the PO said he had done the belts when he had the radiator out, going into a little detail about how much of a PITA it was.
That being said, my alternator belt is the one I have problems with. When it's warm out, it will lightly squeal for about 20 seconds or so, then all is fine the rest of the time I drive.
I've got a method now, it's start the engine, toss it in reverse with the foot on the brake, and slowly work the wheel back and forth a couple inches to drop the RPM's down. This results in the belt "catching" much faster than if I just let it high idle. I can watch the alt gauge go from around 12.5V to 14V. Once it's a bit past the halfway mark, all is well. When it's hot, and I restart it, it's never an issue, only when the engine has been sitting.
I've tried a couple times half-heartedly to figure out how the hell I'm supposed to get to this stuff. I can't get far enough under the dash to access the belts, as the A.I.R pumps and accompanying lines get in the way of everything, I can't get to it from the underside because my arms aren't long enough to adjust the alternator.....and I'll be darned if I have to pull that radiator back out, no idea how that's done. I think I just need to tighten the belt a bit, reckon I'll get to it one of these days...
Quote from: tmsnyder on July 29, 2016, 02:55 PM
Did you try tightening the belt? The alternator pivots on a bolt to act as the tightener. Just loosen the bolts, rock it over to tighten the belt, and tighten the bolts. This would be from inside the coach after you remove the doghouse.
To change out the belts and hoses, it's fairly easy after blocking up the front end, remove both front wheels, remove inner wheel wells. You can pretty much sit on a bucket in there and work on the engine in the pouring rain and not get wet. It's a dream come true. If yours is tough to get at from the top, try from the wheel well.
Maybe on a HR but certainly not on a Itasca or Winnebago. The wheelwells are not very spacious for sure.
I do have a doghouse cover, but the gap between the lower dash and the top of the engine is like a foot at best, and the belts are close to 2' under the dash. I'm a somewhat bigger guy, and I can't seem to get in there to do anything.
I'll get to it, just waiting for it to cool down. I might put 15 miles a month on this thing.
Alternatively, just keep an automatic battery charger onboard, then when the belt does snap, just hook it up to one of the coach batteries, set the switch on DUAL, and keep it on the 80A setting.
And really hope that skinny little AC belt that is famous for flipping off stays on to power the water pump! Quite a gamble.
Yeah, all kidding aside, I do need to get around to it. :-[ Just not high on the priority list when it's 115* with the heat index, and I'm not planning on taking it anywhere until November. Wait a month or two until it drops a few degrees outside.
Both on a P-30 chassis, same year, same tires, same engine, .... I would think access from behind the wheel would be very similar.
Quote from: Rickf1985 on July 29, 2016, 06:42 PM
Maybe on a HR but certainly not on a Itasca or Winnebago. The wheelwells are not very spacious for sure.
Totally different body.
Any of you notice many of the belts listed at your local FLAPS state: 'Except motorhome'
I had my serpentine belt shred on one side after 81XX miles (Gates Micro V K0606525) the local Oreilly had 2 belts and both stated 'Except motorhome. Those belts were both:
1. Gates Micro V K0605252. Gates Micro V K060525HD
Anyhow i had no choice but to purchase another K060525 even though I suspect this is the correct belt. Didn't replace the other 2 given I replaced them all at the same time Jan 2016 ~81XX miles ago. The other 2 belts are Dayco. I did end up readjusting the tension on them yesterday.
I suspect the serpentine went early due to the alternator bearings (rear) fell out roughly 6mos after installing the belts. That caused the shaft to tilt and seize allowing for the belt to spin around the pulley. Caught it rather quickly but it doesn't take much to damage a belt enough to greatly shorten it's life.
Do not have any air pump/s on this rig thank god.