Accessory drive belt
02-12-2018, 09:24 AM
#1
Accessory drive belt
My accessory drive belt is squealing like a pig. I tried belt dressing and the bar of soap trick. No joy. I think I need to go down a belt size. I don’t have a standard accessory drive. I have a high mount Sanden A/C compressore via a Kwik Performance bracket, I just emailed Kwik to confirm their recommended belt size. Anyone else have belt squeal with a Sanden compressor?
Last edited by johnw999; 02-12-2018 at 10:22 AM.
02-12-2018, 05:38 PM
#2
Supreme Member
Re: Accessory drive belt
No squeal on the ones I've seen, but those were in a retro fit situation on an sbc and not using the Kwik setup. On a side note belt dressing is a waste of time and ends up doing more harm then good IMO.
Take the old belt off and buy a couple that are progressively smaller and see which one works the best. also make sure all of the bearings in the pulleys are good though.
Take the old belt off and buy a couple that are progressively smaller and see which one works the best. also make sure all of the bearings in the pulleys are good though.
02-12-2018, 05:51 PM
#3
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Re: Accessory drive belt
If the tensioner is within its range now, there's not much available by shortening the belt.
Might want to see if there's an alternate routing that would wrap more belt around whichever accessory the belt is slipping on.
Might want to see if there's an alternate routing that would wrap more belt around whichever accessory the belt is slipping on.
02-13-2018, 12:17 PM
#4
Re: Accessory drive belt
I would very carefully check the alignment of all the pulleys too. When I first put the LS1 into my car(stock accessories) the belt would squeal after several hours of driving. I replaced the belt and the noise came back after driving a few hours again. I had replaced the alternator and the pulley that came on the new alternator from the factory threw the spacing off just enough to cause noise. The alignment wasn't off enough to be obvious at first glance, I couldn't tell until I put a straight edge on it and looked very closely. I put the pulley from the original alternator on the new one and the noise went away, no problems since.
02-16-2018, 02:58 PM
#5
Re: Accessory drive belt
I got a response from a Kwik Performance rep. The recommended belt length for an F-body accessory drive with their alternator bracket is 101". They suggest Gates number K061005. The guy also recommended this video:
02-16-2018, 05:00 PM
#6
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Re: Accessory drive belt
You can get an idea of the belt length by running a piece of bailing twine (something that won't stretch easily) in the belt routing and measuring the length of twine used. You don't ever want the tensioner pulley to slap the stop so have at least 25% travel to the stop AFTER the belt stretches. I can't remember off the top of my head, but I think rule of thumb is assume 1/3 of the travel just from belt stretch. This means you need more than 50% travel remaining when belt is new.
03-04-2018, 10:56 AM
#7
Re: Accessory drive belt
I got the new belt. After I removed the old belt, I saw soap residue on all the pulleys, and I saw rust developing on steering components just below the drive. I’m going to have to spend some time cleaning up the mess. The soap trick fixes minor squeals, but it seems to be corrosive. At least I caught the problem in the early stages.
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03-06-2018, 04:23 PM
#8
Re: Accessory drive belt
I installed the new belt, and the squeal is gone. I'm going to buy another belt that is slightly shorter. The tensioner pulley doesn't have much travel left. What do y'all think? A belt with 100" instead of 101?
03-06-2018, 05:17 PM
#9
Re: Accessory drive belt
Rock Auto has a closeout sale on Continental belts, so I bought 2 of them. One is 100.5 inches, and the other is 100.3 inches. Plus, the belt has Quiet Channel Technology™, so I can't lose! 
03-17-2018, 01:59 PM
#11
Senior Member
Re: Accessory drive belt
Good info, I am using the Kwik Performance A/C mounts with a Sanden compressor on my build
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