Accessory belt rubbing on itself.

[Haav2]

After finishing my motor build I noticed that my accessory Belt is rubbing at the water pump pulley and the tensioner pulley. After driving it for at least 4 to 5 miles the voltage meter in the Dash goes down a bit, power steering gets a little bit hard, and car starts to die at stoplights. I'm thinking that the belt heats up and expands to the point where the touching spots at wtr pump and tensioner make too much resistance and slows down the speed leading to my car dying at stoplights, harder steering etc...

Before my rebuild I had ac.
Now I have a billet ac delete pulley kit from upr in it's place. I'm also running a vortech v3, so my alternator is on the bottom left side,under my smog pump delete pulley.

Here's a pic of what I mean.


Let me know if this is a common problem when using an AC delete pulley. Should I just put the pwr steering pump in its place?

[EastTNMustang]

Can you adjust the tensioner pulley up any? 1/2 an inch adjustment would solve your issue.


SMR #8017

[Haav2]

There isn't really any adjustment on the tensioner. Even if there was, wouldn't that throw off the tension?

[Strange Mud]

idk about on this one but sometimes you can rotate the tensioner unit itself 90 deg.

[Revvv]

You may need to build a bracket and move the tensioner up a bit, or fabricate a bracket that will support an idler pulley.

[Haav2]

I'm gonna pull it off today and see what I can do

[Strange Mud]

what I see of the motor looks sweet....

[TMC1]

Just yell at the belt, tell it to stop rubbing itself or it will go blind.

[RBK]

Those tensioner pulleys usually move up and down. If you could find a belt just an inch shorter wouldn't that push the pulley up and give you clearance where the belt rubs against itself? Just a thought. Other than that a smaller pulley on the tensioner.

[francis ogilvie]

did you try a different belt? Maybe 1" shorter?

[straybullitt]

Try the next size smaller belt.

[Revvv]

Originally Posted by RBK

Those tensioner pulleys usually move up and down. If you could find a belt just an inch shorter wouldn't that push the pulley up and give you clearance where the belt rubs against itself? Just a thought. Other than that a smaller pulley on the tensioner.

Good idea

[Revvv]

It may be possible to replace the pulley on the tensioner with a smaller diameter pulley.

[Haav2]

I pulled The tensioner off I couldn't find any adjustment screws or anything like that. I just saw a small peg that goes in the hole on the other side that the tensioner bolts onto. I'm gonna try looking for a smaller pulley for the tensioner, hopefully I can find one at autozone or advance auto parts.

[Haav2]

Originally Posted by TMC1

Just yell at the belt, tell it to stop rubbing itself or it will go blind.

Lol!!

[smurf stang]

The original tensioner is spring loaded and I am assuming this one is fixed? There should be some adjustment some where?

[Haav2]

Hey guys, sorry for the late responsive. I've been testing many options like 4 different belt sizes, two different tensioner pulleys and no luck. I finally ended up taking the tensioner off the bracket and saw a pin from the tensioner that goes in a hole. I drilled another hole a 1/4" lower and put the pin in there making the tensioner shift its position up a little. I was able to use the same tensioner pulley as before too. So far the car doesn't shut off and steering wheel doesn't get hard to turn. Thanks for all the suggestions!!

[Revvv]

Any pics of the new setup?

[Haav2]

I will post some pictures after work.

[Haav2]

Sorry for the lengthy delay. Here are some pics of the tensioner re-positioning. The belt no longer rubs on itself. Sadly, the car still shuts off at stop lights after driving a few miles.




Perhaps it could be a sensor? I noticed that the coolant temp sensor has an identical plug right next to it, so I switch the plugs for s&g's. So far it idles smoother but that could be temporary


Don't know if it's related or not but when my headlights are on and I turn the fan on full blast in the interior the car starts to sputter then shuts off within seconds.

[Revvv]

Originally Posted by Haav2

Sorry for the lengthy delay. Here are some pics of the tensioner re-positioning. The belt no longer rubs on itself. Sadly, the car still shuts off at stop lights after driving a few miles.
Attachment 238025

Attachment 238033

Perhaps it could be a sensor? I noticed that the coolant temp sensor has an identical plug right next to it, so I switch the plugs for s&g's. So far it idles smoother but that could be temporary
Attachment 238041

Don't know if it's related or not but when my headlights are on and I turn the fan on full blast in the interior the car starts to sputter then shuts off within seconds.

How is the alternator, battery, and ground connections?

[smurf stang]

When I did a battery relo I had a terrible voltage problem even after I upgraded my alt. It turned out to be crappy ground straps. I replaced the OEM ground straps with some that I made and made sure that they were secured attached to clean thick steel. Also the ground cable I made was out of 0 gauge wire and as short as possible.

[Strange Mud]

Originally Posted by Revvv

How is the alternator, battery, and ground connections?

this and also check voltages when running 13.5-14.5 or so.