Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2003 17:15:05 -0500
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <dhaynes@OPTONLINE.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <dhaynes@OPTONLINE.NET>
Subject: Re: Fan Belt Squeal
In-Reply-To: <F104ZC4R0Zyk6kl7mG400008c47@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Belts usually squeal when they can not develop enough grip to drive the
load. Lubricating the belt reduces the squeal buy allowing more slip.
This will in turn heat up the belt and pulleys and cause an early
failure. Motor oil will also cause the belt to deteriate. The Water
boxer alternator/water pump belt drive is an extremely poor design.
V-belts should wrap around a drive or driven pulley as close to 180
degrees as possible. The drive pulley (crank pulley), doesn't even wrap
45 degrees. This provides limited surface area for the belt to be driven
thus requiring everything to be in perfect order to handle the
alternator load. The alternator load will be greatest after engine
starting due to the battery needing a charge. This with a cold or wet
belt will create the famous squeal. The correct fix is to replace and
adjust the belt as needed. A good test is to be able to turn the engine
over by turning the alternator pulley with a wrench. If the belt slips,
it is still too loose. FWIW, I have yet to find an aftermarket belt that
performs as well as the special continental supplied by the dealer. The
original belts on FUN BUS went almost 90K. I've used every premium
aftermarket belt imaginable and I only get ~ 30K of service out of them.
Also check the pulleys for wear. They can glaze and get smooth wear the
belt rides. The alternator pulley can also wear to the point that it no
longer has the correct width/angle to be driven by the belt. Replacing
this pulley will often help.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf
Of Mark Dorm
Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2003 4:54 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Fan Belt Squeal
I'll have to try parafin (you can find in the canning section). I've
used motor oil recently and am having good luck (just the occasional
quick squeel... ). Hated the stuff made just for belts when I tried it.
Sorry I bought it.
>From: John Rodgers
>Reply-To: John Rodgers
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>Subject: Re: Fan Belt Squeal
>Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2003 08:35:09 -0600
>
>First, before doing eanything else, check the condition of the
>belts. If
>worn, replace!! You do not want to be caught out at some
>inconvenient
>place when a belt lets go - like maybe on I-40 in the middle of the
>prairie at midnight. Next be sure your belt tensions are correct.
>Even
>brand new belts will squeal if tension is not correct. Finally, if
>the
>squeal is still there, with the engine running ---- and be very
>careful
>of the hands, remove any long sleeved shirts, etc ---- press a block
>of
>parafin against the pully side of the belt and hold it there for
>several
>revolutions. The parafin will dress the surface and eliminate the
>squeal. Old trick I learned years ago from a really oldtime aircraft
>mechanic. Works on seat tracks as well.
>
>I never found a belt dressing that worked as well as the parafin.
>
>John Rodgers
>88 GL Driver
>
>Marc Perdue wrote:
>
>>Okay, so the '87 Westy is the oldest vehicle I've owned in quite
>>some
>>time, so I'm a little (make that a lot) rusty at these things. I
>>noticed that my fan belt (okay, it's not really a FAN belt, but you
>>know
>>what I'm talking about) has started squealing over the past week or
>>so.
>>I've also observed that a lot of cars' fan belts squeal more in the
>>winter time. Is this pretty much normal? Back in the old days,
>>when I
>>had a Ford truck with 246,000 miles on it, was a student with
>>negative
>>money, I'd just spray the sucker with belt dressing and be on my
>>way.
>>Now that I'm an adult (sort of) with negative money, I'm curious if
>>this
>>is still the best solution. My real question is this though: Is a
>>squealing fan belt necessarily an indication of a worn-out belt? I
>>know
>>what to look for to figure out if a belt needs to be replaced, but
>>it's
>>dark out just now and I'm basically lazy. On a vanagon, will a
>>broken
>>fan belt destroy the engine?
>>
>>Okay, that's enough of the stupid questions for the moment. Thanks
>>for
>>your support,
>>Marc Perdue
>>
>>
>>
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