Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1998 09:41:31 -0700
Reply-To: Rich <rdunsheath@AKAMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Rich <rdunsheath@AKAMAIL.COM>
Organization: **
Subject: Re: V-belts
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David,
I don't think it is a big deal to use Flaps belts. I just
pulled my heads
and put on rebuilt heads and new gaskets. I had to pull
off the AC,
the distributor, and the PS pump; I also put on one of the
Bus Depot's
german water pumps while I was at it. Since all the belts
were off, I had a
chance to check the belts carefully. Only the PS belt
showed any signs of
deterioration or cracking between the teeth.
I took the belt to my FLAPS, (Autozone, BTW) and asked him
to match it.
He took one look at it and was back in a jiffy with a
match in hand,
When I got it back to the house, I checked both belts
carefully. The new
belt was a Goodyear. Upon closer inspection, I found that
the old belt was
also a Goodyear. It was obvious that the old belt had
lasted for years and
had never failed.
When I put the new belt on I was a little concerned
because when I tightened
the adjustment all the way tight, there was still some
slack. After running
the belt for a short time, the pump works fine and the
belt seems a little tighter.
After thinking about if for a while, I thought that by now
Goodyear prolly knows
how to make a belt. I imagine that plenty of other
companies know how to as well.
I think I remember some information on the list that said
that VW belts were an
odd size and were tough to get. Also, I think that Conti
does supply VW with belts.
VW doesn't make their own belts, I don't believe. Most
car makers buy a lot of stuff
from other suppliers. Those suppliers are then refereed
to as OEM or original
equipment manufacturers. GM makes many of its own parts
in its Delco division, but
it has found that it can't make parts as cheaply using UAW
labor as it can buy them.
Now GM wants to sell off Delco. Having trouble finding
buyers and that is one of the
reasons for the recent strike and will be an issue in
future strikes.
If I was you, I'd go ahead and put the new belts on and
carry around the old ones as
spares. It is much easier to do a repair at your own time
and place. Remember
Murphy's Law is still in force and I think that there is
some kind of VW
amendment that says. "That goes double for any fool that
drives a VW!"
David-M wrote:
>
> I was going to buy a set of spare v-belts to carry around in my '87
> Vanagon, but when I compared the specs in my owners manual with the
> items on the Bus Depot site I found the following:
>
> A/C belt, VW=12.5x1153 BD=13x1160
> Alt belt, VW=9.5x1100 BD=10x1100
> P/S belt, VW=9.5x1080 BD=10x1080
>
> Should I be concerned about the size discrepancy? The Bus Depot belts
> are described as "Continental" belts.
> The VW owners manual does stress to use only VW belts, but I would
> expect that. Can spare belts be gotten at any FLAPS, or are the German
> ones any better.
--
Regards,
Rich Dunsheath
***************************************
Bryan, TX (1 hour north of Houston,
3 hours east of San Antonio,
3 hours south of Dallas.
Near Texas A&M)
1982 Vanagon Santa Maria (Mary)
1982 Vanagon San Diego (Sandy)
1987 Maroon Vanagon Aggie