1995 C1500 Silverado Ext Cab 5.7L - Serpentine Drive-Belt Tension Issue
May 18th, 2018, 5:46 PM
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1995 C1500 Silverado Ext Cab 5.7L - Serpentine Drive-Belt Tension Issue
Folks,
This one has me kind of stumped. I have a 5.7L Engine with AC but WITHOUT the A.I.R. (Secondary Air Injection) Pump. I replaced the Belt Tensioner and the Belt Idler Pulley today (with new AC Delco Parts) after matching up their pulley dimensions to make sure everything was the same - it was. When I reinstalled the old belt (almost new - 1500 miles max) I found that the Belt Tensioner's Wear Indicator Marks read at the END of the Acceptable Belt Wear Range and NOT anywhere near the NEW Belt Range Marks. I then put the old Belt Tensioner back on (to see if I had an issue with the new one) and got the same reading. With the belt installed both Belt Tensioners are almost at the end of their adjusting range. :-(
So, I took my nearly new (1500 miles max) Dayco Belt to the parts store and matched it up against a new Continental brand Belt for my setup (see above) on a really neat 'Belt Measuring' tool they had. The Continental was only about 5mm shorter so my existing belt should be pretty good lengthwise and my Belt Tensioner should be reading close to the New Belt Wear Indicator Mark. So what gives?
I have owned the truck since new so I know all of the serpentine belt-driven items that have been replaced - the Water Pump, the Alternator and the AC Compressor (can you see where this is headed?). Is it possible that one (or more?) of these replacements had an undersized pulley (smaller diameter than 'bone stock') that accounts for the standard belt now being just a tad too long? The AC Compressor and Alternator were both AC Delco replacement parts but the Water Pump was a 'parts store' piece.
I guess this now comes down to whether anyone knows the proper diameter dimensions for all of the pulleys in the system and if there is anyway to 'adjust' one of the components to tighten things up. It would also be helpful to know if anyone has seen this issue before and how they solved it. I CAN add one bit of advice - if you replace something with a belt-driven pulley on it, make DAMN sure that the pulley is the SAME diameter (and width for that matter!) as what you are replacing, even if the parts supplier says it's a 'direct replacement' part!
Barry
This one has me kind of stumped. I have a 5.7L Engine with AC but WITHOUT the A.I.R. (Secondary Air Injection) Pump. I replaced the Belt Tensioner and the Belt Idler Pulley today (with new AC Delco Parts) after matching up their pulley dimensions to make sure everything was the same - it was. When I reinstalled the old belt (almost new - 1500 miles max) I found that the Belt Tensioner's Wear Indicator Marks read at the END of the Acceptable Belt Wear Range and NOT anywhere near the NEW Belt Range Marks. I then put the old Belt Tensioner back on (to see if I had an issue with the new one) and got the same reading. With the belt installed both Belt Tensioners are almost at the end of their adjusting range. :-(
So, I took my nearly new (1500 miles max) Dayco Belt to the parts store and matched it up against a new Continental brand Belt for my setup (see above) on a really neat 'Belt Measuring' tool they had. The Continental was only about 5mm shorter so my existing belt should be pretty good lengthwise and my Belt Tensioner should be reading close to the New Belt Wear Indicator Mark. So what gives?
I have owned the truck since new so I know all of the serpentine belt-driven items that have been replaced - the Water Pump, the Alternator and the AC Compressor (can you see where this is headed?). Is it possible that one (or more?) of these replacements had an undersized pulley (smaller diameter than 'bone stock') that accounts for the standard belt now being just a tad too long? The AC Compressor and Alternator were both AC Delco replacement parts but the Water Pump was a 'parts store' piece.
I guess this now comes down to whether anyone knows the proper diameter dimensions for all of the pulleys in the system and if there is anyway to 'adjust' one of the components to tighten things up. It would also be helpful to know if anyone has seen this issue before and how they solved it. I CAN add one bit of advice - if you replace something with a belt-driven pulley on it, make DAMN sure that the pulley is the SAME diameter (and width for that matter!) as what you are replacing, even if the parts supplier says it's a 'direct replacement' part!
Barry
May 22nd, 2018, 4:40 PM
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Folks,
Well Happy Day! All that took was finding the right parts counter guy at one of the parts chain stores (3rd one I hit asking questions). Seems like for whatever belt you may need (or are told you need) there are usually a few slightly larger or smaller (total length wise) for you to consider. My setup indicates I need a Dayco 5060968 belt and he said a Dayco 5060955 belt was about an inch shorter (just what I needed!) but that they didn't have it in stock and would have to order it. Then he did something that floored me. He said that the last six digits of the part number (060955) were pretty much universal between all the manufacturers, wrote the number on a note for me and sent me out to his COMPETITORS to look for a belt saying "If you can't find one give me a call back and we'll order one and have it for you Monday afternoon."....
I ended up finding a MasterPro K060956 which was just a few millimeters longer than a Dayco 5060955 (but still way shorter that my Dayco 5060968) at another vendor, bought it and it's well within what I need although the Dayco 5060955 would probably have been perfect. Mounted, run and stretched the MasterPro K060956 now reads about 1/3 of the way into the 'usable' scale on the tensioner and NOT at the end of the scale as my fairly new Dayco 5060968 did. Anyway, I'm a happy camper now and can't believe the guy gave me all of the info needed to solve my problem with no worry about possibly losing the sale. Apparently there are still some guys behind the parts counters that really know their stuff and are out to HELP the customer. The next time I need something I know what store and parts guy I'm headed for first!
Barry
Well Happy Day! All that took was finding the right parts counter guy at one of the parts chain stores (3rd one I hit asking questions). Seems like for whatever belt you may need (or are told you need) there are usually a few slightly larger or smaller (total length wise) for you to consider. My setup indicates I need a Dayco 5060968 belt and he said a Dayco 5060955 belt was about an inch shorter (just what I needed!) but that they didn't have it in stock and would have to order it. Then he did something that floored me. He said that the last six digits of the part number (060955) were pretty much universal between all the manufacturers, wrote the number on a note for me and sent me out to his COMPETITORS to look for a belt saying "If you can't find one give me a call back and we'll order one and have it for you Monday afternoon."....
I ended up finding a MasterPro K060956 which was just a few millimeters longer than a Dayco 5060955 (but still way shorter that my Dayco 5060968) at another vendor, bought it and it's well within what I need although the Dayco 5060955 would probably have been perfect. Mounted, run and stretched the MasterPro K060956 now reads about 1/3 of the way into the 'usable' scale on the tensioner and NOT at the end of the scale as my fairly new Dayco 5060968 did. Anyway, I'm a happy camper now and can't believe the guy gave me all of the info needed to solve my problem with no worry about possibly losing the sale. Apparently there are still some guys behind the parts counters that really know their stuff and are out to HELP the customer. The next time I need something I know what store and parts guy I'm headed for first!
Barry
May 23rd, 2018, 7:49 AM
#3
CF Monarch
Usually all a parts man knows is how to use the computer to find a part. They can't answer any questions either. The only one's I have found that know anything are the small family owned stores which are becoming extinct. Glad to hear that you found one that is knowledgeable and can help.
