Had some fun runs these past couple of weekends. Ran a new C7 Z06 and a C6 Vette and the ole truck did pretty good. I am having a lot of trouble keeping the damn main belt to stay on. I have checked alignment, put new pulleys, new tensioner and no matter what still throws it. I ordered a manual tensioner from Katech so hopefully that fixes the issue. Never ever had this problem before so kinda aggravating the hell out of me and installing a belt on a hot *** engine on the side of the road SUCKS! Also traction is nowhere to be found. Tires are old so I figure thats the issue with that so got some new Pirelli tires coming for the 22s. Even in 4 hi it spins all of first and going into second. Turbos with the 3600 converter come in HARD, really wasn't expecting to have such a traction issue at low boost. Already talked to Richard at Bogart and going to be ordering a set of some 18x10 Bogart D10 bead locks for all 4 corners so hopefully when I stick them with the Hoosier 325/45s ill actually get the truck to hook up. Learning some things with the new setup still, but having a lot of fun with the truck so far...

https://youtu.be/pxkXsM1P5og

https://youtu.be/GXGVZUMODaM

 

Going to a tighter converter will help the traction issue some and improve the top end also. Might want to think about a gear change also.

 

Truck pulls really hard once it gets traction, also we haven't locked the converter yet so once we do that for second and third truck should really pull up top. Going to see what the truck does with tires first then go from there. I'm not giving the converter a chance to really work with these old *** 22s lol. Once I get a good tire on the truck changes will be made from there. Also need limit straps for the front to keep the nose down. A lot of little things that really should make a difference. Will see how everything goes.

 

Give me a week and let's see how some good front coilovers handle the front end lift. You want to avoid straps if you can. Your ride quality will go right down the drain with them.

 

Sounds good looking forward to them

 

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you're not gonna like a swap from spring loaded to manual tensioner.

 

Seems like the only thing left to do now... I changed damn near everything to new parts. Did some searching around and seems like it fixes the issue, at least with other people's builds. Will soon find out if it fixes my issue, tensioner comes in Tuesday. Really starting to **** me off I have never had this issue before, can't do a pull without the damn belt getting thrown. I do shift at 7200 and truck shifts fast and firm so my thinking is the stock tension just can't keep up I guess.

 

Have you tried the shortest belt you can fit on there?

 

Yep...

 

The problem with the manual tensioner is that once it is set, it is set. So any belt deflection or stretching has no way to be accounted for. The biggest problem is that the load on the belt is not a constant thing. The amount of stretch changes as demand changes.

Just about everyone I've seen attempt to go this route ends up in one of two places.

Scenario #1. If you are going for a max blower rpm situation, the tension you are gonna need to put on the belt at rest is huge. This leads to premature bearing damage in both the engine and the blower (the blower gets hurt the worst). This will also lead to more frequent belt failure (which is what you are trying to avoid by making this change in the first place). Also, when taking this approach, I can promise you that (due to the insane tightness of the belt at rest) the blower bracket will be "in flex" before the motor is even running. That last point really only applies to centri blowers.

Scenario #2. This situation is where you have realized that this wasn't the right idea. So now, in order to make it work, you dial a blower rpm that is significantly less than max recommended speed as that is the only way to keep belt tension (stretch) in check without the ability to adjust as load changes (spring loaded tensioner). Basically what you are doing is finding a middle ground between "fucked belt tension" and some blower rpm that can work with a constant tension.

I know what you are going through and I feel for you man. There was a point in my D1sc days where I was considering the manual tensioner. After talking to people who have been there and done that, I never found one case where it turned out for the better (especially when trying to drive the blower at, or past recommended max).

I feel like I'm having a hard time putting my mind into words in this post, so forgive me if what I'm typing sounds dumb. If I'm confusing the hell out of anyone, let me know and I'll make an attempt to clarify.