la2baja
June 8th, 2005, 17:55
Hi guys. Back from the 500 and found a flaw in the pulley set up for the 351 ford motor (1995 f-150) that someone has surely changed already. In Rosarita beach I lost my belt as I was just getting off the highway. Pulled over and found that the tension/idler pulley had snapped the main bolt that mounts it to the bracket. The pulley was still held on by the spring but unable to create tension, or even keep the belt on it. The bracket is a big cast piece of junk that holds the alternator and is where the pulley bolt threads into it. We were 50 feet from a Napa auto parts (very lucky) so the quick fix was to get a shorter belt that was perfectly sized and skipped the pulley all together. It worked fine. My boy Steve had to run to NApa 3 different times to get an exact fit but what the hell we got home. Unless there is a better fix, I am going to drill out the cast steel that the pulley bolt snapped off in and replace the stock crap with a grade 8 bolt and an actual nut to insure that if it happens again I can replace it in the dirt without major issues. My question is..... Is there a better way? Has anyone redisigned this thing so the belt doesn't rely on such a flimsy little bolt? Can the motor/belt survive with an idler pulley that is not spring loaded and is manually adjusted? This is a chase truck, so it has to be dependable. I would love to just give it a shot and see if it works but can't afford to leave a race car stranded because I'm guessing at a fix.......
Oh, other options losing the whole serpentine belt for multiple belts to each system so if I lose one I can continue to run the altenator and power steering without a/c and uneeded stuff? Limp mode I guess.
Thanks for your input!
Oh, other options losing the whole serpentine belt for multiple belts to each system so if I lose one I can continue to run the altenator and power steering without a/c and uneeded stuff? Limp mode I guess.
Thanks for your input!