geo65

for those of you who have added Power steering what is the desired belt arrangement? I have front pulley groove aligning the alt and ps pump leaving the rear groove of the water pump and crank pulley aligned. what good would the rear belt do without a tensioning device.

vettn

Power steering was not an option for the L76 motor because GM thought the 6 quart oil pan would get in the way. That is why that motor did not have a steering damper either. However, I have been told the PS ram will clear the oil pan...have not done it myself. So, if it clears, or you have a smaller capacity oil pan on your motor, the belt configuration you would use would be in the AIM. You would refer to the L79 motor under the N40 section of the 65 AIM. The belt closest to the motor goes from the crank to the water pump to the alternator. The belt closest to the fan goes from the crank to the water pump to the steering pump. All L76 motors had an idler pulley...that would be eliminated with the PS set-up. Hope this helps. Gary

Hitch

You may use the same setup that the 66 hipo cars did with PS. The water pump and crank use a double deep groove pulley. Then the back belt goes around the crank, water pump and alternator. The front belt goes around the crank, water pump and ps pump.. You can almost see what I mean here in a pic I snapped recently while working on mine. The only difference would be that your alt will be on the passenger side. Dave

ctjackster

no offense to Dave, and his setup surely works, but I'd stick with the 65 arrangement for the L79 + PS - an available combo in 65 (and yes, you'll need to lose that big pan that came with your L76). This means your alt stays on the p-side like God intended for your no-air 65. And the L79 did rev pretty high, though not 6k. For all I know this is the same deal that Dave is urging.

such is how I did it, on my 65 L76 with PS. I am away from home right now but can take a pic of the set-up in a few days.

Hitch

Jack, none taken. I was trying to say he could use the belt setup but have the alt on the passenger side. Some of the belt setups shown in LIC catalog show the PS running just off the crank pulley where as other versions show it running off the crank and water pump pulley.

geo65

i put on a steeroids system and it clears the pan. it's close so hopefully it will work with the movement of the engine. the grooves align as I state and therefore none of your suggestions will work for me unless I change something. what am I missing?

ctjackster

well, if memory serves (and that is highly questionable) I have one belt going over the alt, crank and water pump pulleys (rear groove I think) and another belt going over crank and PS - I have a funny feeling my front groove on my water pump pulley is empty. In fact, that seems to be shown in "My Corvette Photos" - I am on the beach in Nantucket right now, sorry.

In this setup, the alt tensions the one belt, and the PS tensions the other. For all I know, Dave has the same deal going on too. I think a belt that runs only on the bottom of the crank pulley (as you propose, since the PS over the crank ans then around the alt creates this contact point) is insufficient contact with the driving pulley in that run.

Black_Magic

ctjackster

yeah but find the 65 SB with PS in that schematic.

the upper right hand corner is the 66, and if you move the alt to the p-side you end up with what I have, and how a 65 is set up with PS.

RRod

Some once told be that an L79 w/PS in 1965 was more often found on the later build cars (Feb/Mar and later) and therefore somewhat rare .... I figured that was BS, but now I'm not sure?

I know mine was ordered with factory original PS and the PS belt is closest to the radiator and there is no belt tensioner .... April 65 build date.

Hitch

Jack so you don't have the belt for the power steering capturing the water pump too?

geo65

I believe the problem is in the pulley on the alternator. that (i think ) needs to line up with the rear crank pulley. I recall reading somewhere that they are different on the 76. placed a call to mr. pirkle (he restored the alt) today perhaps he, or someone here has an idea.
either that pulley gets replaced or the alt moved rearward.

RRod

Sorry to barge in ..... on my 65 L79 the PS belt does not capture the water pump .... been that way since I bought it in 1973 plus I have old B&W photos from the original owner when it was new that also show the same thing.

Hitch

What's interesting is that the LIC catalog as well as the AIM shows it both ways. I wonder if it was a L79 vs another option?

geo65

rrod...do you have a picture of the alt. pulley?..either way I"ll take one of my pulley


you can see the belt angle ....

RRod

FWIW, my Alt has some spacer(s) on the passanger side bracket that moves it backward about the width of a pully groove .... been that way since I bought it in 73.

geo65

interesting....mine has the spacer moving it forward that amount. I believe it is attached (but not sure) either way it seems I can get it to work if I alter the spacer but I sure someone here knows what is the deal.....

ctjackster

nope, just like the upper right schematic, crank to PS


by the way, just like the Alt, the PS unit is tension adjustable.

also by the way - yes, the L76 gets a diff alt pulley, so does the L79 (from the non-SHP version)

and yes yes, the alt needs to move back in the bracket, pulley line up is easily the biggest issue to solve. fat washer(s) and bang the insert back a bit.

RRod

Here you go .... pretty much like it was in 1973 and in the old B&W new-car photos from 1965 that the original owner gave me (1965 L79 w/PS):



The only thing I added was the heater core manual shutoff valve (just peaking out from behind the alternator) .... highly receommend for non-judgemental cars.

RRod

FWIW, here is my original 846 single groove water pump pulley (before I cleaned it up 5 years ago) for PS equipped "1965" L79s: