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EDIT: I mistakenly mentioned 'heater tube' in the title. I was actually working on the heater tube when I saw this.. But it's obviously the heater HOSE!
The heater was bypassed in my car for several years. About a year ago I replaced the heater core and re-connected it.
I remember being concerned that the generator belt was close to one of the lines... I recall doing some searches and saw others concerned about it too.. but no real resolution.
Well, today I got lucky... and the light from below was in the exact right spot to see this:
Unnoticed, that would have ruined a nice future day!
Either the belt is deflecting quite a bit, or the hoses move around...???? or a combo of both.
Fan Belt is very close to that hose.......Your generator bracket should be adjustable....Making sure of the following from my experience.....
1) make certain that the belt is not too loose and slapping into the heater hose
2) make a forward adjustment to your Generator.....
3) hug that hose as far BACK as possible away from the belt.............That's all I have...I have a very minor wear mark on my hose at the same position....With a non stock Generator Bracket, I have elevated my issue...........
OP's photo does not show the hose end connected to the water pump. I am thinking he is missing the special offset angled fitting which is designed to move the hose away from the fan belt and give you a rearward angle. If you are using a straight fitting, you will be prone to having that problem.
I keep the belt pretty tight... but it obviously still flings quite a bit.
Not sure if the damage shows well in the photo, but it cut into the hose pretty deep.. I'm not going to shorten that hose.. it's new hose time.
I recall wrestling with this hose to try to shorten it as mush as possible when I installed it.
Crossed my mind to put a black zip tie (gasp!) on them to pull them back a little...
I don't think I want to move the generator as it's lined up well now, maybe already a little forward:
Here is the fitting coming off the water pump.. Is there a better one?
Yeah, its doesn't need to be moved any more forward.......I like Frankie's idea of shortening the belt...changing the angle away from the hose. You should have enough adjustment.......
Fitting angle looks OK. The lower hose can be pulled rearward through the hose bracket till it routes tighter around the motor mount area and a zip tie added in front of the bracket to the upper hose to hold it there. Of course you can also trim the hose shorter if it's very long.
You can also clock the angled fitting in the water pump so that it points more 'up' than 'out' towards the hose. Have run into this problem myself. The funky front engine mount/generator/heater hose location is a lot of fun on these cars.
You may be able to flip your generator bracket and give yourself a little more clearance where the belt goes by the hoses. Most cases it will not through off your belt alignment depending on the depth of the main pully. Something to try if you can't get any more clearance by moving the hoses around.
Claude
Yeah I just took a closer look at it this morning.. and the hose is pressing against the motor mount.. So pulling the hose tighter is only going to squeeze it at that point.
65GG - mine looks very similar to yours from the top.. I can fit a finger between the belt and the hose.. but that's not where the contact is....
It's biting into the hose a little further up .. I assume the belt is whipping in and out at high RPM...
Maybe my belt is too loose? I always thought it would place strain on the generator bearing to really crank it down...???
I'm searching through ST-12 now... anyone know the spec?
To get the belt to touch the place where the wear is, I have to 'twist' it pretty hard.
Just pulling it in and out won't do it..... Weird!
I have one and it doesn't see daylight very often (don't ask me where it is)....the old mechanic's "rule of thumb" (literally) is that a properly tensioned belt should deflect 1/2" midway along its longest length with a firm press of a thumb.
If the belt is new set it up like this, run the engine for 5-10 minutes and recheck and you'll be fine.
This is accurate enough that the belt should not ever "flap" from being loose and it should not be so tight as to damage bearings/pulleys.
I'll say it again - cut 1/2"-3/4" off that hose, reattach it, and call it a day.
Last edited by Frankie the Fink; 06-22-2019 at 06:01 PM.
OK so my best guess is that the hose slipped forward and rubbed on the belt.
I don't think there is ANY way the belt can hit them when they are in place.
I may have pushed it back inadvertently when I first discovered the problem.
So as PilotDan suggested, I pushed them back hard and placed a zip-tie on them at the bracket (actually, behind the bracket).
I stuck my phone down in there to take this photo.. you can't see it from above. Yes, I did cut the excess length off!
I'm planning a project on that side soon anyway - have to remove and fix the exhaust manifold on that side (choke tube is leaking exhaust). I'll replace the heater hose at that time.
Until then I wrapped a loop of black duct tape around the hose at that point.. I'll be able to see if anything is hitting it much easier now.
If you have a Carter carb and that choke tube is sucking in exhaust it'll carbonize the choke piston and you'll have different issues - to wit, I wouldn't wait too long to fix it.
If you have a Carter carb and that choke tube is sucking in exhaust it'll carbonize the choke piston and you'll have different issues - to wit, I wouldn't wait too long to fix it.
Yeah I cleaned it out once already.. and I now have the choke tube lifted away from the manifold so it won't suck any more in..
(hence my question about the electric choke in the other thread!)
Belt tension jack will do the trick. Ask me how I know... I had the exact same problem. You will have to modify it to make it fit correctly. I had to shorten the middle section slighty:
GM, at the factory, put an aluminum tie on the two hoses about 5-6" from the water pump. I'm surprised no one has mentioned that. More correct and just as effective as the black zip tie.
GM, at the factory, put an aluminum tie on the two hoses about 5-6" from the water pump. I'm surprised no one has mentioned that. More correct and just as effective as the black zip tie.
I assume you mean the clamp attached to the generator mount?
There also looks like a band of some kind in AIM - Even closer to the waterpump.. However, without something to 'pull' against, I'm not sure it would help the situation.
I just completed a my project that involved removing the generator, replace the regulator with a SS unit, removed the RH exhaust manifold (choke tube was rotted out.. got the old one out and new one in - what a BEAR of a job!)
As I reassembled things, I noticed that the hose clamp (that attaches to the generator mount) does not really hold the hoses very well.
I was able to slide them around even after it was tightened.
So I placed a zip-tie around that clamp, holding the hoses to the clamp.
Now I'm not able to slide them around at all.
Here is the new choke tube in the manifold. It was a challenge because bubba had welded the bottom hole closed. Had to carefully grind that weld away. Removing the old tube took an hour and required every tool in the box.. but I eventually got it out and the new one installed and staked in place.
Everything is back together and looks good. Just waiting my 24 hour dry time on the POR-15 to take a test drive later today.
06-21-2019, 07:39 PM
Belt rubbing heater hose
