On my 1982 I have two v-belts showing signs of wear on their bottom. I both cases the reason is quite obvious as they are too narrow and therefore ride lower in the pulley grove instead of their top being on the same level as pulley grove side wall tops.

A.I.R. pump belt

Generator belt


I have seen many discussions on replacement belt dimensions, but people always complain about the length fit only. I live in Switzerland and my only option is to place internet order in US, i.e. I cannot walk to a shop and see what is available. Even worse, internet shops for Corvette pars rarely indicate the dimensions of the specific belts they offer.

GM specifications offer no solution. Two of my “problem” belts as described above are the ones for Crank Shaft/Water Pump/Generator and A.I.R. Pump/Water Pump, but according to GM specifications both have correct width of 7/16” and 3/8” respectively.

More specific, for AIR Pump/Water Pump GM indicates dimensions of 31.5” x 3/8” and on the existing belt it says GM 9433613 0.38 x 31.5. So the belt is “correct”, but is too narrow and rides deep in the pulleys grove!

Any idea where this strange situation comes from and how and where to get the belts that fit on the pulleys the way they should?

 

How old is belt? That alternator looks close to mine..it seems different pulleys ride differently on my cat anyway..and pretty sure correct belts.
gates belts have good site on dimensions and angle of belt as well.
good luck

 

I believe 81 and 82 are the same. Not 100% positive, but here are the numbers I use that ride correctly on my 81.
All are Gates.
XL9560 for A/C.
XL7360 for power steering.
XL7312 for smog pump.
XL9555 for alternator.

 

1/2" wide belts are readily available in North America. Are they available over there?

 

V-belts wear on the sides of the V. You may just have old, worn belts.

Since you're in a metric market, a 10mm x 800mm belt should be available to replace the 3/8" x 31.5" belt. That will be about 0.5mm (0.020") wider, which might help.

For the 7/16" belt, you could try a 12mm belt. Just convert the length to mm and find something as close as possible. The 12mm wide belt will be about 0.9mm (0.036") wider than the 7/16 belt.

UPDATE: the consensus of aftermarket cross references for this year seems to be 10mm/12mm belts. The manufacturers listing fractional inch sizes are split between 3/8"/7/16" a and 13/32"/15/32". Often those listing are more "this is what we make that will fit best" and not necessarily what the factory installed. And, yes, I'm so bored today that I'm looking up parts for other people's cars.

 

Thanks interpon, cannot say how old the belt is as I have the car only as of September last year. Difficult to imagine that GM was combining pulleys and belts dimensions with such a mismatch. Will look at Gates and see whether they ship internationally.

 

Will check and compare, thanks for the information.

 

The 1/2" belt fits perfectly and on the Crank Shaft/Water Pump/Airco and is basically the only one that looks "logical". Availability is different question as I did not even talk about the length fit.
As mentioned in my OP not many suppliers indicate on their sites the dimensions and that makes it difficult to place an order. I am OK with ordering from US, provided I know what I'll get: costly joke to sent it back, on the top of shipment costs to Switzerland!

 

Good point regarding the wear on an old belt, looks to be the case especially on the generator belt. I agree with you that one possibility is to go for slightly larger belts and the issue is that companies are offering belts often using there internal identification codes without reference to original GM code, nor the dimensions. So one is easily paying $ 25-30 for a belt plus the (significant) shipping costs, and without knowing whether you will get something that you can use or not.

Will check Gates as suggested, but so far did not get impression that they deliver internationally.

 

You're making this harder than it needs to be.

Is there an auto parts store near where you live in Switzerland?

extra points, call them and ask them what brand(s) of v-belts (fan belts, alternator belts, whatever) they sell.

Do you know the GM part numbers of the belts you need? Or the markings on the old belts?

Also, is this Corvette your only transportation?

Every belt I see listed for the 1982 Corvette lists at least 40 or 50 cars it fits. Many are Audis, BMWs, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvos. Your local store has the belts you need if you ask for the right thing. If they can't find it by part #, you might have to ask for an alternator belt for a certain year/model Volvo for the AIR pump belt, and a power steering belt for a certain BMW to get the alternator belt, but your local store has what you need. If you can, take the old belts in to compare before you buy.

There's no reason to pay international shipping on v-belts.

 

I do understand that you believe I make it more difficult than it is, because you are living in a place where it is all available. Unfortunately there are no auto part stores here and only place you can ask for a part is a garage of a car dealer. There are internet sites claiming having all parts required, but as soon you fill in your car specifics you gat a pop-up saying "not available currently". To make it even more unbelievable for you in US: there are no shops selling as simple things as a car speakers - you have to go to a dealer's garage and, of course, they will not be able to help with an old car.
The car is not my daily drive but a hobby and a dream car of my youth. Suffering to get the parts is just a part of this hobby

BTW, to which lists are you referring where you see at least 40 to 50 cars with the same belts?

 

The site I'd recommend that has a most extensive (and usually correct) online catalog is RockAuto.com. It seems like they do deliver to Europe, from European warehouses, too, so that might be a good source. It's a good source for part # information even if shipping is excessive. You can search for the part #'s you find there on Amazon, or on other online sites, or call around for those numbers. Let's take an example.

You mentioned a belt that had a GM marking, 9433613. I go to RockAuto.com and click on the tab for "Part Number Search" and I go down to the "Part Number" box and enter that and click the "Search" button. I get three manufacturers who list an equivalent part for that number, with 4 part #'s. That's a Gates 7315, a Dayco 15315 or a Continental 15321.

I can also go to the top search line and enter "1982 Corvette belt" and it will give me choices for the engine (just one choice), and I can click on the line with the full description to search. There it will show all the parts that are recommended for that engine. Oddly (not unusual, though), the Gates belt for the air pump is listed as a 7320, not a 7315. The 7315 is 32-1/8" long and the 7320 is 32-5/8" long. This brings up another point. The more data you have about the part you're replacing, the more likely you are to find the right replacement, even when the catalog might be a little off. For most of the belts listed, the "315" at the end is for a nominal belt length of 31.5 inches. The 320 ones are nominally 32.0 inches, and will be easier to install, but you may have to adjust further to tighten them. That also means that if you're looking at a Continental belt source, 15315 might actually be a better choice than 15321. Check the specs for those numbers.

If you can't find any of those exact belts, you can look at other applications for them to find the dealership(s) that might be able to get you a part that fits. One that's listed is the 1992-1994 BMW 318i/318is. You have to go and look up one of those cars and look in the belts to see what that belt is for. It's show for the power steering belt on those cars. So you could call a BMW dealership and ask for a power steering belt for a 1993 BMW 318is, and you'll get a BMW belt that's 10mm x 800mm, which should fit just fine. It looks like the BMW Part Number is probably 32421717953, which might be one of the alternate part numbers shown in the "More info" page on RockAuto.com for some of the "_____315" belts listed for the 1982 Corvette AIR pump belt. Contitech 10x800 is another number that you might find locally, or online for reasonable shipping.

I didn't look for Volvo or Fiat or Audi/VW applications, but if you have one of those dealerships in your area, you could cross reference it the same way.

 

Thanks a lot for this extensive information and the time you took to put it down C6_Racer_X!

Gates does not deliver to Switzerland, but suggested to try https://www.rockauto.com/ . Amazing what they offer and some pricing as well, and with your instructions how to use it they might become my preferred supplier.

Once again, no better help than what you get from the Forum guys!