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My belt kept squaking so I took it off and here is the pulley.
Is it beyond repair and deemed for a replace? I cannot seem to find a new one or is out of stock (maybe https://www.corvettecentral.com/c3-6...water%2bpulley ???). I guess originally, there was a three-groove pulley but it already came with this one.There must be a reason, why it is so worn.
I don't see a lot of wear other than to the paint surface. The silhouette of the two grooves doesn't look that much different to me and the belt hasn't migrated down to the root of the groove. I don't think it's a "must change now" situation but you could keep an eye out for one to swap out later if it bothers you. Clean out the groove and run some fine sandpaper (400-600) on the groove walls to smooth any nicks or rough spots - repaint if desired.
Follow Bikespace's line of thinking to judge how freely the water pump and alternator spin without the belt attached. How do the sides of the belt look? Squawking is usually caused by slipping which can glaze a belt's sides. I think a new belt may be in order regardless. Then proper tension.
I don't see a lot of wear other than to the paint surface. The silhouette of the two grooves doesn't look that much different to me and the belt hasn't migrated down to the root of the groove. I don't think it's a "must change now" situation but you could keep an eye out for one to swap out later if it bothers you. Clean out the groove and run some fine sandpaper (400-600) on the groove walls to smooth any nicks or rough spots - repaint if desired.
Follow Bikespace's line of thinking to judge how freely the water pump and alternator spin without the belt attached. How do the sides of the belt look? Squawking is usually caused by slipping which can glaze a belt's sides. I think a new belt may be in order regardless. Then proper tension.
The Vette has some 200 miles since being put together. Both alternator pulley and water pump pulley were alligned nicely but regardless, the belt never stopped squeaking. I have the Vette since 2014 and squaked ever since, roughly about 2800 revs and up. This particular belt started squeaking after 20 or so miles no matter how tight or loose I set the belt. Someone somewhere mentioned it could be because it's an AC car, which I do not have installed. Really, apart from the tip with sanding it a bit I don't know what else to do apart from replacing the pulley.
Here's the belt and another shot of the pulley.
I bet a chili dog, fries & a shake that belt is too narrow. The belt rode too many miles in the bottom of the "groove". That is indicated by the excessive rubber showing.
That should clean up with some Simple Green and a narrow wire brush.
Not a big fan of those type of gator belts. Basically, it's a half a belt. More likely to snap because it only has half as much material. Find a normal Gates or Dayco but a pinch wider and you will be good-to-go.
Last edited by HeadsU.P.; Apr 23, 2023 at 07:57 PM.
I found Paragon a Great source for new pulleys. When I bought my C3 there were different belt widths on the same belt, it appeared that someone tried to swap a pulley in for a different size belt. I went looking and the used ones were too used for my liking so I bought a set of new ones from Paragon.
In that pulley in the picture you can see the slightly wider belt groove.
Using a sand blaster you might roughen up the surface where the belt makes contact to get the slipping to stop. All you want to do is roughen the belt contact area to get to slow down the squealing.
The lack of A/C belt on an A/C car shouldn't have any bearing on your squealing issue. Like HeadsU.P., I also don't like those cogged-style belts. They diminish the surface contact area of the belt to pulley pretty substantially. On your belt, it looks kind of shiny on the solid parts of the belt but not on the cog arches. I don't think it's making full side-wall contact.
One more thing. Belts need to be tight enough to have adequate friction against all of the pulleys so as to not slip but not be so tight such that it puts excessive side-load on the bearings of whatever the pulleys are mounted on. If a new belt squeals, tension it more bit by bit until it stops. As it breaks in, it may squeal again as it stretches from use - adjust a bit tighter.
[QUOTE=HeadsU.P.;1606547194]I bet a chili dog, fries & a shake that belt is too narrow. The belt rode too many miles in the bottom of the "groove". That is indicated by the excessive rubber showing. QUOTE]
I agree. V belts are not suposse to ride on the bottom of the pully, just the sides. Different belt widths are available. A wire brush or sand paper will clean up that pully just fine.
I managed to find a Dayco 11A1370 around here (not easy, ordered from factory) so when I install it I'll let you know, whether the squaking stopped. Thanks guys
Is my pulley dead?
