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ECS 10 rib belt alignment

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Old 07-01-2017, 01:18 PM
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waltbsc
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Default ECS 10 rib belt alignment

Hi - This is my first procharged car (Novi2200r with direct drive) and after a fresh engine build I threw a belt. I don't believe the brackets were correctly aligned from what I'm seeing, see pics.

i did use Gates laser and it's 1/2 rib off which I read is acceptable. I'm hoping it's the "idler" as shown.

How can this be adjusted??



Last edited by waltbsc; 07-02-2017 at 07:08 PM.
Old 07-01-2017, 02:51 PM
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We figured it out!
Old 07-01-2017, 03:00 PM
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ysb02
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What was it?
Old 07-01-2017, 03:05 PM
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waltbsc
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The angle of the tensioner can be adjusted from the bottom. It took a little while, but now it's all lined up.

Last edited by waltbsc; 07-02-2017 at 07:43 AM.
Old 07-01-2017, 04:59 PM
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I guess I spoke too soon...lol (Not really)

The belt started to walk towards blower when we fired it up. I'm assuming it has something to do with the adjustment we made. Does anyone know the proper procedure??

We basically angled it out to where it looked plumb to crank pulley. When we placed the belt it was in the center so we thought it was good, but maybe it's tilted out now??

If we loosened the tension at the head unit it didn't walk so that's why we believe it's that idler.

Any help would be appreciated!! I forgot to take pic after we adjusted.




Last edited by waltbsc; 07-02-2017 at 07:44 AM.
Old 07-01-2017, 07:18 PM
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ysb02
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Do you have a laser belt alignment tool? Idler looks way off
Old 07-01-2017, 07:32 PM
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waltbsc
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Originally Posted by ysb02
Do you have a laser belt alignment tool? Idler looks way off
Yes, we used it on the head unit pulley to crank pulley and it was only 1/2 rib off which supposedly is an acceptable variance over 12". I think these are the only two pulleys to check on the direct drive.

We agree, the tensioner was way off. There was an adjustment nut on the bottom which allowed us to adjust the bracket out and everything really looked like it was aligned once we installed the belt. I'm wondering if it's an illusion and if the tensioner pulley itself is cockeyed.

I got frustrated and had to walk away. I'll go tear it back apart in a couple days. It looks like the steering rack is in the way if that pulley has to come off...hoping that's not the case.
Old 07-01-2017, 11:42 PM
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I had a similar issue a couple of years ago, no matter how it was adjusted the belt would walk under boost... my best guess is either the tensioner bracket or tensioner itself was flexing... I solved the problem by buying an a&a bracket

Last edited by neutron82; 07-01-2017 at 11:44 PM.
Old 07-02-2017, 06:56 PM
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Few extra pics in case they help.

Old 07-03-2017, 01:42 PM
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i have found that 1/2 rib rule to not work at all on these blower cars. For my 8 rib setup to work every single pulley needed to be perfect.

for a floppy 4 rib kit that is loose on a power steering pulley with no drag maybe that stock specs work but you crank big tension on it and drag with a huge belt and all the pulleys need to be literally as perfect as you can get them by eye. I was literally putting thousand grit sandpaper on a flat piece of glass and shaving off thousandaths on my spacers. make sure your laser tool is properly calibrated too.

so it's not going to fix your tensioner but it's really worth taking the time to get everything perfect. be sure to check the alternator and PS side too.

new a&a bracket is amazing too but i'd hope the ecs stuff should work.
Old 07-03-2017, 02:25 PM
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DOUG @ ECS
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Feel free to call in to discuss.
Old 07-03-2017, 02:27 PM
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DOUG @ ECS
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Originally Posted by neutron82
I had a similar issue a couple of years ago, no matter how it was adjusted the belt would walk under boost... my best guess is either the tensioner bracket or tensioner itself was flexing... I solved the problem by buying an a&a bracket


You changed brackets because we did not offer a ten rib for our procharger bracket, only our Paxton stuff came in ten rib.

If you're or going to continue to be a little whiney girl about that at least keep your story straight.
Old 07-03-2017, 03:17 PM
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I changed because your bracket sucks and you can't make parts that fit... you sold me 10 rib idlers and spacers for my bracket, the 10 rib pulley came from another shop... so it had nothing to do with you not offering parts because obviously you sold them to me
Old 07-03-2017, 04:01 PM
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Originally Posted by neutron82
I changed because your bracket sucks and you can't make parts that fit... you sold me 10 rib idlers and spacers for my bracket, the 10 rib pulley came from another shop... so it had nothing to do with you not offering parts because obviously you sold them to me


Uh huh.
Old 07-03-2017, 05:33 PM
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Originally Posted by DOUG @ ECS
Feel free to call in to discuss.
Will do, thanks!
Old 07-04-2017, 01:15 AM
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I see not much has changed around here! ��

Sorry OP not directly related to you.

Just in reference to long time forum members.


On that note OP are you sure your tensioner isn't bent? Also, how did you calibrate your gates laser alignment tool? The piece of paper it comes with is a novelty at best.
Old 07-04-2017, 07:55 AM
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Originally Posted by MVP'S ZO6
I see not much has changed around here! ��

Sorry OP not directly related to you.

Just in reference to long time forum members.


On that note OP are you sure your tensioner isn't bent? Also, how did you calibrate your gates laser alignment tool? The piece of paper it comes with is a novelty at best.

We were able to loosen the idler from the tensioner at the crank and it does sit flush against the tensioner. We will have to drop the steering rack to remove the bracket, but that is on our to do list.

The tensioner does appear to be incorrectly installed by the shop. It was clearly misaligned. We were able to adjust it pushing the "back" side out and it looked flush so I thought we were good.

We did make a mistake in regards to adjusting the tensioners - We had them as tight as could be. I guess that's why the belt walked immediately.

The car didn't have this issue when I bought it last year, only after the engine was rebuilt so I feel confident we'll get it figured out.

As far as the alignment tool - I studied the thread and used a couple levels on my granite island.
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Old 07-04-2017, 08:42 AM
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Originally Posted by waltbsc
We were able to loosen the idler from the tensioner at the crank and it does sit flush against the tensioner. We will have to drop the steering rack to remove the bracket, but that is on our to do list.

The tensioner does appear to be incorrectly installed by the shop. It was clearly misaligned. We were able to adjust it pushing the "back" side out and it looked flush so I thought we were good.

We did make a mistake in regards to adjusting the tensioners - We had them as tight as could be. I guess that's why the belt walked immediately.

The car didn't have this issue when I bought it last year, only after the engine was rebuilt so I feel confident we'll get it figured out.

As far as the alignment tool - I studied the thread and used a couple levels on my granite island.
Sorry, i just have to throw this in here. I bought the A&A 10 rib set up and had 0 problem no adjustment at all. I can not see people buying a kit that you have to work on it to get it align. Paying this kind of money and it not plug and play just don't make sense to me. We work on these dame cars enough. But buying something and adjusting the most critical part of a S/C set up just does not make sense. I'm just talking in general.
P.S. i don't know if it came with the car already and again seems like once it's set it's works prefect. I'm just talking about putting a critical part of the set up.

Last edited by helga203; 07-04-2017 at 08:46 AM.
Old 07-04-2017, 09:47 AM
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Originally Posted by helga203
Sorry, i just have to throw this in here. I bought the A&A 10 rib set up and had 0 problem no adjustment at all. I can not see people buying a kit that you have to work on it to get it align. Paying this kind of money and it not plug and play just don't make sense to me. We work on these dame cars enough. But buying something and adjusting the most critical part of a S/C set up just does not make sense. I'm just talking in general.
P.S. i don't know if it came with the car already and again seems like once it's set it's works prefect. I'm just talking about putting a critical part of the set up.
Yes, it was on the car when I bought it. I've got a good friend who's helping me out throughout this process. He's a mechanic so I'm having to wait when he has free time. I feel confident we now understand how it works and I actually like the idea of the direct drive, we just need to get it lined up.
Old 07-04-2017, 10:02 AM
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Originally Posted by waltbsc
Yes, it was on the car when I bought it. I've got a good friend who's helping me out throughout this process. He's a mechanic so I'm having to wait when he has free time. I feel confident we now understand how it works and I actually like the idea of the direct drive, we just need to get it lined up.
Like i said, once it's lined up, you will be good to go. Keep us updated. Thanks


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