Easy ac belt replacement
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Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 66
Likes: 15
From: Fort Smith, Arkansas
Easy ac belt replacement
Hey there everyone, brand new corvette owner here with my recently purchased 03 coupe!
Here in Arkansas im.not worried about the TB freezing up, so I did the tb bypass (I know it's not worth much, but just slowly getting my hands dirty). Anyway, a bit of coolant got on the ac belt and gave me that common bird under the hood sound. I figured I'd replace both belts with gatorback as I've read good things! The serpentine belt was perfect and fit flawlessly! The ACbelt on the other hand, I dont see how anyone could get this thing on!
I decided to do a bit of digging, and found out that the gatorback belt everyone reccomends (4040420) is actually 3/4" shorter than the factory belt. The gatorback belt goes in increments on 1/2", and the stock one is 42 3/4". I opted to go a quarter inch longer since I wanted ac and wouldn't mind a little chirping again lol.
I returned the 4040420 and swapped it for a 4040430 belt. This belt slipped right on the first try when I detensioned the tensioner, and has made a couple short drives with and without ac and makes no noise! Im.sorry if this is old news since I'm new here, but hopefully it helps at least one person!
Here in Arkansas im.not worried about the TB freezing up, so I did the tb bypass (I know it's not worth much, but just slowly getting my hands dirty). Anyway, a bit of coolant got on the ac belt and gave me that common bird under the hood sound. I figured I'd replace both belts with gatorback as I've read good things! The serpentine belt was perfect and fit flawlessly! The ACbelt on the other hand, I dont see how anyone could get this thing on!
I decided to do a bit of digging, and found out that the gatorback belt everyone reccomends (4040420) is actually 3/4" shorter than the factory belt. The gatorback belt goes in increments on 1/2", and the stock one is 42 3/4". I opted to go a quarter inch longer since I wanted ac and wouldn't mind a little chirping again lol.
I returned the 4040420 and swapped it for a 4040430 belt. This belt slipped right on the first try when I detensioned the tensioner, and has made a couple short drives with and without ac and makes no noise! Im.sorry if this is old news since I'm new here, but hopefully it helps at least one person!
