When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
My 04 Z has 39k miles on it and last week the serpentine belt broke. It seperated at the 2 ribs towards the front of the engine.. I removed what's left of the the original belt and it does feel a bit stiff as compared to the new one. But not that bad and there was no cracking or glazing. It just looked pretty normal.
Spinning all pulleys by hand and everything feels perfectly smooth and they look to be properly aligned. The tensioner smoothly swings through its sweep too. So I think it broke only because its a 17yr old belt. (I replaced both the AC and the main belts).
So new belt is on and everything looks to be ok. But as I'm looking for something to be out of line (the damper is smooth and doesn't wobble) I noticed an ultra small gap between the alternator body and the backside of its pulley. And I mean only 0.008" between the pulley and the alternator housing!! Is that normal? That seems way too small to me.
I checked and there is zero axial end play so I don't think it'lll rub. How much of a gap do you guys see on your LS1/LS6?
Just to be curious I checked mine...about .030 inches !!...if you want to check pulley alignment get yourself a laser alignment tool...Gates makes a good one !!
Probably the pulley got pressed on slightly too far. If it does not move on another check and the engine is not throwing the accessory belt, I would not worry about it.
Probably the pulley got pressed on slightly too far. If it does not move on another check and the engine is not throwing the accessory belt, I would not worry about it.
I've never seen one of these pulleys pressed on. They are either threaded on (decoupler style pulley) or held on with a nut (solid pulley). Measuring the gap between the housing and the pulley means nothing. I would bet the belt failure was due to age and I would just replace it and drive the car.
Alternator pulley gap?
