<VV> Fan belt problems

[BobHelt@aol.com]

In a message dated 3/16/04 5:06:46 AM US Mountain Standard Time, 
markt17@fuse.net writes:

> I have owned my Corvair about 3 weeks and have been through as many fan
> belts.  They all do the same thing before they break.  

Mark,
You may have already gotten most of this information, but here are a few 
thoughts.

You should not be having this many belt problems. Something is very wrong. 
Now maybe it is the tightness of the belt when you install it. You should always 
set the belt loose enough so that you can easilly rotate the alt fan with one 
finger.

That being said, here are a few more thoughts. With the belt off and the 
engine stopped, rotate the fan (blower) counterclockwise with a finger as fast as 
you can. Then very carefully watch the fan as it comes to a stop. It should 
smoothly and slowly stop. If it is a rapid stop, or if (worse) the fan stops and 
then slightly rotates backward, you may have a bad blower bearing and it 
should be replaced. Do the same with the idler pulley too.

Another thing. Since you have an alternator you may somehow have the wrong 
alum casting that the alt mounts on. So look below the alt fan  and see if there 
are two large-head bolts holding the alt to the its mount. (prob 9/16 inch 
heads.) If you see these you may have the wrong mount and you will eat fanbelts 
for sure. You must then get the correct mount.

Lastly, are you SURE that you are using the correct belt? It should be 3/8 
inches by 56 inches. If it is more than 56 in. then you may have a 7/16 in. belt 
or larger which won't sit in the pulley grooves properly and could cause 
problems.

Please keep us posted on what's happening.
Regards,
Bob Helt