[Bob Pickell]

OK - just bit the bullet and had my 88 SpiderQuad finally worked on and got it back out on the road - only after a day I started to hear a rumble and screeching noises - the rumble turned out to be the water pump - replaced - but I am still getting the screeching now and then - I noticed that the fan belt was a little loose and the ends were getting frayed. I have pulled the alternator out as far as I can - but the belt is still loose. ANY SUGGESTIONS?

 

[the_sicilian]

so "replaced" means that you, or was it a mechanic, swapped out your waterpump?

are you seeing any fluid that might be getting on the main pulley?

were not even going to suggest this, but of course you should already have a new belt. (theyre available everywhere and i usually buy more than one for backup) theyre not built to last forever. also use some CRC belt dressing to condition it prior to installation.

my alfa mechanic sent me to the autoparts store with a few numbers, then used the size that fit best for AC and sent me back with the unused one. and he was a dealership guy. so dont neccessarily get held-up by the records of available parts per make/model at most auto-parts stores.

hell, DDouglas was just telling us how his crazy *** had been running (maybe past 130mph, that viscious bastard) with a non-OE alternator, and no friggin retention arm/bolt.

his engine is toasted, mind you (and theres an alert within the alfa-community to not allow any engine parts to be sold to him until he learns to play nicely with his toys) but the moral of the story is that your Alfa is more flexible than it may seem.

try some belt sizes and see how it goes. she's italian... she can take it.

 

[Bob Pickell]

Toasted

At 130 I thought she would just be warming up.

Thanks for your reply - the water pump was installed by a very capable mechanic - he just works on Italian - he is my Alfa Guru - in fact his website is alfaromeoguru.com. Yes he replaced the belt with a new one when he worked on the car earlier - he actually had a OEM Alfa belt installed - and after driving the car back to me after he got it going (how do you like that - home delivery) it seemed fine until I first started to hear the rumble and the screeeching a couple ofdays later - upon inspection the belt was loose and it had been chewed up on the sides - about 25 to 30% of the width was gone (I anm assuming that was because it was so loose) - at that point we replaced the water pump - that took care of the overheating and rumble (I have seen no leaks) - but after a couple of days - had the screech back - now - the same thing is happening with the sides of this new belt - its gettin chewed up because theres not enough tension on the belt - its just too loose - the only thing that is different from before I had it worked on is that he did not replace the AC belt because that did not work anyway. I guess all I can do at this point is find a belt that is a liitle smaller so there's enough tension to prevent it from slipping.

 

[dwc]

As long as alll your pulleys are aligned to the same plane, and there's no reason they shouldn't be, just get a smaller belt, and you'll be fine. Also, take a look around, and make certain that no hose clamps are oriented so they're cutting the belt. I've never actually seen a belt get physically torn up just because it's a little loose. There may be something here you're missing. No slam against your mechanic, but little things get missed, and maybe he's just got a hose clamp twisted in the wrong orientation. I've done it.

 

[dwc]

You're missing something here. I've never seen a belt chewed up just because it's a little loose. I'm guessing all your pulleys are aligned to the same plane, as there's no reason they shouldn't be, so that's not it. How about a hose clamp that's twisted around so the loose tail is touching the belt (maybe only when the engine is running)? Check the orientation of all your radiator and heater hose clamps.