I noticed a problem with my belt when I was installing my M7 2% crank pulley. I was running the stock belt with the M7 16% SC pulley and noticed that one of the ribs was almost gone. It was probably the 4th rib, counting from the outside edge of the belt to the inside. The rest of the belt was in pretty good shape.
Fast forward to the other day,
I was installing a custom tensioner stop, and noticed the same thing was starting to happen to the NAPA belt I put on with the crank pulley.
What's going on here?
The NAPA belt is a cross-reference from the stock belt.
Should I be running a different size belt?
Any explanations as to why this is happening?
Thanks

 

Look at each of the pulleys for a nick on the adjacent lands or debris in the corresponding groove.

 

Which type of NAPA belt did you get? They carry a few different brands of varying quality, resleeved as NAPA. Their best are made by Gates, and their least are called Silverline, and made by any number of manufacturers.

Also check your pully and it's alignment very carefully. If it's off even slightly, it will erase the belts.

 

Keith, thanks i'll check the pulleys.

Gromit, I am using the good belts. The NAPA guy is a friend of mine, and knows I don't want the cheap stuff.
I'll have to check the alignment.

 

Another thought, is the tension on the belt. Don't overdo it, and stress the belt too much.

 

How do you check the alignment of the pulleys? I'm thinking of putting on a crank pulley, but am afraid that if I do it myself, the alignment might be off and I won't know until the belt shreds itself.

 

I was thinking this too.
Right now I have an 060547 NAPA belt, which I stated in the first post is the cross from the stock one. Peter from M7 said it should be ok with the pulleys I have. I don't know if I should use a shorter one, or what.

 

You can't really misalign the crank pulley, it just goes on until it stops against the crank snout.

 

Possibility of a manufacturing defect is one reason to check alignment.

 

Anyone know the best way to check alignment of the pulleys? I have the 16% pulley and don't want to run into the same problem. Is there an easy way to check?
Thanks
Forest

 

edit

 

the only real way to check if they are aligned is to take a straight edge and place it along the pulleys.

As long as the pulley is bottomed out there wont be an alignment problem.

I would have to say that there was either a burr or a nick on the pulley. I had this problem, but I am runing a 3% crank and a 19% pulley.

Mine were going around every 10k miles.

 

One way to check the alignment is to use a straight edge on pulley faces, as Rick just pointed out because he can type faster than me.

I was just talking to one of the better techs here at work, and he said that if there is an alignment issue, it will usually try to wipe out either the inner or outer edge of the belt. That's not the issue with mine, so i'm going to check all the grooves as suggested by k-huevo and Rick.

Thanks everyone!!
(and you too, Sid)

 

I wish I would have done that when the motor was unbolted from the frame.
Thanks for the info ya'll.

 

I never like to rely on a cross-referenced part number, and apparently the NAPA 060547 is a little bigger than the stock belt. So, after the groove inspection, I will try the NAPA 060539 which is pretty much the same length as the Gatorback 060537. We'll see what happens.

 

Gatorback 060537 is the one I'm currently using and it is very close if not the same size as stock (visually)...I tried the next size up and it was too long for my 15/2 combination causing boost lose at higher rpms...

BTW...I just love the subtle "turbine" whine of the gatorbacks

 

I found out the problem...
There was a rock stuck in my A/C compressor pulley!!
WTF!!
I had to pry and pick it out with a small screwdriver, then I wire brushed the pulley. I thought I had almost seen everything.
I put on the NAPA 060539 and everything is fine again. This belt definitely fits better than the one I had on there, all the "noises" are gone. Sweet.

Sid, I will try the Gatorback when I get back in there. My local Goodyear place has it in stock. Thanks for the conversation.

 

A Rock!! That explains everything