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Finally getting to the home stretch of my 85 Delta 88 project but I'm running into an issue with the v-belts. I have a small block olds in it and deleted the computer so I never bothered putting the compressor back in. I still have it but I can't for the life of me find the bracket or even really know what it's supposed to look like. I got the old 307 that came out of it, another 307 that's missing the bracket and an olds 350 from a 70s cutlass and the parts are in boxes and bins scattered about. I was wondering if anyone has a good pic of the AC compressor bracket? I was going to just buy another one and throw it on but it's kinda crazy what they want for them atm.
I was also thinking of buying a passenger mounted alternator bracket (https://www.ebay.com/itm/123815857496) and relocating it there but I rather keep it close to stock just to keep it simple when it comes time to reorder the belt.
I decided to relocate the alternator to the passenger side until I'm ready to install A/C in the car.
I used an aftermarket CVF racing bracket. When I contacted the manufacturer about where the alternator pulley would align, they said it would be on the grove closet to the engine block. Once installed however, I realized that it lined up with the middle grove on the water pump, the same grove my power steering pump belt uses. Luckily I bought a double row pulley for the p/s pump because I was planning on having the alternator belt riding on the inside grove and doubling up p/s belts on the middle and fan side. The plan is to attempt to run it with alternator belt riding in the middle grove and p/s belt on the outside.
While changing the pulley I realized that the p/s bracket is pretty dogged up from someone getting it nice and tight. I have another bracket but I'm not sure if it's a big enough deal to worry about swapping them
When checking everything with a straight edge I realized that the pulley coming off the crank and the water pump pulley are slighting out of alignment. My straight edge is all the way against the pulley wall on the crank but sitting in the middle of the water pump pulley, not sure if this is contributing to my belt problems.
These forums are a great resource and I'm really glad that it's still active. I do have a few questions and would greatly appreciate anyone's expertise on the matter. I want to make sure I'm measuring for belts correctly. I wrapped my twine around, cut it and then measure. Should I buy a belt that is 1 inch bigger then the measurement I get on my twine? I'm going to have to extend the alternator wire to reach the new mounting location, is it okay to just crimp connect in the same gauge wire or should I have it soldered?
Thanks for the help fellas. Once I get this belt situation straight, my new coolant reservoir installed and my windshield replaced (scheduled for tomorrow) she'll be ready to get tagged. I'm pretty excited but I want to make sure I have everything in order first.
Thought I finally had her
Well I got the belts on, NAPA has about 20 different types available for my year make and model. The string I measured for the alternator came out to 45" and the closest alternator / fan belt combo was 48". It's a little loose so I ordered a 47" online. I tightened the power steering first, had it nice and tight but it started squealing again. I put the original 44" on it but I may have to try the 43" again when I put the shorter alternator belt on.
brand new belt, bought and installed today
After getting the alternator belt tightened it was still squealing and everything seemed to lack power (power windows very slow, inoperable almost). I was only getting 10 volts coming off the alternator so I re tightened everything and was getting a solid 13 volts off the alternator but the power still seems weak. I guess I'll have to fix the squeal to eliminate a loose belt as the power issue, I'm starting to think something is out of alignment hence why my belt is getting so chewed up so fast.
I have my power steering pump dogged down as far as it will go out. I got all the other bolts loose and tightened good.
January 14th, 2022, 09:10 AM
