It threw the belts yesterday - need a serpentine setup

Belgian1979vette

Belgian1979vette

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During test driving (ok, I was really pushing her at some point) the engine decided to throw it's belts. The gen belt got mangled up, the waterpump belt and the ps belt were turned upside down. I was out without tools and luckily I could limp home, but it's not an experience I want to have a again.

I was out all morning trying to find suitable replacements, which was hell since the required imperial lengths are not readily available anymore, not even at a GM dealership.

I'm considering going to a serpentine setup. The car however has got no AC and no air pump. Most serpentine setups I see have the AC/PS. Do they produce the right length for my setup ?
 
I have had an '88-91 vette serp setup since '95, but I have a/c maybe get one of them, I bought an airpump eliminator kit, but it's easy to make one....just a couple of spacers and aluminum bars...

:crutches:
 
If you insist on going with the serpentine set up, look for one from a 90's Chevy/GMC truck. The commercial/work trucks were often sold without AC, so the brackets and belt lengths should be much closer to what you will need to fit within your engine bay.
Personally, I'm not sold on the serpentine configuration. I've just seen too many instances where one accessory takes out the entire system.
 
If you are looking for a GM serpentine setup I think you will find only the AC setup. On non-AC cars they put an idler pulley there. Look for the early 90's 4.3 or SB truck setups, they dont have an air pump.

There are some (pretty expensive) aftermarket systems out there but most I have seen don't use a spring tensioner. I can't imagine that would work very well.
 
the gilmer (aside from being poser) looks like it's too wide and the crank pulley would hit the crossmember. And even then, i'm not talking about the ps.

Another question : I see the serpentine belt running underneath the waterpump in most setups. Wouldn't this cause the pump to work backwards ?
 
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Hey Twin Turbo, if you don't like it then don't use it. I do and don't really care what you think or what you put on your's. The guy asked and I just suggested an option for him. They don't hit the frame and the groove is there for the power steering. If everybody did the same thing then these cars would be pretty boring. I don't post much because of the crappy remarks that some feel the need to say about what one person does or doesn't do. So don't worry I wont post or reply to anything anymore, because I never really listened to anything you had to say anyway.:censored:
 
Belgian1979vette said:
the gilmer (aside from being poser) looks like it's too wide and the crank pulley would hit the crossmember. And even then, i'm not talking about the ps.

Another question : I see the serpentine belt running underneath the waterpump in most setups. Wouldn't this cause the pump to work backwards ?
Click to expand...

You need a reverse rotation pump for them
 
The Rat said:
Hey Twin Turbo, if you don't like it then don't use it. I do and don't really care what you think or what you put on your's. The guy asked and I just suggested an option for him. They don't hit the frame and the groove is there for the power steering. If everybody did the same thing then these cars would be pretty boring. I don't post much because of the crappy remarks that some feel the need to say about what one person does or doesn't do. So don't worry I wont post or reply to anything anymore, because I never really listened to anything you had to say anyway.:censored:
Click to expand...

Taking thing way too serious are we?
 
Twin_Turbo said:
The Rat said:
Hey Twin Turbo, if you don't like it then don't use it. I do and don't really care what you think or what you put on your's. The guy asked and I just suggested an option for him. They don't hit the frame and the groove is there for the power steering. If everybody did the same thing then these cars would be pretty boring. I don't post much because of the crappy remarks that some feel the need to say about what one person does or doesn't do. So don't worry I wont post or reply to anything anymore, because I never really listened to anything you had to say anyway.:censored:
Click to expand...

Taking thing way too serious are we?
Click to expand...


 
Belgian1979vette said:
the gilmer (aside from being poser) looks like it's too wide and the crank pulley would hit the crossmember. And even then, i'm not talking about the ps.

Another question : I see the serpentine belt running underneath the waterpump in most setups. Wouldn't this cause the pump to work backwards ?
Click to expand...

YES< you need change the pump to an L98 pump....or other reverse rotation pump....depending on your depth requirements...pulley alignment....

:hissyfit: which is why I stuck with the gear I did....

:drink:
 
Twin_Turbo said:
The Rat said:
Hey Twin Turbo, if you don't like it then don't use it. I do and don't really care what you think or what you put on your's. The guy asked and I just suggested an option for him. They don't hit the frame and the groove is there for the power steering. If everybody did the same thing then these cars would be pretty boring. I don't post much because of the crappy remarks that some feel the need to say about what one person does or doesn't do. So don't worry I wont post or reply to anything anymore, because I never really listened to anything you had to say anyway.:censored:
Click to expand...

Taking thing way too serious are we?
Click to expand...


It seems some of us have really thin skin and do not know when someone else is kidding around. I saw the poser comment and knew that it was just a jab at having some fun, not a comment criticizing your work or choice of materials.
Take a deep breath, keep things in perspective and try to enjoy life. :drink:
 
Rat, I think we were all just joking, don't take it the hard way. If it works, then fine, might be a solution. Where did you get yours ? Std rotation waterpump ?

I must say, I had to try several belt lengths and I now have it fitting better. The alt was closer to the engine with the new gates belt on it. Will have to try and see if it works. Only damn issue I had was getting the right size belt to go from the wp to the crank. I know some run without them, but I like having it for extra insurance. It's a little too loose imo, but a shorter one wont let the pulley go on. That belt is 33" inside I believe.
 
Rat, if I told you I never got angry at TT I'd be lying.
His sense of humor is not everyone's taste and he sometimes (deliberately or not, who knows) rubs people in the wrong way.

But this time it was all assumed, hence the emoticons on all the posts.
I knew TT would make fun of me, I'm the one who turned the other cheek, and TT made it quiet respectfully actually.

So time to cool down, we all have bad days.
:drink:

I used Gilmer setup because I never could source a serpentine setup at a competitive price. It's not just about the belt, you also need to change the water pump (reverse) and the PS pump. Because I can get parts machined for pizza money, buying and modify an cheap Ebay gilmer kit belt was making sense to me.
And to be frank I like the show off part of it :pprrtt:
 
I bought a ZZ4 small block and I pretty sure it's front of the engine holes for the accessories is the same as traditional small blocks.

I bought a serpentine kit for it out of the GM Performance Parts catalog. When I bought mine, you could get the bare bones kit, or a kit with the accessories...you could buy with AC or without AC. My understanding is that this serpentine kit is identical to the serpentine assemblies in 1991 and 1992 Camaros and Firebirds. Buying the kit with the accessories...high amp alternator, water pump, PS pump, gets you these new components at a cheap price.

The GMPP serpentine installs nicely. It has an idler pulley that interferes with the passenger's spring tower...just mount the pulley assembly upside down and it works fine and no interference. If you buy AC delet , you get another idler pulley to replace the AC.

The reverse rotation water pump that comes with the kit is made of Detroit wonder material....cast iron. I bought an Edelbrock aluminum reverse rotation water pump. Also, the GMPP serpentine kit pulleys are for a production street car and to be on the safe side (for GM) the pulleys overdrive the accessories. I bought underdrive pulleys from March to slow down water pump and alternator rotation. I don't have a heating problem, but I do have to keep the engine at above idle to power the electric fan and fuel pump, otherwise I start dipping into the battery.

With the reverse rotation water pump, the stock mechanical fan can be retired. I bought a BeCool aluminum radiator for a Big Block and installed it and it's electric fan. It doesn't freeze here and I use 100% ethylene glycol coolant. My ZZ4 runs cool even on a warm day, idling in traffic.

The serpentine looks nice and removes a lot of clutter....supposedly 2 or 3 hp extra due to less belt friction. My daily driver, a 97 Ford Thunderbird has a serpentine belt system. From personal experience, once you break a serpentine belt, you should start looking for a place to park. When my Thunderbird serpentine belt broke, I did have some temperature margin...once again I had 100% ethylene glycol coolant. Ethylene will not boil until you get to 350 degrees F (?) so I drove the car a little longer with the temp gauge pegged.
I have 100% ethylene glycol in my 95 Cadillac Seville also. You can't use 100% glycol in freezing weather since the glycol turns to the viscosity of honey.
 
The gmpp serpentine is a 3rd gen f body set but overpricer. I'd get one from a junkyard.
 
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