Squealing Belt on 454

[stopngo]

This can be caused by 10 different issues? I'm sure with the advise posted on this thread that you started, you found your problem this weekend... 

My rig is still in the shop. Asked them to check it out. Hm?

[M & J]

By ALL means please report what the solution or problem is/was. 2 pages of suggestions I'm sure most are curious.

[kattkisson]

Something you may want to check.  Different series of v-belts are made with different side angles & top widths..  It is possible to have the correct length belt but the sidewalls are just making point contact with the sides, This happens when someone uses a incorrect belt to get out of a situation and leaves it on and the next owner replaces it ,etc.


A point already made is that in 99% of cases the pulleys on a rebuild alternator are just transferred from old unit to the new. So if your pulley is worn to where the belt is contacting the bottom of the groove instead of the sides it will 1. not grip correctly & 2. will burn up quickly. The bottom contact will also happen when the wrong width belt is being used.

[nedb]

If you scroll down to post #42 is where I posted my part numbers.  Other belts are in that same thread elsewhere.

what thread?  no post 42 here as far as i can tell

[nedb]

my 1984 Chieftain had the old pre-Workhorse design with v-belt driving alternator.  It had the chronic fanbelt squeal and i tried everything but they squealed and heated and glazed and broke until i got the word about the v-belt replacement that is 1/16" wider.  i have a picture of the GM "Goodwrench Drive Belt" package to prove it is a GM item with part number and description, but it was always hard to get even thru GM dealerships/parts desk.  Not sure how to post an attachment here so here is the info off the packaging:
-â€"â€"------------------------------------
1#  9433752.   
(02096J5    Gr. 1.066)


GM blue logo
Goodwrench Drive Belt
Quality Engineered


7/16 x 50.00


â€"------------------------------------


That first line is quantity 1# and then the p/n.
I dont know what the second line in parentheses means.


The reason that this belt is better is the width is right for the pulleys--it rides in the top of the groove where it is supposed to be. The typical belt used is 3/8-inch wide and it rides down lower in the groove, where it rubs and wears very quickly.


If GM wont provide you 7/16 x 50.00 you need to get with a parts man and find it from another supplier.  Really, 7/16 wide cured my belt problem. It used toy make every trip a chance to sit roadside fixing the belt, not to mention the search in strange towns for a useful belt.


i wonder if classicwinnebago.com has enough pre-Workhorse 454 owners and buying power to convince Gates or Bando or a belt maker to produce a top-of-line 7/16 x 50.00!?


Good luck with your classic , keep 'em rolling!


Ned Bedinger
Southworth, WA

[Rickf1985]

Good info, A lot of belt squeal problems were cause by the initial loose belt not being tighten in a timely manner and it would wear the pulleys , especially on the alternator which seemed to use an inferior steel in their pulleys. Once that pulley was worn then no amount of tightening would prevent the new belt from slipping and it would wear very quickly. This was a modified approach to solving the problem that would work on the lower speed motors but on the cars where people tended to rev them higher and faster it tended to throw the belts off. This was a major problem with the single AC belt.

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

what thread?  no post 42 here as far as i can tell

In post 20 of this thread, cncsparky referred to Post 42 of his thread.

[Winnebago Warrior 94]

My Warrior does the squeal thing when I first start it and I'm with the other person on it quits when it's warmed up ..lol but I do need to replace my belts 😃

[Rickf1985]

When the vehicle first starts just let it run at normal speed. A lot of people rev it and rev it. That just make the slip worse. The heaviest charge is usually only there for 20-30 seconds and if the rpms are not way up the belt will not slip unless it is really loose.

There was a police station not far from my shop and they had what I will call a swat van since everyone has seen SWAT vans on TV. It was the same van but it was actually a radio control van. They would start that thing up and immediately fly out and past my shop with the belts screaming for mercy! One day I went up there with a half dozen different belts and asked the lieutenant to pop the hood. He asked why and I told him I just could not stand hearing that thing screaming past my shop screaming for help every day. He laughed and opened it up and in ten minutes I had changed the belt. It still squealed so I went back to the shop and got a new alternator pulley and put that on and it was good to go. I told him about the idling after start so he gathered up the drivers of the van and I explained how it worked and from that day on they never had any more issues with the belts. Their radios worked much better with full power too.

I did not charge them for the belts, pulley or labor.

Bottom line here, If your battery is low then let it idle for several minutes. it is easier on the alternator and on the belts. The whole system will thank you in the long run.

[tarifachris]

When I bought my rig, I had a squealing belt at startup... I just tightened it and what a surprise the PO forgot to
re-tighten the pivot bolt from the alternator! All good since then...