how many belts should i have under hood? and....
 

was wondering how many belts i should have under hood?
85 gmc sierra 1500. with ac.
think i saw 5.
not sure if its the one further back or the one in front of that one that seems a bit loose. obviously i dont know what that belt is. but today when i replaced the alternator belt that i was missing, i noticed one of them have a bit of play/bounce to it while engine is running.

have on running from fan to a smog pump?
alternater behind that one.
not sure what the next 3 are.

also wondering, on the opposite side of the alternator, there is a compressor. believe its for the air conditioning....wonderin why when i have the heat on...
there is a noise that comes and goes. ive heard this for a while now. and the other day when truck was running and in noticed i was missing alt belt.
i saw the compressor spin= the noise i hear.
why would ac compressor make noise when heat is on?

Re: how many belts should i have under hood? and....
 

Your flopping belt is probably the one for the A/C compressor. Mine has always flopped around like it was loose even though it was not.

It could be your dash controls for the heat and A/C causing the compressor to run when the heat is on. When my dash controls went out, my compressor at first would be on when I ran the A/C or vent. That was the first couple of years. Recently it began running even when the heat was on. I replaced the dash controls a couple of months ago, and the compressor went back to turning only when the A/C or defroster was running.

Slonaker

Re: how many belts should i have under hood? and....
 

thanks for reply bud. ill keep looking into it. lost one belt without knowing it. hoping to keep this other belt from going and leaving me stranded again.
the dash control, you mean the unit itself??
one of these days i have to figure out how to take some of the dash apart to make dash lights brighter. and get a light in behind the controls for the heat and ac. guess when i figure it out, ill check into getting one of those units.
thanks agian.

Re: how many belts should i have under hood? and....
 

The a.c. compressor is set up to cycle every so often when the a.c. is off to keep the compressor lubed and the refrigerant circulating

Re: how many belts should i have under hood? and....
 

4 Belts total.
In order from engine to fan they are....
1. A.C. BELT. Running from Crank to Water Pump to A.C. Compressor & back to Crank.

2. POWER STEERING BELT. Running from Crank to P/S Pump & back to Crank.

3. ALTERNATOR BELT. Running from Crank to Alternator to WaterPump & back to Crank.

4. AIR PUMP BELT. Running from Water Pump to Air Pump & back to Water Pump.