To Serpentine or Not?

[Hunter]

Got all the pulleys, etc. with my 4-bolt 350, but before going this route, thought I'd ask you guyz why would YOU switch to a serpentine belt setup if you could and had all the stuff?

[64fleetside]

We did it on my bro's truck, sweet setup, wish I had it. His is GM from a 92 2500. Changed the fitting on the back of power steering pump & used the OE hose for 69. Alt puts out all kids of power. Had to have OE AC line redone by local hose man, he TIG'd another suction connection. Need reverse water pump & fan or go to electric fan. Brian

[71HUGGER396]

I would never switch, I personly don't like the look. But that's just my opinion.

[mocwon]

I did switch and didn't have all the stuff, had to hunt it down and buy it. I switched to update the performance and look of the engine since I'm running a TPI setup.

[chickenwing]

I switched. Trust the serpentine more n the belts. CS-130 alt was nice too.

[Putter]

I did it....and L-O-V-E it. Plus, it looks pretty cool, too.

[FirstGen]

v-belts don't seem to stay on as well at 6,000+ rpms...

[RainFade]

I've been thinking about it to get rid of that 9 mile long ac compressor in favor of the newer round unit and get the alt out of the way for some taller valve covers.

I've been thinking a 4.3 would be a good donor but wonder what others are using ?

[CHEVYE]

a 4.3 will work just fine. the one putter has posted above is from a 4.3 you also don't have to worry about adjusting the belts just right. say goodbye to whining and squealing belts too. if you run big power like i had in my 66 chevy 2, you'll almost definetally sling a belt when you crank 8 grand on the tach.

[hotrodmtodd]

Has anybody done it with a big block? To go one step further, how about with a blower? I would be very interested to talk to THAT guy (or gal)! Would like to eliminate all factory brackets and get a complete setup compatible with my WEIAND SC. Any chances at all? Hot Rod

[mocwon]

Originally Posted by hotrodmtodd

Has anybody done it with a big block? To go one step further, how about with a blower? I would be very interested to talk to THAT guy (or gal)! Would like to eliminate all factory brackets and get a complete setup compatible with my WEIAND SC. Any chances at all? Hot Rod

Blowers typically require their own belt/pulley setup that run a substantially wider and stouter serpentine type belt. A buddy of mine has a fuel injected blower on a 68 Camaro with a big block (1,000 HP at the rear wheels) and it has its own belt/pulley setup.

[CHEVYE]

my neighbor has a blower on his car and i bet that belt is a good 3" wide.

you can get a big block serpentine set up. "harold shepard" has one on his truck.

[ratfreak888]

v- belts may come off at high rpm (mine do) but when you loose a serp. belt you loose everything including the waterpump i.e. no limping home

[cableguy0]

but you wont ever lose a serp belt unless something drastic happens or your too lazy to do maintenance and your running a dry cracked belt.even if a component locks up on a v belt system you can lose all your belts if say a water pump goes or something of that sort but yet again if you maintenance and check things every once in a while a bad bearing will be a noisey bearing before it locks up

[screamin_c102]

Originally Posted by cableguy0

but you wont ever lose a serp belt unless something drastic happens or your too lazy to do maintenance and your running a dry cracked belt.even if a component locks up on a v belt system you can lose all your belts if say a water pump goes or something of that sort but yet again if you maintenance and check things every once in a while a bad bearing will be a noisey bearing before it locks up

[hotrodmtodd]

Yeah, the roots type blower has it own seperate belt, but it is not like a 6-71 style blower. It is a very low profile (underhood, '70 Chevelle) and the belt is much narrower, but I need a setup for the rest of the components. Maybe I will try to PM Harold on what he went with. Thanks folks, Hot Rod

[CHEVIBUBBA]

but you won't ever lose a V-BELT unless something drastic happens or your too lazy to do proper maintenance & your running a dry cracked belt.
see how that sh*t works cableguy0?
a properly aligned v-belt system with pulleys & brackets designed to handle 8000 rpm will not come off at 8000rpm.racers have been using them for years.
i personally have seen serpentine systems come off at 6k rpm.
fact is, it wasn't designed to handle the forces imparted on it at that rpm!
if you plan to turn such rpms, get a setup designed for it.don't watch a stock or "looks good" setup fly apart & then talk trash on it because you pushed it beyond it's design limits.
as for my opinion;for the street the serpentine setups have proven their reliability.they seem to be more efficient & have better traction on the alternator.
install it right,carry a spare belt & enjoy the benefits.
for high rpm applications you better have a system designed for it.

for noob:http://www.jiffylube.com/HowCarsWork...entinebelt.htm

[tmcgrawlookalike]

i`ve got v belts still,a 120 amp cs-130 alternator,gates belts,ran it 6-6500 rpm several times,street and strip,and never thrown the belts.i`m happy

[R@nger]

Hehe ok I have a question...what is a serpentine belt?

And yes you can call be a n00b .

[R@nger]

Hehe ty sensei!

[cableguy0]

nahh i change my v belts every 5-8k miles because i wring them off and shred em going 6500 all the time. its proven a v belt will shred around 6500 rpm. a true RACE car isnt seeing any street miles and if it is they are minimal. whats run at the track and whats run on the street is two totally different things. there really arent any benefits to a v-belt except maybe slippage and constant adjustment needed.if v-belts were so great they woulda never stopped running them on modern vehicles

[CHEVIBUBBA]

Originally Posted by cableguy0

nahh i change my v belts every 5-8k miles because i wring them off and shred em going 6500 all the time. its proven a v belt will shred around 6500 rpm. a true RACE car isnt seeing any street miles and if it is they are minimal. whats run at the track and whats run on the street is two totally different things. there really arent any benefits to a v-belt except maybe slippage and constant adjustment needed.if v-belts were so great they woulda never stopped running them on modern vehicles

i guess i am defying the laws of physics cause mine turns 6500-7000 rpm at least twice a week.have you checked your pulley alignment?most haven't & wouldn't know what to do if it was off.
as for true race cars;#1:1000 race miles are equivilent to 10000 or more street miles.
#2would you consider a 10 second sedan a true race car?
i do!& so do the one's being spanked by it at the track.it is of little concern that it runs those times with bfg ta radials, drives to the track at ennis & home to corpus christi & is tagged & inspected.
whats run at the track usualy is what is run on the street.just a few years later.it's called r&d.
most manufacturers subscribe to this using factory teams to learn how to make their stuff better, stronger & sometimes faster.

the benefit of v-belts;
1: they are cheap
2:they work.
3:unless you lose the water pump or crankshaft, when one accessory fails, the others continue to operate.it's called redundancy.
4:a v-belt setup is lighter.
5:tensioner?i don't need no stinkin' tensioner!
6:less moving parts.

[Jason915]

I want to do it as long as I can keep my alt on the drivers side.

[Putter]

Well, if we all agreed and ran the same setup....we would all run the same speed, get the same gas mileage, and be bored to tears.
We gripe when we are the same & then gripe when we differ. I run what I run because it is what I want. I like to see different setups and find out "how" they perform.
Bottom line, if YOU like it, run it.

Did I mention that this is a GREAT BOARD?!

[Purs]

I've been very please with my psuedo serpentine setup. I think it's off an 86 or 87 1 ton.... serpentine belt for the crank, alt, and waterpump. v-belt for the power steering. haven't had a problem yet, with many bursts around 6500...