no air pump and stock pulleys-- belt size question
 

i am going to leave my airpump off when i put my car back together after finishing this pain in the ass neverending hose job. i ran a search and found that the belt needed with stock pulleys and no airpump is 30", 5-rib.

i went to multiple auto parts stores and had them look through their entire lines of gates, delco, and a few other brands. no belts of that size were available for order or in stock, so i picked up a few of the closest ones they stocked. of these sizes, which do you guys will work the best?

30", 3-rib
30.5", 5-rib
29.5", 4-rib

and if anybody knows where i can get a hold of the proper size, please let me know. thanks in advance!

oh yeah, a few more things...

when i do set it up, what is the most correct way to position the belt, just straight around the alternator and tangent to the water pump?

what pipes should i cap up?

are there any solenoids, relays, or anything else electronic i need to remove/alter?

thanks again.

You found a 30.5" 5-rib? That's what you need. I have a Gates 29 5/8" 5 rib that I was such a "perfect" fit that I had to take the main drive pulley off to get on and it takes no adjustment. I wish that I had that 30.5" 5-rib! You might have to do little cutting of the adjustment grooves and on the alternator to adjust it out, but I don't think so. I tried a 31-something" 4-rib and I added all of the adjustment that I could by cutting and I still couldn't get it tight enough. Give that 30.5" belt a try and see if you can get it taught ... and if you can't then you can always take it back -- it's just a belt.

About your second post ... what you need to cap off really depends upon whether or not you took out the ACV or not. And the belt routing just goes around the alternator, main drive, and tangent (barely) to the waterpump, as you said. My car isn't running yet, but I'm afraid that such little contact of the waterpump pulley may cause slippage so watch for that.

Spyfish007 told me that a 4-Rib 30" belt was perfect and could be found at most major parts stores.

cool, 30.5 sounds like the ticket. would the dayco 4 rib 30" work if it has wierd cross grooves, like ribs that go both directions kinda? i found one of those too but i didnt write it because it looks like it would make a lot of noise.

I would just stick with the 30.5" 5 groove that you have. That's the belt that I needed and I'm a little jealous after breaking one belt and having to take everything off to get the other one on! :D I mean, after all, you have a place for 5 grooves so why not use them? With as little contact area you'll have to the waterpump pulley you'll need as wide a belt as you can get.

Update time! How is that 30.5 belt working out?

:doh:
Um, I'm pretty sure he had an engine fire, bought the car back from the insurance, and is now trying to sell the car for ~$5600.
His stash of goodies was sold several months ago

:(

hmm, maybe I'll go with a 29k5 belt then. ;)