451Mopar
Well-Known Member
On the Charger, the speedometer had the white bar around the speedometer numbers, so I painted it something like green from 0-70 MPH, yellow from 70-120, and red 120-150 MPH. I think that was the MPH splits, but I will have to take a look.
V-Belt Considerations:
Belt width to Pulley grove Width, or how deep the belt rides in the pulley. I think most of the common V-Belts are around 3/8" wide, but many old Mopars had pulleys designed for 11/32" wide belts?
Alignment is always important. I think someone showed a trick of placing a laser pointer in the pulley grove and seeing if it aligned with the center of the other pulleys.
Pull contact is also important, but usually not mentioned, important if you don't want the belts to squeal. Usually we are working with the stock bracketry so not easy to change the location of the accessories unless you build your own brackets.
Belt length can also be changed if making brackets. Shorter belts should withstand higher rpm stretch/harmonics.
Pulley ratio if changing pulley sizes, or have an engine that RPMs really high, or you need more low speed alternator and cooling for something like a RV.
Belt Tension. This is a double sided sword. Snug, but not too tight. To loose and the belt can squeal or fall off. Too tight and the accessory bearings can wear out fast. Also, if the bracketry is flimsy, too tight will pull the accessories out of alignment causing the belts to toss or roll over in the pulley.
As mentioned above, bad brackets can cause all sorts of issues. Being flimsy, out of alignment, or just positioning the accessory in the wrong location where the belt may only contact a small part of the pulley.
Look at a modern serpentine belt system and how the belt wraps around the accessory pulleys keeping the belt in contact with much more of the pulley.
V-Belt Considerations:
Belt width to Pulley grove Width, or how deep the belt rides in the pulley. I think most of the common V-Belts are around 3/8" wide, but many old Mopars had pulleys designed for 11/32" wide belts?
Alignment is always important. I think someone showed a trick of placing a laser pointer in the pulley grove and seeing if it aligned with the center of the other pulleys.
Pull contact is also important, but usually not mentioned, important if you don't want the belts to squeal. Usually we are working with the stock bracketry so not easy to change the location of the accessories unless you build your own brackets.
Belt length can also be changed if making brackets. Shorter belts should withstand higher rpm stretch/harmonics.
Pulley ratio if changing pulley sizes, or have an engine that RPMs really high, or you need more low speed alternator and cooling for something like a RV.
Belt Tension. This is a double sided sword. Snug, but not too tight. To loose and the belt can squeal or fall off. Too tight and the accessory bearings can wear out fast. Also, if the bracketry is flimsy, too tight will pull the accessories out of alignment causing the belts to toss or roll over in the pulley.
As mentioned above, bad brackets can cause all sorts of issues. Being flimsy, out of alignment, or just positioning the accessory in the wrong location where the belt may only contact a small part of the pulley.
Look at a modern serpentine belt system and how the belt wraps around the accessory pulleys keeping the belt in contact with much more of the pulley.