Belts

[Richard]

has any one had problems with the fan belt in particular on their
3208? We have an 81 35FC with a 3208 N/A. we keep throwing the fan
belt off which takes out others at times. we found that the tension
bolt was frozen after 3 diesel mechanics worked on it. we replaced
that and got about 30 hours out of it before it went again taking
the alt. & air compressor belts. the pulley's all appear to line up
and the idler pulley's seem to work fine.
thank you

[Tim Hannink]

I changed the alternator to a 3-groove pulley and routed a 52" belt
around it, the A/C compressor and the idler pulley after the long A/C
belt knocked off all the belts the 2nd time.

My A/C works well at speed, but the belt does tend to slip at lower
RPMS and high ambient pressure. I think it has more to do with the
pressures the A/C is running and the lack of airflow through the
condensor than belt tension though; the belt doesn't slip when outside
air temps are under 90F. or when I am going above 30 mph.

I paid about $10 at a starter/alternator rebuild shop for the new
pulley installed.

Good luck,

Tim Hannink
Winter Park, FL
1981 FC-33SB

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Richard" <mr.clean@g...>
wrote:
> has any one had problems with the fan belt in particular on their
> 3208? We have an 81 35FC with a 3208 N/A. we keep throwing the fan
> belt off which takes out others at times. we found that the tension
> bolt was frozen after 3 diesel mechanics worked on it. we replaced
> that and got about 30 hours out of it before it went again taking
> the alt. & air compressor belts. the pulley's all appear to line up
> and the idler pulley's seem to work fine.
> thank you

[John]

Richard,

There is a particular way to adjust the tension on the fan
drive/pulley belts, on a Cat 3208NA engine. First insert the four
mounting bolts, through the sliding plate bracket that is part of the
Fan/Pulley assembly and into the front mounting holes on the engine,
making sure that the top adjusting bolt/locking nut on the sliding
assembly are loose. Tighten the mounting bolts enough so that the
assembly will still slide up, or down with just a little resistance.
Now get all of the belts in place, then adjust the sliding assembly
adjustment bolt on top until the correct tension on the belts is
attained, then tighten the mounting bolts up in the sliding bracket,
then when you think that they are tight, loosen the top adjusting
bolt/locking nut back out a little and then you will be able to
tighten the mounting bolts up quite a bit more, when this is all
done, tighten the sliding assembly top adjusting bolt back up snuggly
and with the locking nut that is on the adjusting bolt, lock it in
place.

If you just quit after the first bolt tightening phase, it will leave
the sliding bracket at a slight angle and can cause the belts to come
loose, or in a worse case scenario, it will do what mine did and
loosen all of the mounting bolts back up and out and the fan will
drop, I was Lucky, I heard it when it happened after I had left
Randy's.

There was a well meaning person there that had never owned an FC
model 'Bird with a 3208NA and he wanted to help Randy and he didn't
do the adjustment correctly. I managed to fix it temporarily in a Wal
Mart parking lot in Orlando and get it back to Randy's at night when
it was cool, so that Randy could rebuild the Horton Fan clutch, as it
had broken off the air line when it dropped and the fan would not
engage at all.

Since this bolt tightening sequence was performed again after the
Horton rebuild, I have never had the assembly come loose, or loose a
belt again. I do not have the belt for the airconditioner compressor,
as the compressor has been removed entirely.


"REMEMBER SEPTEMBER 11, 2001"
John Finn
'82 35FCRB
BLUEBIRD WANDERLODGE
TO VISIT THE "FINN'S INN EXPRESS" REMODELING ADVENTURE
GO TO;
http://www.pbase.com/image/24977457
'66 SUPERIOR / IH 392 GAS V8 32' PUSHER "FOR SALE"
SEE THE OLD COACH AT:
http://www.pbase.com/image/26052733
HOPKINS, SOUTH CAROLINA

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Richard" <mr.clean@g...>
wrote:
> has any one had problems with the fan belt in particular on their
> 3208? We have an 81 35FC with a 3208 N/A. we keep throwing the fan
> belt off which takes out others at times. we found that the tension
> bolt was frozen after 3 diesel mechanics worked on it. we replaced
> that and got about 30 hours out of it before it went again taking
> the alt. & air compressor belts. the pulley's all appear to line up
> and the idler pulley's seem to work fine.
> thank you

[Tom Warner]

Richard I have a 1982 FC35 and have never had a problem with belts since I
have had it and that includes the long A/C belt. There are some that will
suggest you start changing pulleys and belt configurations but in my
opinion that is only a bandaid solution and could lead to other problems
such as alternator bearing failure.

In my experience loosing belts is normally a combination of one or more of
the following. If you chose the correct belts, have checked your pulleys
and idlers to ensure that they are not damaged or someone in the past has
not changed them from the factory configuration, and most importantly
correctly tension each belt, then you should have no further problems.

I will upload the BB service bulletin about belts to the file section.
Notice on the bottom of the page I have the part number for a Kriket which
in my opinion is necessary if you want to take the guess work out of
tensioning V belts. I have used one for a long time and they work. You can
get one at NAPA.

The other thing you need is a way to spread the various pully combinations
so that you can accurately adjust the V belt tension. I have found it
impossible for me to do with out using a tool which I made. You will see
pictures of it in the files. You can buy a tool made of metal from JC
Whitney which will do the same thing. These tools make it easy to adjust
and tension your V belts. Without them its very difficult unless you are a
very experienced mechanic and do it every day.

Tom
1982 FC35
Vernon Center,NY


At 11:39 AM 6/14/2005 +0000, you wrote:
>has any one had problems with the fan belt in particular on their
>3208? We have an 81 35FC with a 3208 N/A. we keep throwing the fan
>belt off which takes out others at times. we found that the tension
>bolt was frozen after 3 diesel mechanics worked on it. we replaced
>that and got about 30 hours out of it before it went again taking
>the alt. & air compressor belts. the pulley's all appear to line up
>and the idler pulley's seem to work fine.
>thank you
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