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Fan belt replacement

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M

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We've all read or been told that we should carry a spare fanbelt with us in case of a problem on the road.

Good luck with that!

I went to order a new, cogged belt for my TR3A and found two pages of instructions for removing the old belt and installing the new belt. Here is an "interesting detail": "However, you may have to looosen the motor mounts and raise the engine slightly to get enough room to slide the belt out under the fan extension. Leave the engine raised until you have installed the new belt." What??!!

Try that on the side of the road.

Surely some of you have replaced fanbelts along the way. Did you find that the engine had to be raised?

The engineer who designed this set up certainly deserves a prize.
 
It can significantly help - one idea is to move the engine back while you have the mounts loosened. FYI, I've found the TR6 makes the earlier cars look easy by comparison.
 
tdskip,

I'm having difficulty picturing this process. How is it possible to raise the engine or move the engine back while it is attached to all the other components of the car? Doesn't seem possible without moving everything up or back -- a seemingly major operation ... just to replace the fanbelt.
 
It will move, not much but enough. Will take a bit of insistence and you are only looking for a small bit of clearance. Before you do that however make sure you need to, leave everything alone if it fits. Expect to have to push on the belt some.
 
tdskip,

I crawled under the car and measured the clearance between the shaft and the cross bar that presents the difficulty. The clearance is 12mm, and my cogged fanbelt is 14mm. So, as you suggest, with a little compression and pushing, and using the gap in the cogged belt to advantage, I should be able to get the fanbelt through that gap.

Hopefully, since my fanbelt is brand new, I won't have to face this anytime soon. But I like to be prepared.

Thank your advice.

Always sompin' -- as the say.

BTW. The Moss instructions also say: "Turn steering wheel to get drag link out of the way. Usually that is enough...." When they speak of the "drag link," are they talking about the center tie rod assembly? That is the one component not identified in the Moss catalog (naturally), and in the Standard parts catalog, it it is called a "centre tie rod assembly." I am referring to the bar that runs just below the fan hub extension, and between which the fanbelt must pass.
 
Imagine what fun it must have been before cogged belts! It's been awhile but
if you turn the wheel all the way to the right (I seem to remember right) you get another couple of millimeters clearance. Fan belts don't fail like they used to, but JIC I bought a 15/32" x 5/16" V-belt (Napa 25-7360) for "side of the road" replacement. It's a skinny little belt that goes on easily & will get you to a NAPA store for a stock belt. I use NAPA 25-28386
Frank
 
My experience on my TR4 is that you only need to loosen the right engine mount.
Bob
 
I use dawn dish soap and alot of twisting and turning. lube helps alot.
 
I have never replaced a fanbelt in the shop; only by the side of the road, so I have never raised the engine. I turn the wheels all the way to one side. This moves the centre tie rod enough to provide clearance for the belt. Drag link must be an American term for centre tie rod.
 
The factory used shims in the motor mounts, but people frequently leave them out later on. With enough shims in place, there is no need to raise the motor.

And yes, I have changed the old, thick belt on the side of the road more than once. The big problem for me was always getting it between the radiator and the fan. But even that seems to vary considerably from car to car. On the current TR3 there is plenty of room.
 
I have never had a problem with the TR3A belt replacement though as noted, cranking the steering to one stop or the other lifts things a bit and helps. The cogged belts do offer some extra wiggle that may make them easier to slip thru the gap.

The TR4 did require loose mounts & engine raised so I introduced some big washers under the mounts to improve the clearance (also had to make spacer to raise the raditor a like amount).

I carry a length of nylon rope to make a spare belt if needed (drove 300 miles with one when I had to bypass the dynamo but still needed to run the H2O pump). Yes, a pair of pantyhose will also work but the nylon rope is easier to explain to the wife.
 
From what has been written, looks like cranking the wheels to one side, lubricating the belt, and doing a lot of pushing should do the job.

If I can get 2mm more by cranking the wheels to the right, I should have just enough room.

The idea of carrying a V belt sounds like a great idea, and I think I'll put one in my trunk -- just in case. Also like the nylon rope and pantyhose idea. I just hope the person riding with me has pantyhose on.I can hear it now: "Ah.. would you please lend me your pantyhose so I can get this car going again..." Reminds me of the old repair kit of "a bandaid and a bobbypin."

I'm still amazed that you can "raise the engine" without raising everything else... Is this really possible? Last time I looked, my engine was attached to my transmission... ha, ha.
 
Maybe "tilt the front of the engine upward" is a better description; but we knew what was meant.
 
No need to raise the engine.

The trick is to "start" the belt from below,. Put the car on jackstands and then from underneath you can skootch the belt forward toward the radiator(between the pully and cross bar) with a pry bar. The rest is easy. (cut the old belt off).

Tim
 
Geo Hahn said:
Yes, a pair of pantyhose will also work but the nylon rope is easier to explain to the wife.
Click to expand...

Didn't work for me. :frown: My wife (girlfriend then) gave them up for the cause when my belt broke on the Interstate in my TR4A, but they just slipped.

This was not long after I had restored the car but I made the mistake of using what appeared to be a new belt that came with the car since I didn't have a lot of spare money at the time. It was the old solid style and must have been NOS with dry rot. Luckily got a lift to a NAPA in a nearby town which had a cogged belt in stock and I was able to install it there on the side of the Interstate.

Scott
 
Around the barn here we fix everything with bailin' twine. Perhaps I should have a length of it in the car with me at all times. Good also for holding things that tend to fall off...
 
I am probably a little late with this info, but I used a NAPA B34 Industrial belt to replace the fan belt on my 59 TR3A. I saw no need in the original extremely thick belt that was originally supplied. The B34 has been on my car for 2 years and working fine. Easy to put on and take off.
 
Alvin,

Thanks for the tip. You are not too late because I am just looking to get a backup belt to carry with me in case the one on the car has a problem.
 
Twosheds said:
I have never replaced a fanbelt in the shop; only by the side of the road, so I have never raised the engine. I turn the wheels all the way to one side. This moves the centre tie rod enough to provide clearance for the belt. Drag link must be an American term for centre tie rod.
Click to expand...
Mine won't pass between the fan and radiator . A superb design if you enjoy greasy busted knuckles and like to spend 3 hours on what should be a 10 minute job .
 
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