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Wedge TR8 Belts

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RSMTR8

RSMTR8

Jedi Trainee
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One of my belts is making a loud squealing noise when the car is warmed up, and beleive it or not I am having a hard time determining which one it is. Any usual culprits? Woody thought most likely the alternator belt, but not sure!
Going to try to take it to my mechanic tomorrow and have him tighten them all! The problem is, that it does not do it all the time. So you know when I go tomorrow it won't do it, isn't that how it usually works!


Thanks!


Rod
 
The one that is slipping will have a shiny pully groove. If it slips enough, the belt and pulley will get warm from the friction. It's a sucky job to change out all three belts. I'm down to just one on my convertible. The AC and power steering have been removed in favor of weight saving and power gains. I never was a fan of the feel of the power steering anyway. I'll suffer thru the heavy steering at slow speeds in order to have the feel of a manual rack at higher speeds.
 
Years ago I saw a serpentine belt set up on the 8 and the owner said he just went to the junk yard and bought the peices and stuck it together. Looking back he obviously spent more than a little time making it work. I wish I could find the time to convert mine
 
Quick way to isolate the belt is take a bar of soap, with the engine idling, apply the soap to the sheath side of each belt(be careful of the fingers). This will provide a temporary lube and when the noise goes away you've pinpointed the belt.

This is an old gas station trick from the 60's
 
With a little work, you culd adapt the serpentine set up from a later Range Rover. I've seen it done, but never took the time to realy check it out and see how much work it involved. The 3.9s and 4.2s have been popping up around here in the junk yards lately. A complete running motor can be had for as little as $200 if you are willing to take it out. Still no 4.0 or 4.6s yet.
 
Thanks,


Trying to keep the car as original as possible (a show car). I will try to soap trick this weekend, I am also starting to think it could be a bearing on the alternator!


Rod
 
Take a long shank screwdriver, hold the blade up to the alternator body and put the handle behind your ear on the skull bone. Makes a very effective stethoscope.
 
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