Belt tensioner fail and other upgrades (not modem friendly)

[thegreenman]

I installed a new GM High Flow Oil pump (GM # 17801830) with new pickup tube O-ring. I was more gentle with the O-ring install this time and it seemed to be a snug fit. I used assembly lube this time which let it slide into place better, I think this is what I screwed up before. Cam cover seal on order then I can continue reassembly.

[thegreenman]

I got my delivery today, installed the cam cover and water pump. Hopefully I can finish installing enough parts to fire it up tomorrow, I really hope don't run into any more problems.

[thegreenman]

Finally had some good luck today. Due to my HPE Flip Drive install the cam sensor cable was to short and I no longer had a place for my ground wire. I ended up extending the cam sensor cable by six inches, made a couple of brackets with some scrap aluminum. Below picture shows the cam sensor cable and new ground wire location. I tried to pin the balancer in the same places but I wasn't able to get it to line up and ended up drilling two more holes for the pins.

I was able to fire it up today, oil pressure was good this time. Tomorrow need to install steering rack and connect everything to fill fluids, hopefully wheels on ground tomorrow.

[thegreenman]

I almost made it. For the most part it is back together, only minor parts to take care of, some wires to tie up to make neater and to avoid moving parts. Need to bleed the brakes, check for fluid leaks and top off the AC. I must be getting old, between the crawling around on and under the Vette and the sun beating on me, the beer feels heavy now.

[allthrottleandsomebottle]

Ah yes this is when mods are a PITA
But, what else would you be doing if for not getting muscle aches from wrenching, schooching, bending, etc........
Just think how much $$$ it would have cost to have someone else do it

[thegreenman]

Originally Posted by allthrottleandsomebottle

Ah yes this is when mods are a PITA
But, what else would you be doing if for not getting muscle aches from wrenching, schooching, bending, etc........
Just think how much $$$ it would have cost to have someone else do it

True, but the work would get done quicker and I suspect most would not make the same mistakes I have made, but hell, I am learning a lot about my Vette. I should have came over to grab your lift, it would have made my life a lot better.

[thegreenman]

I am almost ready to hit the road, getting new tires/wheel mounted, need to charge the AC, wash off a couple of inches of dust, one more time check fluid levels, get a state inspection and it will FINALLY be time for a short cruise to break in the cam. If all goes well tomorrow, I will be scheduling a tune.

[thegreenman]

What a relief, all fluids are stable, AC charged, took a couple test drives and all is checking out good. Needed to cruise for at least 20 minutes to fully circulate the 134a for the AC, ended up doing an hour cruise. Tomorrow mount new wheels/tires, change oil/filter and look things over to make sure all is good.

It is great to be able to drive the Vette again.

[thegreenman]

I mounted the new wheels/tires, then relearned the TPMS. The wheels are from House of Wheels (House of Wheels Online -Corvette Wheels) which are ZR1 repos and the tires from tirerack.com. I decided to go with the Michelin PS ZP (runflats), they seem to handle the crappy roads here in Virginia better.

[Shrek]

Good job Jeff! Looks AWESOME!!!

[thegreenman]

Originally Posted by Shrek

Good job Jeff! Looks AWESOME!!!

Thanks.

I heard you are driving a red ZR-1 for the next couple of years.

[Shrek]

Originally Posted by thegreenman

Thanks.

I heard you are driving a red ZR-1 for the next couple of years.

Yeah, it'll just be a spare in case Georgana breaks hers!

[thegreenman]

Something about my Vette hates serpentine belts. I was heading to work a few days ago and I heard a nasty noise from under the hood. At first I thought my PS was crapping out. Open the hood and I could see pieces of the serpentine belt as well as a crap load of belt residue under the hood. Looks like my belt jumped a couple of ribs and about two ribs worth of the belt were disintegrated. Since I separated the supercharger belt from the PS/alternator belts I was able to drive home. While the belt was coming apart it slapped the hood pretty good, when it drops about 20 degrees I will try to buff out the marks.

I ordered the Gates laser alignment tool and checked the alignment today, seems to be off with the belt tensioner by about 1 rib. I need to run down to hardware store tomorrow to get some washers to shim it out tomorrow. Hopefully this will last me a while, if not I have a spare belt to keep in the Vette.

[thegreenman]

Belt tensioner has been shimmed and is pretty close to alignment. New belt arrives tomorrow and if I can take the heat out in the garage I should be back on the road tomorrow night.

[thegreenman]

Belt installed, no belt squeal but I heard a strange whine when giving it gas, I will look for the source it if comes back again.

[thegreenman]

Weather cooled off a little and I had some time to look things over a little closer. I found the source of the whine, as expected it was the power steering pump. My low pressure hose collapsed and there was not enough fluid was getting to the pump. Cut the hose and rerouted it for better angle, bled the air out and the whine is gone. I still have a little chirp, but that will have to wait for another day.

My belt is still jumping off, messed around with the alignment and discovered between the supercharger and balancer it is off by about one rib. I thought it was good, but the first rib I was counting was actually the edge of the balancer, doh! I tried to get the supercharger pulley off and I could not get it to loosen.

I called Magnacharger for tech support, they said the supercharger pulley should only be 45lbs. I finally strapped it down using an old shredded belt and it took 250lbs to break the nut loose. As soon as it l loosened I could see why they torqued it so tight, it was the wrong pulley. It was a press on shaft with a press on pulley and it had a lot of sloop on the front of the pulley, it was off by .040 inch. MTI Racing installed the wrong pulley. After a few more measurements, the offset for the pulley was also wrong, no wonder it would not align with the balancer.

After messing with the alignment (before removing the pulley), I am able to shred a belt in only five or six miles, this is getting expensive. Something has to be hitting the belt to shred them so quick. Looking around the belt, I found a nut that was touching the supercharger belt. A little grinding of the bolt/nut and it is now a little shorter, the belt is no longer touching the nut.

I decided to order a different spring type belt tensioner from ECS Supercharging. I also ordered a ZR1 idler from Lingenfelter. Maybe these will take out some of the wave action of the belt.

I just sent an email to Magnacharger to see if I can get the correct press-on hub and pulley combination for the supersharger.

If you are so bored you are still reading this, at least I think I am making some progress.

[thegreenman]

I did an experiment today. Since I have a pile of chewed up 8-rib belts, I took one and cut two ribs off leaving me with 6 remaining ribs (for the math challenged). I installed the belt two ribs off on the front of the balancer and normal position on the supercharger and tensioner pulleys to see what would happen.

Took it out for a little test drive, hit 4K RPM's a couple of times which is usually enough to shred the belt. Got home and the belt moved back towards the front by one rib position but did not shred. This is what I was hopping for, I was hoping the balancer wasn't causing the belt to jump.

[Munch]

Sucks about the pulley but it sounds like you almost have it licked.

[thegreenman]

Originally Posted by Munch

Sucks about the pulley but it sounds like you almost have it licked.

I hope you are right. How have you been?

[Munch]

Been good, just busy packing and getting ready to move to MI on Friday.