jstang07

Driving to work today and check charging system warning comes on then temperature starts to rise. I pull over to check it out and all that was left of my belt was small strips scattered around the engine bay and tangled in the pulleys. I installed the E-Force Stage 1 from Brenspeed right at 5000 miles ago and have not had any problems. I called Brenspeed and ordered another belt and they have no history of problems like this. I don't want to just install the new belt and tear it up so what all should I check for that may have caused this to happen?

shanec

Never heard of that happening on an E-Force. I can only guess the belt was bad or it wasn't installed right - maybe it was overlapping the edge of a pulley?

I would just install another belt. Clean up around the pulleys first. Get rid of all the powdered rubber that must be around there now. Then, daily or weekly, check around the pulley for belt shavings or powder which would indicate the new belt is wearing badly.

I use a Goodyear Gatorback belt, BTW. It was recommended by Rob Simons. JDM sent a Gates belt in my kit and I kept it for a spare.

jstang07

Well I finally got some time to dig into this and it was pretty easy to see what caused the problem. Alternator pulley. Apparently I did not get the nut tight enough when I installed the new pulley and it came loose. It tore up the pulley pretty good. Did not mess up any of the threads on the alternator or nut so I think just a new pulley will do the trick. Here are some pics...

Doogie65

Wow! Hopefully it did not damage the alternator.

FWIW, the original belt from my base kit only lasted about 1.5K miles before starting to squeal. I replaced it with a Gatorback and it has ran flawlessly for over a year.

shanec

Good deal on the gatorback. My kit came with a gates. Fortunately, I'd already read Rob Simons recommendation for the gatorback, so I never put the Gates in. The Gates sits in my garage as a backup. No slips at all with the gatorback.