Frame's affect on belt change

G

Gino

Senior Member
Hi I'll try to keep this short. I own a five window coupe and a pickup. I wanted to change the belt on the coupe. Turns out there was not enough clearance between the front u- bolts and the pulley to remove the belt. Hmmmm. Took a look at the pickup and there was ample clearance. After much measuring and observance I found the front cross member and the middle cross member is 3/8" shorter on the coupe. Frame appears to be riveted in the proper place. Can't see any sign of a front end collision. Drives great. Any ideas on how this is possible or anyone see this before? Thanks
 
Different size pulley, different front motor mount, different rear motor mount, different front spring block clamp, come to mind right away.
 
Hi Mike, thanks for thinking about this problem. Are you referring to the clamp that holds the leaf spring? I have to say all the related parts look and measure the same except the distance in the frames front to middle cross members. I believe this to be the reason for the smaller gap between the clamp and the pulley. I just can't figure out how this could be. If some one replaced the front cross member it sure looks like a job well done. my concern is that I to force the new belt in and risk compromising the integrity of the belt. Thanks
 
I had the same problem with mine, I put a floor jack under the front of the motor and raised the motor slightly and the belt slid off with no problems.
 
No, the hand crank goes in at an upward angle. I did not think the engine would raise without removing at least one mount bolt on each side? But why the discrepancy in the frame I wonder. Well ill get the new belt on her. There's probably a good joke there. Thanks
 
Mine also has the original front cross member with no past damage and I have you jack up the front of the engine slightly to get a new belt on. I haven't had any experience with any other car so I thought this was normal.
 
Sometimes the belts are a ***** to change, you just have to do whatever you have to do, to change it. I just CRANK them through, the cogged belts are easier to crank through.
Bill W.
 
If the hand crank goes in at a down word angle, sounds like the motor is pulled down too far. I had the same problem until I replaced the front motor mount with the original style. Mine had the mount that used a thick rubber bumper on the frame bolt and was tightened too much. Problem was a combination of the motor being too low and the rubber bumper was squeezed so tight it balooned out causing no space for the belt to get past them.
Just a thought.
 
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