Andrew Smith Posted March 1, 2008 Report Share Posted March 1, 2008 I hadn't been out in TRK for about 6 -8 weeks, so when Baldrick popped round for 'cuppa' off we went for a little drive and a pint somewhere as today was a rather nice 'Spring' day. Then, as I was stuck behind a farm thingy (in the middle of nowhere useful) towing muck and chucking most of it all over the road there was an almighty 'explosion' under the bonnet with steam and water everywhere, so I coasted to a lay-by. It appears that the Moss fan belt I fitted a couple of years ago snapped (<5,000 miles ago), the engine overheated which resulted in enough pressure to blow the by-pass house clean off and deposit about 2½ litres of water/anti-freeze under and over the bonnet and the aeroscreens. AND where was my spare toothed fan belt - hanging in my bloody garage about 10 miles away, that’s where!!! Anyway, luckily Baldrick was following me in his 6 and dashed (a term used very lightly) off to retrieve it for me and we fitted it (not an easy job at the best of times) and then made our way to the pub! On the plus side a chap in a Vitesse stopped and offered his help, so the Triumph ‘esprit de corps’ in evidence - thanks. So, my mate Geoff Mark at Moss London will be getting a call from me on Monday. Cheers Andrew Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don Elliott Posted March 1, 2008 Report Share Posted March 1, 2008 Andrew - That's about the life of a solid fan belt on a TR. The width and depth of the solid belt can't survive when it is forced to go around those pulleys. Imagine how it goes along a straight section between pulleys and then it has to be forced to flex around a pulley, then it straightens out again. It does this 3 times per engine revolution. At 2500 RPM, that's 7500 times a minute or 450,000 flexes per mile. In 5000 miles that equates to over 2 million flexes. That's why I have used a cogged fan belt since July, 1993. I changed it a year ago with 81,000 miles on it. It wasn't broken, but it had worn on the sloped flanks and this caused it to sit lower in the "V" of each pulley. So I had been tightening it until the generator was touching the inner wing. My replacement fan belt is the one I have been carrying in the boot as a spare since 1993. Now I carry a new cogged fan belt as my spare. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alec Pringle Posted March 2, 2008 Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 Sorry Don, that's absolute cobblers. Fan belts used to last perfectly well, that's old-fashioned solid belts, until we got lumbered with all this eco-**** and eco-friendly rubber and whatever else . . . So now we have to change the spec of our old cars, to accommodate modern spec components which can't do the job. Bollocks, let's just make parts which do the job that they're supposed to. Cheers, Alec Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Smith Posted March 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 Don, Alec Thanks for you comments. I tend to agree about the quality issue of modern parts and whilst I have no idea of how many revolutions a fan belt should last or its lifecycle, all I do know is that if that had happened whilst overtaking the farm thingy then the result could have been at lot worse not only for the engine, but also me! Out of interest, the toothed fan belt I used as a spare was on TRK when I got it and had been fitted in about 1990 and I only replaced it with the Moss one as a precaution prior to Le Mans 06! There was a thread a while back discussing the merits of toothed belts etc but I can’t find it on searching, so can anyone point me in the direction of a supplier of toothed fan belts, Moss US sell them but Moss Europe do not? In any event, I will still talk to Geoff Marks at Moss London tomorrow. Thanks Andrew Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JJC Posted March 2, 2008 Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 Have a look at my request for the ref number of the correct length belt below before you talk to Moss. Would be interested to know what the correct length belt is. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
angelfj Posted March 2, 2008 Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 Sorry Don, that's absolute cobblers. Fan belts used to last perfectly well, that's old-fashioned solid belts, until we got lumbered with all this eco-**** and eco-friendly rubber and whatever else . . . So now we have to change the spec of our old cars, to accommodate modern spec components which can't do the job. Bollocks, let's just make parts which do the job that they're supposed to. Cheers, Alec Alec: Indeed, the modern stuff is crapola! However, don't be so kind as to attribute this to the "green movement". I am inclined to believe that this is strictly a pounds and pence issue. Cheaper (Chinese and Indian) **** and the same or higher price = more profit. Call me cynical and I'll take that as a compliment! Cheers, Frank Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marvmul Posted March 2, 2008 Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 Andrew, I suppose you do fit these wide fan belts VERY loosely. That's how they should be fitted. It's ok when the belt just does stay on the pulley's. It won't survive longly when it is as tight as a modern narrow one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Smith Posted March 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 Marvmul Yes, usually about 1/2" of play does the trick. But I think I'll stick with the toothed belt in future, so if anyone has any info on where to get them and what the part number is I would be very grateful. Cheers Andrew Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Don Elliott Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 I may have gone through two (or maybe it was 3) fanbelts of the solid type during the first life (80,250 miles) of my 1958 TR3A from new. When I finished my restoration in 1990, I put on a new solid fan belt and the package indicated that it was made in Germany. Around the time while I still had this belt on, many other TR owners were complaining about the short life they were getting out of belts like this. They all described them as "don't buy or use solid fan belts - made in Germany". Mine only lasted 13,000 miles. It broke near Peterborough Ontario (300 miles from home) in 1993 while I was doing about 90 or 95 MPH, trying to catch up to a Volvo 122S that had just entered the motorway at speed. It broke with a bang and I immediately noticed that the temperature had risen and the red generator light had come on. I shut off the engine, put it into neutral and coasted to a stop as soon as I could. It was then that I put on my spare fan belt - the cogged one mentioned above which eventually gave me 81,000 miles of trouble-free service. It only took about five or ten minutes to put it on because cogged belts are flexible and thin enough to easily fit between the narrow spaces that make it so difficult to put on a solid fan belt. It might have taken less time, except that the radiator and engine were excessively hot that July 29th afternoon. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vivdownunder Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 Hi Andrew, We use a Dayco Top Dog Gold Label cogged belt p/n 28380 (20A x 965) Another slightly narrower option some of our members use is Cummins Diesel cogged belt p/n 178539 WRZ (17A x 965) A NOS solid fan belt is a Dunlop p/n V516 which is also a 17A section belt. Guess you will have to Google to see if these are available in the UK. The best quality fan belts I have come across from one of the mainstream TR parts suppliers are from The Roadster Factory (their own make) which is GFB40975 solid or GCB40975 cogged. Regards, Viv. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
unclepete Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 Second belt string I have replied to in 5 mins!!! Look up 'WyKo' on the web they do industrial belts and bearings. Give them the size of belt 'A' being the profile and 965 being the length in mm and order a couple on your card. they are not expensive and last longer than the usual stuff from Halfords or whoever! Unc Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Smith Posted March 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 Thanks Viv, Unc 'WyKo', wasn't that a religious cult in the States that ended in tears? Well, Mandy has told me about you and 'belt strings' Peter!! Cheers Andrew Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob Salisbury Posted March 6, 2008 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 Andrew, you're lucky you were only 10 miles from home, I was in Annecy South of France when I discovered that my spare fan belt was still at home in Surrey!!, and no, you can't find TR fan belts at midnight in France!! had to come home on battery total loss with trainer laces as a fan belt to the water pump!! Check that your dynamo and water pump pullys are in line, my newly fitted repro. dynamo had broken little fitting lugs on the front plate and twisted throwing the pullys out of line and gooseing the fan belt. Cheers Rob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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