david c Posted January 11, 2019 Report Share Posted January 11, 2019 Before I break something. While taking the engine out for a much needed "sort out" I found simply getting the fan belt off took a silly amount of time and decided that if I ever had to do it at the side of the road it would be an absolute moose. So I decided to invest in a narrow belt conversion kit, how hard can it be to change a few pulleys? it seems in my case very hard indeed. Dynamo pulley, simple. Water pump pulley impossible! according to the WSM undo and remove the bolt / washer and pull off the pulley, now my pump does not have said bolt / washer. Have I drawn the short straw and ended up with one of the Unipart pumps that have the pulley pressed on / non removable. The three legged puller does not seem to have any effect. I had planed to keep the old fan and also run the electric fan I fitted a few years back. So before I break something I thought I would ask. David Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted January 11, 2019 Report Share Posted January 11, 2019 Hi David, how old is your water pump - if coming up to or beyond 10 years then get a new pump. I use the TRShop pumps - as they work and don;t leak a week later. If you are going electric - and I would recommend it - then remove the mechanical fan - what is the point of keeping it. If ti all goes a biot silly and you keep the fat bottom pulley then you could put a spare belt tied almost in place in readiness for the dark night disaster. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
david c Posted January 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2019 It's starting to look like this is another bit of kit that can join the rather too long Indian timing chain in the box of bits that "I thought would be a good idea" The pump is indeed one of the pressed on jobbies so I would need to buy a new pump. (they don't tell you this when you buy the kit) The old pump seems to work just fine, so until it starts to play up I will simply put it all back together as I found it. Further reading indicates that I can not run the original fan with this kit as I was planning to do ( together with the electric fan). so it seems to me the simplest thing is to go back to the original wide belt and strap a spare belt on the timing chain cover.........as I had previously done. after all getting a knackered belt off can be done with a sharp knife rather than taking apart other bits carefully as I did when striping the engine. Unless some one knows better................. Thanks David Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rcreweread Posted January 11, 2019 Report Share Posted January 11, 2019 David I have a narrow belt conversion with an original fan and a back up electric pusher fan in front of rad, so puzzled by your comments - have sent you a PM so give me a call if you want Cheers Rich Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisR-4A Posted January 11, 2019 Report Share Posted January 11, 2019 Hi David, I have been running a narrow belt conversion with damped pulley for over 10 years and would recommend it as the engine runs a lot smoother without the unbalanced wobbly extension for the original fan. There is no problem with your plan to keep the original set up with a spare belt tied on ready if needed but if or when you do decide to go narrow then changing the lot and fitting an electric fan (puller rather than pusher) is the way to go. Chris Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sapphire72 Posted January 12, 2019 Report Share Posted January 12, 2019 (edited) Had my TR4 belt split & unravel crossing the south-western desert in 1974 on Rt 66, New Mexico. The old road was red and rough surface. The red was from ancient volcano mesas, their rock being used as an available cheap road building material. It was a seemingly desperate situation, Winter, sunny but very cold. Daylight, fortunately. Way isolated from civilization. I cruised into a small, windblown town, followed by sage tumbleweed, and was able to purchase a belt that looked like it might fit. Used the standard issue scissors jack under the sump pan to raise the front portion of the engine 1/2 inch. Slipped the bad belt off and the new one on. Continued eastward. Walt Edited January 12, 2019 by Sapphire72 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
david c Posted January 12, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2019 Walt that sounds really romantic, far more interesting than loosing a belt on the A13 just outside Pitsea in the dark and the rain, believe me the lousy weather was the least of my worries. Fortunately this wasn't in a TR4a it was a Ford Corsair and it was................. a year or two back. The upshot is that have put the old standard kit back on for now and will look at swapping it over when it's a little warmer outside. Thanks all David Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sapphire72 Posted January 12, 2019 Report Share Posted January 12, 2019 David, admittedly I somewhat obscured the point of my story- which is that to change a TR4/4A fan-belt, you can jack up the engine a half inch and the belt will slip past that cross brace. Works on a TR6, as well. Isolate the sump from the jack with a scrap of wood to avoid damaging the sump. Cheers Walt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
david c Posted January 13, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2019 Thanks Walt For the time being I have decided to re fit the original wide belt, and strap / wire or fix a spare in the ready to use position and if the fitted belt does break I will just cut it off, as has been mentioned before on this forum these wide belts are very durable and the chances of it wearing / fraying away without being noticed are..............slim? Next winter I may well fit a narrow belt together with an alternator and a water pump that I can dismantle (to fit the narrow belt pulley). Right now I will concentrate on getting the engine back in the car. Thanks David Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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