sean f connaughton Posted September 19, 2020 Report Share Posted September 19, 2020 HI again, Any suggestions for replacing existing squeeky belt with a heavy duty fan belt. On first glance the fan hub is very close to the steering rack. Is there an easy way of fitting a new belt without removing rack? Thanks Sean. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stillp Posted September 19, 2020 Report Share Posted September 19, 2020 Loosen the engine mounts and jack the front of the sump up. It's a tight fit but doable. Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Motorsport Mickey Posted September 19, 2020 Report Share Posted September 19, 2020 Fit 2 whilst you are at it, side of the road... at night ...in the rain, is not the time to find out how to get another belt onto the front of the engine and around the fan. Secure the fan with 3 or 4 tie wraps at convenient places To keep it spread out and snip when needed. Mick Richards Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jase Posted September 19, 2020 Report Share Posted September 19, 2020 My next job, or buy an emergency belt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Z320 Posted September 19, 2020 Report Share Posted September 19, 2020 I use a more elastic (because toothed) Flennor 20X900. It was there when I bought the car 11 years ago and it is still in good condition. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sean f connaughton Posted September 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2020 thanks guys will give a try . Sean. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted September 20, 2020 Report Share Posted September 20, 2020 24 minutes ago, sean f connaughton said: thanks guys will give a try . Sean. Hi Sean if Your front mounts have gone soft it may be possible to raise the engine enough with undoing the mounts. Also consider a narrow belt conversion. Not cheap but gives peace of mind. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Morrison Posted September 20, 2020 Report Share Posted September 20, 2020 20 hours ago, Motorsport Mickey said: Fit 2 whilst you are at it, side of the road... at night ...in the rain, is not the time to find out how to get another belt onto the front of the engine and around the fan. Secure the fan with 3 or 4 tie wraps at convenient places To keep it spread out and snip when needed. Mick Richards really good advice from Mick, I would add that when I ran this, I wrapped the spare belt, in cling film, so that it was worth fitting if it had been there a decade or more. John. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tr4aJim Posted September 20, 2020 Report Share Posted September 20, 2020 Even with a narrow belt it’s a squeeze, at least on my car. So I also replaced the motor mounts, and shimmed them with 2 heavy washers per side. Now there’s just enough clearance to get the belt through without a struggle. You know they only break at night and in the rain! Jim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
keith1948 Posted September 20, 2020 Report Share Posted September 20, 2020 Just measured some square vs round engine mounts and the square ones I have are approx 5mm deeper than the round ones. I have read that the square ones are better but don't know if this is true. They would give a few mm extra. I have made a cross bar that fits into the channels each side of the engine bay. Using some threaded eye bolts, I can hook one of these under the front nearside lifting eye and the exhaust side with some thick wire rope and lift the front of the engine enough to change the fan belt. I also carry a spare clipped in place as many others have suggested - got me out of a hole on more than one occasion. Note that you may have to remove the battery if it is a large size because the back of the engine will touch it as you raise the front. Tr4aJim - which mounts did you use - round or square? I have looked at shimming but not done it yet. The other problem with raising the front of the engine is that the top hose doesn't line up with the radiator so well then. I have looked at designing a couple of mini jacks that could lift the front of the engine fitting them between the main chassis cross member as a support and the front plate of the engine. Basic design using a couple of threaded rods or bolts and a small metal frame. Idea is to be small enough to be part of the tool kit. I'll post when I have done it. If only Triumph had figured out a better solution for this one. Keith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tr4aJim Posted September 21, 2020 Report Share Posted September 21, 2020 Keith, I have the rectangular ones. With the shims, it did raise the water pump outlet approx 1/2 inch higher than radiator inlet. There was enough flex in the upper hose (I installed a new one) to fit ok. I was concerned a little about trapping air, but after a year, there have been no cooling issues (touch wood). Jim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
keith1948 Posted September 21, 2020 Report Share Posted September 21, 2020 4 hours ago, Tr4aJim said: Keith, I have the rectangular ones. With the shims, it did raise the water pump outlet approx 1/2 inch higher than radiator inlet. There was enough flex in the upper hose (I installed a new one) to fit ok. I was concerned a little about trapping air, but after a year, there have been no cooling issues (touch wood). Jim Hi Jim Raising the front of the engine 1/2 inch also raises the fan 1/2 inch so in theory the radiator should be raised 1/2 inch as well. I have just measured the clearance between the top of the radiator cap on my car and the underside of the bonnet. I stuck a bit of glazing putty on the top of the rad cap and closed the bonnet. I reckon there is about 1 inch and 1/4 clearance. In theory then it should be possible to place shims under each side of the radiator where it bolts to the chassis. It might also be necessary to raise the cowl a bit. I don't know if anyone has done this before but it all looks possible. That would help the alignment of the top hose. I wonder if anyone has any views on this? Keith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tr4aJim Posted September 21, 2020 Report Share Posted September 21, 2020 Keith, hmmm that might be something for me to do over the winter. I tend to take a “belt and braces” attitude with these cars anyway. Jim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Z320 Posted September 21, 2020 Report Share Posted September 21, 2020 (edited) As some of you might remember I made a fan extension with a much smaller diamter (22 mm) the original typ 20 belt fits through this extension and the steering rack without any problem, I wonder why this is not a common product of our TR spare parts traders? Edited September 22, 2020 by Z320 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sean f connaughton Posted September 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2020 Thanks all. that's a great response and excellent tips for when i do the replacement belt. Much appreciated Sean. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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