Yay... I broke the alternator belt. :(

[scitzz]

How much deflection does the belt have?

As in, if you push on the belt in the area that it has the furthest to go between 2 pulleys, how far can you push it in in the middle of those same 2 pulleys.....

Should be about an 1/8 of an inch......

Hope that makes sense

[FB71]

that's too tight. 1/2" deflection is appropriate.

[SimonTuffGuy]

Hmmm... I'll have to check tomorrow. I'd say it's somewhere between 1/4" and 1/2" of deflection.

[scitzz]

that's too tight. 1/2" deflection is appropriate.

Really? That is what I usually use.....

I use gates belts as well.

[SimonTuffGuy]

ok... In light of having the temp gauge go WAY up... I changed the oil today to make sure it wasn't milky... It wasn't, but there was a lot of trash that came out... Didn't seem like metal pieces, but a rubbery substance was partly there. Any thoughts on what that may have been? Related at all?

[SimonTuffGuy]

there's still no leaks under the car... The coolant is low, but its been that way since I got it... I think it may be leaking out the back and hitting the exhaust and evaporating...

[25Horseplay]

Top everything off and keep an eye on things.

[KingFish]

Just my two cents here. My festiva and a friends aspire (both b3's)both had screaming belts. He changed his 3 times before he gave up. i changed mine w/ topcog brand and still screamed when it was cold. I took a real hard look and saw that the wp pulley was cutting a groove in the timing cover! when the engine was cold it screamed and when warm quite. I figure when the motor warms the expansion of the block and head stretches the plastic cover clear of the pulley. My belts good, deflection is spec. It's the only thing it could be. Of course this has nothing to do with chunks in the oil. My first though on that is bits of timing belt?

[SimonTuffGuy]

There are no cuts or anything on the timing belt cover. In fact, I've been thinking about yanking that off because of the adjustable cam gears for looks... (or maybe cutting a hole in the cover so they can be seen anyways)...

25HP mentioned there is a small washer type thing under the bottom pulley and that maybe it has something to do with that. I have a feeling that with the BP in there, it's not going to be the easiest thing to swap with the engine still in the car. It may not even be that, I'm not realy sure.