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Alternator Belt

tc1234c

tc1234c

Well Known Member
I have a plane power alternator from the FF kit and an IO540 ordered through Van's. The belt came with the alternator is too long (36 1/4") and the instruction says to order Gates XL7300 (30 5/8"). When I tried the shorter belt it is just too short (with the alternator pushed against the engine case I still can not get the belt over the alternator pulley). It seems a 34" belt will fit better. I just wonder whether any of you have the same issue. By the way, my ring gear has two grooves. The outer diameter of the grooves is a little more than 8".
 
I had the same thing except I don't have the air conditioning pulley. Will it go on if you roll it on? It may be loose enough once it's in the grooves.
 
I should be able to tell you later this weekend. I hope to mount the alternator on Saturday or Sunday.

bob
 
I had a Gates 7365 belt with the standard single groove ring gear assembly and a B&C 60 amp alternator.

There are at least 3 different diameters of ring gear setups each of which will necessitate a different belt size.

Bob
 
Napa Green Belts

Go down to your local NAPA store and pick up the exact length you need. Make sure to get the Green ones. They last forever and run much smoother than the Gates.

Gary Specketer
 
Well, I did some measurements today. The ring gear assembly is LW12227. It has two grooves. When pushed alternator all the way in the belt length is 32 3/4". When leave the alternator at the center of the adjustment range the length is 33 1/4". It seems GATES XL 7328 (33 3/8") will work. Unfortunately, I live in an area that does not even have a Napa store. I tried AutoZoon and Advanced Auto, neither of them have the belt. I will have to mail order one.

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NAPA VS GATES

Napa are Gates private label. Your local parts store, not the chains, carry Green Striped Gates belts
 
Alternator belt

I just went through this. The recommended belt was a 15355 which was too short for my application. A knowledeable guy at work informed me that the last 3 digits are the length in inches. So my 15355 was 35.5 inches long. I went and got a 15360 (36 inches long ) and it fit perfectly. You might try your local autozone for a belt that will work..
 
Belt numbers

you are correct with the 15 series numbers which are Dayco numbers. Gates numbers this isn't always the case. If you will google Rock Auto Parts you can look up the number you want and it will show you the size and they will ship to your home quickly. A gates 7355 is 36 1/8 inch. Ask me how I know. 47+ years in the auto parts business.
 
Unfortunately neither of the two stores in town carry any. My local Autozone has some Duralast v-belts (not the size I am looking for) that I don't dare to use on my airplane. Advance Auto can order Dayco for me. Well, I pretty much have to rely on internet for most of my shopping.

Here is a GATES belt size listing I used.

http://www.gates.com/oreilly/PDFs/SizeListings.pdf
 
some advise-

from a former auto parts person(many years ago)-----dont tell the parts person behind the counter that you need an alt belt for an RV---infact---dont tell them anything except that you need it longer by xxxx inches. Their "computers" dont have RV's in them. But---if you find a "real parts person", you might find someone that is interested in what you are doing---and can help you along the way with other things. So---if the parts person looks like he or she is lost with out their computer---they probably are!
Tom
 
parts people games

...just for fun, one of the local NAPA guys likes to have some fun when doing the '20 questions'. ...until he gets a rise out of you.

If you are buying spark plugs for your pickup....he'll ask.
" six cylinder........?" Yep
" 4-wheel drive......?" Nope
" air conditioning......?" uhhhhh, yes.
" bucket seats or bench......?" ummmmm, bench..but.....
" power windows.....?" .....waaaaa?????
 
well used to use-

the joke about needing an upper radiator hose for a '66 corvair, or a muffle bearing to go with the wheel bearings. Some got ---some are still thinking about it.
 
TS Flightlines said:
the joke about needing an upper radiator hose for a '66 corvair, or a muffle bearing to go with the wheel bearings. Some got ---some are still thinking about it.
Click to expand...

And don't forget the lady that came in looking for a 7l0 cap!!
 
I am always buying for "my project" at local stores. No mentioning of airplane let alone RV. Unfortunately, I am located in a small rural town that does not have much options. Our best hotel used to be Holiday Inn Express and best restaurant Bob Evens. One time I went through several stores (Sears outlet, Lowes, Walmart, ACES, AutoZone, Advanced Auto, etc.) looking for a 1/2" swivel socket and ended ordering on line. Not even all Lowes and Walmarts are made equally.
 
parts

If your auto parts store is anti airplane tell them its for an airboat with one of them aeroplane engines.
 
tc1234c said:
I have a plane power alternator from the FF kit and an IO540 ordered through Van's. The belt came with the alternator is too long (36 1/4") and the instruction says to order Gates XL7300 (30 5/8"). When I tried the shorter belt it is just too short (with the alternator pushed against the engine case I still can not get the belt over the alternator pulley). It seems a 34" belt will fit better. I just wonder whether any of you have the same issue. By the way, my ring gear has two grooves. The outer diameter of the grooves is a little more than 8".
Click to expand...


At least Van's is consistent. I ran into the same issue. The belt that came with the Plane Power alternator was too long. I guess I'm off to NAPA tomorrow.

bob
 
By the way, last Thursday I sent the ring gear assembly part number ( LW 12227), pulley diameter (8 3/4"), and a picture to Plane Power. Billy at Plane Power is looking into this. I bet Bob will find the correct belt before Plane Power does (to be fair, they don't have the new ring gear). I will order mine online as soon as Bob has verified the correct one.
 
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