Club 80-90 Forums

Hi 80-90 guys
There always seems a need to make adjustment to the tension of my drive vee belt ! Once I hear a squeal I know it needs adjustment I.e. lift the alternator a wee bit !
I have a 1.9 TD 1990 Vanagon Campervan
Is the stretching of the drive belt normal ? Does everyone have that problem?
And, how to prolong drive belt life ?
I always carry a spare belt

Often, the problem is worn pulleys - the groove becomes out of shape, and too wide.

Had a persistent squeal from our early DG , new belts would squeal after a short while but the belt wasn’t loose to note , turned out that the water pump pulley was shiney from progressive slipping , i “roughed” it up , took away the shine and solved the issue . Spot of emery paper and the grinder !

Dont discount your water pump is failing. Take belt off and spin your pulleys.

I also find the late belt setup on my 1.6 td wears quickly and needs frequent adjustment.
Given you have a non standard engine a strait edge to check the pulleys are in proper alignment would be well worth doing.
I would second the comment on worn out of shape vee in any of the pulleys.
I think the late setup,often with a higher output alternator was less robust than the early 2 belt setup.
I think I recall that when these vans were new there were complaints of the crank pulley rusting more than usual ,not helped buy infrequent use and /or living by the seaside.

Thanks guys for your positive feedback. Some checks to do ! The grinder sounds a bit fierce but emery cloth is worth a try !!!!

The grinder was just to spin the pulley half’s as per the picture , holding the emery onto it
Work smarter, not harder !!

Ahhh, now it’s clear Steve !!! Good idea !
Thanks Steve

Hello,
I was reading about the alternator belt fixes and found this post. My issue seems a bit different : the pulley on the crankshaft is not at all aligned with the water pump pulley (assuming they should be in a perfect vertical plane together with the alternator pulley)  The WP pulley is as close as it could be to the engine but still not close enough to be aligned with the crankshaft pulley. 
To my understanding, the crankshaft pulley cannot be adjusted, but maybe I am wrong.
The crankshaft pulley is the double one with PAS.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts...
Lionel / T3 JX Eng.