Generator belt replacement

[scott13]

Has anyone changed the belt on the 17.5K generator in a Featherlite H-3? It looks like a pretty tough job, but mine is cracked and probably the original belt. I think it should be replaced.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I have helpers that replace my generator belts. They work cheap, they do get the job done, but you have to tolerate a little ball breaking.

It is a whole lot easier to let them do it.

[Donnie_M]

I see Jon likes to keep his post count rising...lol

Scott, does yours have a cover over the belt? Are you sure it is cracked and not just paint flaking? If it has a cover, it is a PITA! If not it's not that bad. I usually cut the old one and then "bump" the start switch to verify the rotation. I then put the new belt around the lower pulley and the pulley closest to the inside wall. Then I set the belt on the pulley closest to the outside and hold it with a pry bar and then bump the start switch and it goes on. Of all the belts I have changed, I have had one that needed adjustment. Does your gen have the electronic throttle? If it does it will have a rod that comes from a box and goes to the throttle shaft on the side of the fuel injection pump. You will know because you will see it move when you start the gen. If it does, there is a two pin plug on the box you can pull apart to prevent the gen from starting while you are working on it. If you need any thing else, well, you know...

[truk4u]

Pry bar, bump the starter! So there is no adjustment to allow a belt change without resorting to force? Couldn't forcing the belt compromise the belt integrity?

[scott13]

The paint is cracking on the outside but the inside is cracked and your hands get black just from grabbing the belt.

[Donnie_M]

Pry bar, bump the starter! So there is no adjustment to allow a belt change without resorting to force? Couldn't forcing the belt compromise the belt integrity?

Truk, I'm not prying on the belt. I'm simpy holding it on to the water pump pulley while I tap the start button. On his gen, the access is only a few inches to the wall. The belt wraps around the main crank pulley to the water pump and there's an idler that will adjust, but access to the bolts and then to try to pry it for tensoin is not worth the effort. His shouldn't have an alternator, so the belt doesn't have to be as tight as in most aplications.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I have to admit I question the method like Truk did. Belts are not supposed to stretch, which is exactly what happens when one is installed as described by Donnie.

Please understand I am not a mechanic and I do not know the exact installation so it is only a generalization and personal feelings that prompt my comments from the perspective of an owner. However difficult a belt replacement might be, as an owner I would want to pay a mechanic to install a belt by loosening the idler. It might take an hour or more by the time the mechanic gets access and completes the installation, but I would know when done the belt has not been compromised and the tension can be properly adjusted.

I don't doubt Donnie is looking out for his customer's financial interests, and I have heard owners complain about costs, but if a belt lasts 10 years the cost over time is inconsequential.

[Donnie_M]

Jon, have you seen the installation of this type of generator? Have you seen how small the V groove of the water pump pulley is? It's not like one of your fan drive belts that is large and sits deep in the groove and would have to "stretch" to get over it. You can almost roll it on by hand! There are a group of generators in his year range that removal of the generator is necessary to be able to access the idler bolts, and also to be able to use a bar to pry the idler back to get tension on the belt. Let's say the belt was compromised and lasted only 5 years. I would rather change it and spend another 12 dollars than remove the gen. When removing the gen that's been in there for that amount of time requires disturbing the exhaust connection through the floor (which is usually rusty and 8 out of ten times damaged from being high centered), coolant lines that run through the side wall and fuel lines. Not to mention all the time required to tape up and cover all the nicely polished stainless steel in front of genset. Whe I give the customer those choices, they usually say, just put the belt on! Now this doesn't apply to all of them, that's why I asked what his looks like.

Edit: (Jon.."Belts are not supposed to stretch") Is the belt not "stretching" when you tighten the idler to put tension on it?

[Donnie_M]

This thread brought back some old memories...lol Check out this short clip...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQhfcdQf1QA

[Jon Wehrenberg]

As I said, I am not familiar with the installation and I was only saying how I as an owner would prefer to do the install. Of course belts stretch. Our buses stretch by up to 1/2" depending on outside air temperature. But the belts I am familiar with on my coach are situated such that I prefer to have the idler or other moveable pulley moved so I am not forcing the belt in place. There was a reason for the adjustable idler pulley, but the designers of the installation you mention obviously gave little thought to future maintenance.