Eating up belts. HELP!!!

[humbro19]

So I'm hoping that you guys might be able to help. I have a Race Posi Port Eaton with a 2.73 upper and 4# lower. I believe that the previous owner changed the alternator at one point and it looks as if the pulley is just the one that came on it from whichever parts store it was bought from. I'm hearing that I should be running a 3.2 alt pulley. Is that correct? If so, why, and would that be causing my belts to start churpping every 1-2k miles? FYI I have tried green stripe Gates, HD Green Gates, and Gatorbacks. Gatorbacks last the longest. All the others only last days while the Gatorbacks last months. Any and all help is appreciated. One more thing. the Gatorback number I'm running is 4080785, does that sound right? Its super tight to install but lasts. Thanks again in advance.

 

[01yellercobra]

You're supposed to run the larger alternator pulley to keep it from getting overspun by the larger crank pulley. If the belts are chirping you have a pulley alignment issue. You need to go over the pullies and make sure they're all aligned.

I'm not a fan of super tight belts. They tend to eat up main bearings.

 

[humbro19]

Best way to check alignment? Never had an issue with pulley alignment and wouldn't know where to start as far as checking and or fixing an issue. Thank you so much for your help

 

[98 N/A 4V]

You can rent a laser alignment tool from your local Oreillys or Advanced auto. Put the laser on the middle rib and see if lines up with the middle of the pulley you are trying to align.

-Mark

 

[01yellercobra]

What 98 said. I've used the laser alignment tool used for hanging pictures. You can also use a steel straight edge, but it may not be accurate enough. My Procharger set up was half a rib width off. I didn't see it until I used the laser.

 

[humbro19]

Awesome! Thanks guys.