Me wife gave me hell when I was trying to sell the Waag guards..."Are you going to buy the one that you always have on your computer's screen ?" Needless to say, I'm still waiting for the bonus the company has delayed for the past few fiscal years 
Charging belts slippage
- Thread starter hobbes
- Start date
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landtank said:
She can prolly see through walls too......
I bet you have to wrap yer beer in lead sheets......
>> She doesn't possess those skills. I actually bought it locally and paid cash. She smelled it. <<
She paid someone to do it. Why are you doubting me?
-B-
She paid someone to do it. Why are you doubting me?
-B-
- Thread starter
- #24
Sorry for the length of the post below. It got longer than I anticipated.
I got around to changing my belts today and played around with the NAPA "Krikit" gauge. I'll post my thoughts below, but I'd first like to take the time to espouse my hate for the guy who located the tension bolt on the alternator.
NAPA "Krikit" V-Belt Tension Gauge PN KR1 (KR2 is for a serpentine belt IIRC).
Price: Approx $13 (or just over a 12 pack of beer or one medium pizza depending on what you use for currency...)
Initial thoughts: First, let me say it does not work like a Nippondenso appears to work. Anyone with more knowledge feel free to correct me, but from the drawings it appears to me the Nippondenso measures belt deflection between two known points on the tool. The Krikit measures belt deflection between two UNKNOWN points, the pulleys. Since every vehicle is different, my guess is the Krikit can give two different readings from equally tensioned belts on two different types of vehicles due to differences in the length between the pulleys. I'm guessing it can also give different readings on the same vehicle if used in two different locations. In other words, I think the scale provided on the Krikit is only relative to how you use it. Unlike say the Nippondenso, the Krikit's results are only good for an exact situation. I believe you have to manually take out the variables to really make this thing accurate. I see the two variables as location and scaling. I'll touch on both below...
How I used it: I was changing my belts due to wear and was not unhappy with their tension. They were about "that" tight. I measured the tension on the old belts at specific locations using the Krikit gauge prior to removing them. For the a/c belt it was at the intersection with the alternator belts. For the alternator belts it was directly under the right bolt on the face of the front of the block (it will jump out to you as you look at the engine). When I installed the new belts, I adjusted their tension to match the old belts by measuring the tension in exactly the same location. I ran the engine for 5 minutes and readjusted since that puts me in the "used belt" regime as defined by the factory manual.
Summary: The numbers I wound up with were around 80# for the alternator and 75# for the a/c belt using the backside of the indicator. But as I see it, those DO NOT compare to the factory numbers (nor each other) due to the nature of the Krikit. The Krikit seems to me to be a good tool for being able to "repeat" belt tension, not necessarily "define" it.
Making the Krikit work for everyone: I think the way to make the Krikit able to "define" tension in the case of the 1FZFE is to compare it to a Nippondenso. If anyone is changing their belts and has access to a Nippondenso, they could set minimum and maximum tension with the factory gauge, take a reading each time from a known identifible point with the Krikit, and post their findings. 6 electronic pictures I think would do it (each belt measuring location, each belt min and max readings on the scale since the scale can be read a couple ways). Posted here would allow everyone to set up their belts factory specs....I think.
I promise never to post so long again on the topic of belt tension....
I got around to changing my belts today and played around with the NAPA "Krikit" gauge. I'll post my thoughts below, but I'd first like to take the time to espouse my hate for the guy who located the tension bolt on the alternator.
NAPA "Krikit" V-Belt Tension Gauge PN KR1 (KR2 is for a serpentine belt IIRC).
Price: Approx $13 (or just over a 12 pack of beer or one medium pizza depending on what you use for currency...)
Initial thoughts: First, let me say it does not work like a Nippondenso appears to work. Anyone with more knowledge feel free to correct me, but from the drawings it appears to me the Nippondenso measures belt deflection between two known points on the tool. The Krikit measures belt deflection between two UNKNOWN points, the pulleys. Since every vehicle is different, my guess is the Krikit can give two different readings from equally tensioned belts on two different types of vehicles due to differences in the length between the pulleys. I'm guessing it can also give different readings on the same vehicle if used in two different locations. In other words, I think the scale provided on the Krikit is only relative to how you use it. Unlike say the Nippondenso, the Krikit's results are only good for an exact situation. I believe you have to manually take out the variables to really make this thing accurate. I see the two variables as location and scaling. I'll touch on both below...
How I used it: I was changing my belts due to wear and was not unhappy with their tension. They were about "that" tight. I measured the tension on the old belts at specific locations using the Krikit gauge prior to removing them. For the a/c belt it was at the intersection with the alternator belts. For the alternator belts it was directly under the right bolt on the face of the front of the block (it will jump out to you as you look at the engine). When I installed the new belts, I adjusted their tension to match the old belts by measuring the tension in exactly the same location. I ran the engine for 5 minutes and readjusted since that puts me in the "used belt" regime as defined by the factory manual.
Summary: The numbers I wound up with were around 80# for the alternator and 75# for the a/c belt using the backside of the indicator. But as I see it, those DO NOT compare to the factory numbers (nor each other) due to the nature of the Krikit. The Krikit seems to me to be a good tool for being able to "repeat" belt tension, not necessarily "define" it.
Making the Krikit work for everyone: I think the way to make the Krikit able to "define" tension in the case of the 1FZFE is to compare it to a Nippondenso. If anyone is changing their belts and has access to a Nippondenso, they could set minimum and maximum tension with the factory gauge, take a reading each time from a known identifible point with the Krikit, and post their findings. 6 electronic pictures I think would do it (each belt measuring location, each belt min and max readings on the scale since the scale can be read a couple ways). Posted here would allow everyone to set up their belts factory specs....I think.
I promise never to post so long again on the topic of belt tension....
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