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Removed a/c fan belt 85 Caprice . OK?

Hi,

Seems like this will not cause any problems, but thought I'd ask anyway.... I removed the fan belt from the "a/c compressor, power steering pump, waterpump " circuit, since it was squealing and annoying the neighbors. No more squealing.

So now, the difference is basically that instead of having 2 belts powering the power steering pump, I have one.

The a/c was shot anyway (no freon), so no loss there. I know the defroster is supposed to kick on the compressor too, but that's no big loss, as far as I can tell.

Car runs fine.

I guess my question is : Does the power steering pump really need 2 belts driving it?

Thanks.

Reply to
Caprice85
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To find out, turn the steering wheel from point to point and see if the belt starts to howl. If it stays quiet, then likely it isn't slipping. At full pin, the pump should complain though....

V-belts can make noise and slip by being shined up. They get polished on the sides and will slip even when tight. I check this by taking a cold off engine and seeing if I can hand slip the alternator or PS pump pulley. If they will hand slip, they will slip under load so I then buy a new belt. I polish mine up from mud and dust driving on 2 tracks.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Caprice85 wrote:

Reply to
Mike Romain

No, I've been driving mine like that for 18 years. Now you can remove all the AC components and save some weight too. Wait until you change the cooler core and then remove the evaporator there also.

Reply to
Al Bundy

"Caprice85" writes in article dated 17 Aug 2005

06:12:55 -0700:

If it does, the first symptom will be a squeel on the remaining belt.

There is still a belt driving the water pump, I hope.

The fan and water pump are critical components. If you run the engine without them, you may ruin it. One thing that the dual-belt design gives you is redundancy -- if one belt breaks you can still drive.

Was the Caprice sold without AC that year? If so, you can probably get a replacement belt which is the right size for everything except the AC. You might have to remove the compressor to install it.

-- spud_demon -at- thundermaker.net The above may not (yet) represent the opinions of my employer.

Reply to
Spud Demon

dated 17 Aug 2005

06:12:55 -0700:

On mine the AC only used the PS pulley as sort of an idler pulley on the way to the crank. It was completely unnecessary to overall operation without the air. But always look and make sure the other accessories work and in this case they should.

Reply to
Al Bundy

Thanks for the replies. Yes, the waterpump has its belt in place ! :) And there is no squeal from the ps pump on normal turning. So it looks like I'm good to go.

Reply to
Caprice85

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