351 Belt burning and breaking!

[waterskivt]

Hey all,

I have a Ford (indmar) 351 in my 19' Baja Ski Sport. I have been burning though two new belts in 3 weeks and can not figure out the problem. I checked all the pulleys after the first break and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so i thought the belt was poor quality. The second time the belt was smoking hot and snapped like nothing. I have checked the alignment of all pulleys with a square and they seem fine. I bought the boat last summer and replaced the belt with a 15445 as that is what was marked on the belt which i took off (replaced due to dry rot). Could this be the wrong size belt?
Any thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: 351 Belt burning and breaking!

You've got something seriously wrong, look for a seized bearing somewhere, get the motor running with whatever belt you can put on there see which pully starts getting hot first.

 

[chiefalen]

Re: 351 Belt burning and breaking!

Could also be a bad alternator. Happened to me it froze and burned the belt.

 

[Don S]

Re: 351 Belt burning and breaking!

Two words.

RUSTY PULLEYS.

Clean em up and repaint or replace. Then keep the water off of them so they don't get rusty again.

 

[MikDee]

Re: 351 Belt burning and breaking!

Two words.

RUSTY PULLEYS.

Clean em up and repaint or replace. Then keep the water off of them so they don't get rusty again.

Good Advice, I would also try turning each pulley by hand, (of course not the crank) before you put the belt on to see if any one had abnormal resistance, if so, then determine the problem. K.I.S.S.

 

[mark1905]

Re: 351 Belt burning and breaking!

Two words.

RUSTY PULLEYS.

Clean em up and repaint or replace. Then keep the water off of them so they don't get rusty again.

Don..

After reading this a few weeks ago, I tried this last weekend. I sanded every pulley down with 150 grit, and painted with anti-rust spray paint.

The very first time out, the paint wore off and bunched up. This was after letting it dry for 2 days.

What kind of paint do you recommend?

 

[MikDee]

Re: 351 Belt burning and breaking!

Get them Chromed!

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: 351 Belt burning and breaking!

My pullies have rust on the ramps and I don't go through belts, not saying it's not the problem just hasn't been a problem on mine. Painting the is a good move but don't expect the paint stay where the belt rides as you already found out. Make sure you are using the correct belt if they are the skinny pullies and your using a fat belt thats your problem, the belt should sit completely down in between the ramps and no part of the belt should ride above.

 

[JustJason]

Re: 351 Belt burning and breaking!

i'd use an enamal paint.... rustoleum is fine. Just make sure you Sand, clean, prep, prime, sand, clean, prep, prime again, sand, clean prep paint, ect ect.....
a spray bomb isn't going to do squat if you don't take the time to prep everything... If you do it right, the paint should last a long, long time.

 

[littlebookworm]

Re: 351 Belt burning and breaking!

For 2 belts to burn up like that, you must have some serious resistance to the belt movement. I assume, of course, that you have adjusted the belts correctly, not too loose or too tight. You didn't say what the belt in question powers, so I would suggest you check the alternator, power steering pump, and water circulation pump. One of them is binding, causing the burning of the belt. I have seen each of those bind on car engines and on marine engines. Good luck. Hy

 

[waterskivt]

Re: 351 Belt burning and breaking!

Thanks for the suggestions, the alternator is brand new this spring so I wouldn't think that could be the problem. The pulleys seem to spin freely as well. They are a bit rusty as this boat is 20 years old and it appears the previous owner did not do maintenance regulary. If this is not the solution, how would i know the proper size belt to use? The belt does seem to be a little thick, however it does not ride above the pulleys. I will clean and paint then if that does not work will look for other solutions. Thanks again!

 

[Bondo]

Re: 351 Belt burning and breaking!

Ayuh,....

Just an old Mechanic's Trick I picked up years ago,....

Rub the sides of your belts with Lava Soap while at idle,... Be very Careful with the Fingers,....
The Lava has Sand in it which helps the belt bite the pulleys,+ the soapiness helps slow the Rusting that always takes place when motors just Sit.....

'ell,... To this day I carry a bar of Lava in All of My various Toolboxes.....