Hi, I need to measure to see what fan belt I need. It's a '58 Chrysler 392 Hemi with a Hot Heads alternator bracket on it & a 2 3/4" pulley. Hot heads said if I had their crank & water pump pulley to get a 60" belt. But I have no idea whose pulleys they are. I bought the 60" belt & it's too long. The pulley is 3/8" wide. Can I use a piece of 3/8" rope or do I just keep guessing? Thanks! Bill
Park the alternator/generator or whatever component moves to adjust the tension about halfway between loose and tight. Use a rope pull it tight and tape it together. Take your rope to the parts store and have them find you a match.
Then get several near the size you think will work and try them to find out which will work the best rather than driving back and forth multiple times. Return the others.
Rope stretches too much. Use that 60" belt that is too long. Cut it too fit. Shrink tube it together and take it to the parts store.
I use a long piece of electrical cord to measure mine. It drops into the pulley perfectly. The last belt I got worked, but one 1/2" shorter would be perfect. Most parts places will exchange a belt as long as it was not used.
And then have the dumb ass behind the counter ask you year, make and model number and tell you their system doesn't go back that far. Then as an added bonus he'll roll his eyes at you when you ask him to measure your belt and start going through their entire inventory to find a match. Argh!!!! Current day auto parts stores suck. They may as well move them into an aisle in Wal-Mart.
Go to the Dayco site, they list belts by length so at least you can go in armed with a part number, get a few sizes and return the ones that don't fit. Parts stores infuriate me too, they all may as well sell air fresheners and Armor All for all the good they do me.
not all parts store counter guys are a dumb ass , a few are good.....i'd say that the percentage is about the same as dumb ass customers
A good counter man is hard to find. My store has a couple of good ones so I shop there and nowhere else Sent from my SM-G900V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Use a 3/8 wide measuring tape. Wrap it around the pulleys just like the belt would run and read the measurement leaving the the adjusting items at the low point. Belts are measured by the top length. So if you measured say 51 1/2 inches the number would be 13515 for the correct belt. The first 2 digits are the width, the next digits are the length.
I keep a number of old belts around. When I need to do what you are doing I cut one, wrap it around all the pulleys at the adjustment where you get the most pulley/belt contact and cut off the excess belt. It is pretty hard to screw that up at the parts store and you can check it yourself before you leave. I agree with a couple of the posts, not all parts guys are dumb asses. Generally you get what you pay for and I'm quite happy with my guys locally. I think 36-3window hit it on the head.
Thank you partssaloon, it's surprising how many people don't know the length and width is in the part number including most parts counter guys these days. I thought that was counter guy 101, least it was 30 years ago when I worked parts. As a minor correction some brands rearrange the numbers, length first, then width. I have some old long belts I cut I keep around the shop to measure width, wrap it around the pulleys at mid way adjustments, mark where it meets and measure. Very accurate, never have to run back to the store for the next size. Only problem was the hired help kept throwing them away thinking they were junk.
Thank you everyone! Guess I should have waited for more replies before acting! I got the wrong belt twice but today went & got 3 belts to try. One has got to work. One of the local Napa parts stores is really good with this kind of stuff. I must admit getting the wrong belts was 'customer error'. Thanks again! Bill
I like to use a longer belt and vise grips so I can pull it tight and find where it fits best in the adjuster. Then I take that to be matched up
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