Vortech idler pulleys seizing and belts breaking

[MATTrocity]

Originally Posted by Dezoris

Take a good hard look at the pulleys for any wear, namely the one in question here. If you can post up some pictures it will help greatly to see anything obvious. How many miles do you have on your kit, did you do the install yourself?

I did do the install myself. I had a lot of help from a friend who has installed superchargers before but he still had a hard time. didn't help that it was late and we've been working on it for hours. It has about 1500 miles. I haven't seen anymore damage since I've removed the ripped bits.

[charged86]

Originally Posted by MATTrocity

I did do the install myself. I had a lot of help from a friend who has installed superchargers before but he still had a hard time. didn't help that it was late and we've been working on it for hours. It has about 1500 miles. I haven't seen anymore damage since I've removed the ripped bits.

whats your up pipe look like? the one that goes to the throttle body

[nelsmar]

So any updates on this whole pulley issue? I am at roughly 2,000 miles and checking my belt at every fill up. So far no pulley or belt damage. I am looking at a ~1,800 mile trip next weekend and am a tad bit bothered at the idea of my belt snapping in this wonderful Arizona heat.

[White_Lightning]

I just read through 5 pages of problems with the Vortech Kit. I've got about 500 miles on my kit, and I have a tiny rub mark on the charge pipe leading into the throttle body. The mark is coming from the hood heat shield rubbing on the pipe. I had the robber grommet fail and start to rip apart after about 50 miles of driving. The one that Dezoris points out in the video next to the alternator that holds the charge pipe in place. Spoke with my Vendor who went to Vortech and i've got two grommets, one as a replacement and one as a spare, coming in the mail. I've got plenty of clearance from the pulleys and belts and I believe once my grommet is replaced, I won't have any problems with the hood either. I'm really sorry to hear that some people are having problems, but other than my minor hiccup, my car is running stupendously well! Unfortunately, all of us being first year owners of a brand new car and wanting to increase power by 50% or more, every single one of us are guinea pigs. Good Luck to my fellow 86 owners, and please try to keep your heads up!

[Cal3000]

I got the new kit on Friday. They fixed the tolerance issue. A little divot in the piping.

[ft86me]

Originally Posted by Cal3000

I got the new kit on Friday. They fixed the tolerance issue. A little divot in the piping.

Luck you

[Foobar]

Originally Posted by Foobar

Just checked mine - there's a very slight rub mark on the bottom of the pipe going into the throttlebody but I've got at least half an inch of clearance between the pulley and the pipe on both pulleys that get close to it. Not sure if the mark was a remnant of the first install I did before I readjusted things to make sure there was no rubbing. I'll put some tape on the pipe and keep an eye on it to see if any new marks show up.

Checked my pipe - the tape has not acquired any new marks on it, so the rubbing was definitely from my initial install before I readjusted everything to make sure I had clearance. Looks like I'm OK.

Originally Posted by Cal3000

I got the new kit on Friday. They fixed the tolerance issue. A little divot in the piping.

Is there one on the other side as well? There are two pulleys that the pipe gets close to.

[Dezoris]

Originally Posted by ft86me

Luck you

I got the new pipe and cant get it to fit. Did you also get new brackets etc.?

[ft86me]

Originally Posted by Dezoris

I got the new pipe and cant get it to fit. Did you also get new brackets etc.?

I actually have the old pipe and have no issues w rubbing or even being that close. Only part it runs is up top on the cover for the hood and that's it

[blubrz]

Originally Posted by DJCarbine

How about the gates 38006? Its slightly wider, but its steel and the diameter and all other measurements seem to be the same minus the width.

Dayco 89003 Pulley
76mm x 17mm Flat w/Flange, 26mm wide

Gates 38006
Steel Smooth/Backside 76mm x 17mm x 30.5mm

Its listed as a cross-reference for the 89003, and looks like it will actually give more room than the dayco pulley because it does not have the "guide" ridges on the ends of the pulley

I just put on the Gates 38006 after my 2nd shredded belt in less than 1k miles. It technically isn't any wider. The 26mm of the Dayco is the width of the mating surface. Including the ridged area its about 31mm, so the Gates is a smidge thinner. Also, the two things I like about it over the Dayco is that due to the design it sits further away from the SC itself and there is now plenty of clearance between it and the charge pipe.
My guess is Vortech chose the Dayco to save a few bucks. It's the only idler on the whole engine that has ridges so I'd say they are useless and are actually causing more issues than anything.

Anyways, I'll be the guinea pig for this one and report back if I have any issues. Also, I have the blue racing Gates belt on order but I will run the standard one I have on there now for an apples to apples to see if this is the fix. At the way my belts were popping it should only be a few weeks and I'll know.

[blubrz]

Originally Posted by DJCarbine

Also are you guys removing the blower to change the belt?

It looks like with enough cursing, you don't need to.....

Yes, I completely removed it. Actually turned out to be much easier than cursing. Less than an hour for the complete change alone. As this was my 2nd belt change I had a friend help the 2nd time and it was done in less than 30 mins, including swapping in the Gates pulley.

[kiichiro]

This appears install issue,plus a parts issue , when the parts are clocked perfect its clear by a few mm, all in all, vortech needs to add some dimples to make installation less of a perfectionist task. Great thread.

[nelsmar]

Originally Posted by kiichiro

This appears install issue,plus a parts issue , when the parts are clocked perfect its clear by a few mm, all in all, vortech needs to add some dimples to make installation less of a perfectionist task. Great thread.

afaik it is just installation issue. I am not putting blame on anyones install skill level. Its just that the tolerances are just very tight and its not something most are checking. I started my engine and blipped the throttle etc to make sure clearance was acceptable during my install. 6,000 miles and no damage on the belt yet. A slightly smaller pulley would have given more clearance.

So the easy solution?! MOAR BOOST! :P

[blubrz]

It's two separate issues.
My pulley never touched the charge pipe yet still melted and ended up shredding belts.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free