VAN SERPENTINE BELT

Cleanworks

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I have cleanco quad 56 pto in a 03 chevy 3500 express.

It seems I can only get about 3 months out of a van serpentine belt before it starts to chirp and it drives me nuts.

It's a GATESMicro-V K061203

I'm looking at a GATES GREEN STRIPE MICRO-V Belt to see if it will last longer.

Any other ideas to make belts last longer and will that Greenline belt work better?

Of course I've changed out the idler pullys and belt tensioner.
I seem to hear a lot of Cleanco belt and clutch problems, Jimmy, Russ T. but locally, we don't seem to have the same issues. We have guys here who have a serpentine belt for several years before replacing. I have seen Cleanco's with 10 year old clutches that are still working great. They are good machines but are only as good as the installer. Have the belt alignment checked Jimmy. It should last a lot longer. Just wondering if you are using a regular width belt or are you slicing it. On my old hydramasters, we had the slice the belt in half so it would fit on the pulleys.
 

Russ T.

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Going through a clutch every year enticed me to try a Butler.

I'm really glad for the Cleanco though. I'm going to see if they "burnished" the clutch on install the last 3-4 times.
 

Jimmy L

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Having a problem with serpentine belts stretching . Too much pull on the greenline belt. Tried gator belt but it wasn't working either. Backed off the lift and I get more time but has always been an issue.
 
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thefalcon38

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sam
I made a phone call to Chris at Cleanco. I Was asking him about the belts as well. He was saying that the longer the time it takes to chirp, the farther away the issue is with the alignment of the PTO clutch to the pulley wheels (as a general rule of thumb. All chirp noise are alignment issues. The difference between a chirp and a squeal is a chirp is rhythmic and has a vary of tones and a squeal is constant) So if your getting Months, I'd probably say your looking at the alignment out on the auto tensioner pulley wheel from the PTO clutch. The longer the length of belt between pulley wheels the less stress the belt is under. So the Auto tensioner pulley wheel is the farthest away with the longest length between pulley wheels. Meaning, the least amount of stress on the belt, the longer it takes to make it wear funny and start to chirp. Also, he was saying that the higher you have your vac lift, the faster your gonna go through belts and clutches. He recommended setting the vac at 12 to 13 which will extend the belts as well as the clutch.

Just my two cents worth.
 
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Jimmy L

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Already lowered the lift. How does one check the alignment. Heard lasers but where do you put them?
 

thefalcon38

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the laser tool rests on the top of the PTO clutch (in the first groove). point the laser points towards the alternator. It should point to the second peek. then turn the laser around and point it towards the power steering pulley wheel. it should point to the second peek as well for the steering pump pulley wheel and then rotate it underneath the PTO clutch so that it is pointing towards the auto tensioner pulley wheel. All should be pointing towards the second peek. if not, you have an alignment issue. which translates, belt chirping.
 

Jimmy L

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But after I change out the belt I find the belt has stretched about an inch.
 

thefalcon38

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all belts stretch to a point. once the unit and van has run for a bit, the belt should stretch out to where it is going to be. If you plug up both your hose ports while the unit is running and it doesn't squeal, then your golden. 99.9% of the cases, this is normal belt stretch. Personally, I like the Gates HD belts (greenstrip).
 

rwcarpet

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Until I can get my Pro 1200 SE to Pembertons for a soft start upgrade, I start the pro every day while parking brake is off, so that it doesn't have such a jolt. I let it warm up while I'm setting up, it idles on about 500 rpm, then mash on the parking brake, bringing up the RPM's where they should be. (I do chock the tires before running without parking brake). I'm also the only one that operates the Pro, so that helps with consistency.
 
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Until I can get my Pro 1200 SE to Pembertons for a soft start upgrade, I start the pro every day while parking brake is off, so that it doesn't have such a jolt. I let it warm up while I'm setting up, it idles on about 500 rpm, then mash on the parking brake, bringing up the RPM's where they should be. (I do chock the tires before running without parking brake). I'm also the only one that operates the Pro, so that helps with consistency.

Why does the parking brake make a difference? I always use my parking brake by putting the transmission in neutral, then applying the PB, then put it in park... Any slight incline/decline it takes the weight of the vehicle off the trans which in turns saves your transmission..

Is there a sensor on the van that makes the Pro1200se jolt?
 

D Luke

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Pro 1200 SE. Supposed to be standard belt now. Uses the 7" clutch upgrade.

Yeah I just talked to Sapphire and got the details. Supposedly Gates custom makes them the perfect belt.

Wish I had known that before I just flushed a hundo down the drain by replacing the original Napa belt.
 

D Luke

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Until I can get my Pro 1200 SE to Pembertons for a soft start upgrade, I start the pro every day while parking brake is off, so that it doesn't have such a jolt. I let it warm up while I'm setting up, it idles on about 500 rpm, then mash on the parking brake, bringing up the RPM's where they should be. (I do chock the tires before running without parking brake). I'm also the only one that operates the Pro, so that helps with consistency.
Do they have a soft start upgrade? Never heard anything about it, and haven't noticed any problem with how it starts.
 

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