Excessive Belt Wear

[kbtheboz]

I went to the lake with my neighbor yesterday, he's got a VLX. About 45 min. into the day he calls me on the phone, he's broke down. I checked it out and his belt had worn into. Pulleys were not locked down; alternator, water pump were free, bearings not loose. The belt looked like it had been rubbing on a locked down pulley, belt dust was everywhere. I think it happened on his previous trip cause he said the battery had barely enough juice to crank the boat at the ramp.

The question is........what happened. I know this isn't as fun as the troubleshooting test we had last week, but it the best I can do.

I stuck a belt on ( I hate V-drives ) and he was fine the rest of the day. I'm lost for an explanation.

[gooddog]

Something could be locking up when it gets hot...then spins after cooling.

[lake texoma]

What size of alternator is on it?? I have seen belts worn out form high output alternators. There could be excessive drag on it from charging at a high rate. Just a thought.

[LS-One]

I'm sure you have probably checked already, but my Ls-one had a problem with one of the bolts holding the alternator in place shearing which in turn tweaked the belt. happened three times until a harder alloy bolt was installed.

[HoustonPerson]

What year VLX and what engine..........mine is a 2004 LSV with the monsoon..............it has a "V" belt............It's a PITA, extremely difficult to get tight enough to stop slipping...........it can easily cool the engine and run a low speed.......but at higher speed, there is much more pressure from the water pump, and the belt can slip (chew up) very easily, unless it is super tight........................Malibu should imediately change to the same PCM belt system in NawTeaks and that is used in cars. Never gives trouble or slips at all, and never chews up a belt.

[lake texoma]

HP

05 has the serpenten(sp) belt on it.

[HoustonPerson]

HP

05 has the serpenten(sp)  belt on it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The only problem is, it is not a real serpentine, like on a car, with automatic self adjusting pulleys.........the ones I was a few months ago simple replaced the V Belt, and just went in a circle around the pulleys..........a little better belt yes, but still problematic.

[kbtheboz]

I'm sure you have probably checked already, but my Ls-one had a problem with one of the bolts holding the alternator in place shearing which in turn tweaked the belt.  happened three times until a harder alloy bolt was installed.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I will double check the alternator bolts tonight. I had to loosen the alt. to get the new belt on, so I'm pretty sure that the bolts are in good shape. The alignment was A OK. Not sure what could have caused that belt to wear the way it did. Maybe it is a v-drive curse!