Belt wear

[David W]

Hi all, our 2qm15 is pretty hard on alternator and water pump belts. As they seem to be a Yanmar specific size (Colour me shocked!...) I got to thinking about why they might wear so quickly.

I took a really close look at the surfaces of all the pulleys and noticed that they were fairly rough from rust and corrosion.

This weekend I used some 400 grit wet/dry paper to methodically sand the surfaces and they became noticeably smoother. Obviously don't know if it will make a difference but it seems to make sense that if the surfaces are smooth there I'll be less wear.

Wonder if anyone else has ever had the same experience.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

I use Gates V-belts on my 2GM20F and have no problems as the alternator and water pump are (actually, they have to be) adjustable for belt tension. Don't see why your 2QM15 won't take standard belts as well. Yanmar doesn't make V-belts, they just stamp their name on brand name belts and sell them for three times as much.

Smoothing the drive surfaces of your sheaves will definitely make life easier for your belts. You may also want to check the alignment of the sheaves using a straight edge to ensure they're happy as well.

 

[Warren Milberg]

I'm with Ralph: use Gates Belts. They are far superior to the so-called Yanmar belts (I think made for them by Mitsubishi). Just take an old belt into a Car Craft or other auto parts store and ask them to match it to a Gates belt. I also get a bit of minor rust on the pulleys and clean it off with bronze wool or something similar. Anything that keeps the pulleys clean and smooth is bound to increase belt life (as well as correct belt tension).

 

[dugout]

Take a wire brush to the pulleys and then paint the belt groves with POR-15. There will be no more belt problems.

 

[David W]

I'm with Ralph: use Gates Belts. They are far superior to the so-called Yanmar belts (I think made for them by Mitsubishi). Just take an old belt into a Car Craft or other auto parts store and ask them to match it to a Gates belt. I also get a bit of minor rust on the pulleys and clean it off with bronze wool or something similar. Anything that keeps the pulleys clean and smooth is bound to increase belt life (as well as correct belt tension).

The Yanmar belts I have seem to be more narrow than anything I can source locally. If anyone has a Gates part number to share, I'd be most grateful.