I just put on my March power and amp pulleys! but i dont have a new belt to put on, so i cant try them out yet, I will let yall know how they work when i get the belt sorted out tomorrow!

 

If you put the pulleys on, which size belt do you need?

 

I already removed my air pump a while back so i had to get a 2" shorter belt then, now i had to get another 2" shorter belt. on the box it says its 85-3/8". So far im really pleased with the results, the first thing i noticed is its quiter, not as much fan noise and stuff when its idling. It revs out a lot better too, it used to make a whirring noise above 3000rpm, now it doesnt. the butt dyno says they are worth a significant power increase. now we will see how the alternator works when i have the headlights on and the stereo cranked idling around town.

 

SO you use a 83-3/8ths inch belt now? I want to bypass my air pump, all you need is 2 inches shorter? I thought it would be alot more.

 

Also when you pull of the air pump, it has a tube that runs past the passenger side exhasut manifold, then it looks like it connects up to something behind the intake manifold, what do you have to do to remove it?

 

actually it has a check valve and a cross tube that bolts to the back of both heads to supply air into the exhaust . you can fab a plate the cover the hole throw some high temp rtv on it and use the bolt you took out to hold the plate on . otherwise it'll sound like you got one hell of an exhaust leak ........lol

 

Well when I got my true dual exhaust setup, I did not get the air tube connecyed to the new cats, so the metal tube is just cut short, and it essentially pumps air under the truck. I believe that when I looked at it,the thing behind the manifold that I am talking about has some blue tube also connected to it, and I didnt know where it went. I really never looked at it that much, but I will tomorrow.

 

the belt that i am using now is 85-3/8", at least thats what the box it came in says. I removed all the tubes and stuff too, i took all the solenoids and everything off, just plug up all the holes and you will be good to go. I have the old belt i was using before i got the pulleys, with no air pump, i got it at autozone and i can get you the number off it if you want.

 

So if I leave the air pump, and I put the pulleys on (which are on there way to my house) I need a 85-3/8" belt?

 

no, you will need one about 2" shorter than stock if you leave the air pump on with the pulleys, if you remove the air pump AND put on the pulleys you will need one 4" shorter than stock (as in my case). so you will need one somewhere around 87"

 

Thanks for the info, I am just trying to get all the right info so that I can order a Goodyear Gatorback belt, so that I can get it at the same time as the pulleys. I am just curious, the box that the pulleys came in, what size belt do they say exactly?

 

I went out and looked, and my stock belt is 99" and I called MArch and they recommend an 96" belt.

 

Run a piece of string along the belt path, after taking note of the tensioner preload. Preload the tensioner, mark the string and viola!..... perfect belt match.

Just my .02 on belts. I've bought belts from the cheapest of cheap up to high dollar. Unless you are getting slip, the cheap belts usually work just as well, and last almost as long. For less than the cost of a Goodyear belt you can buy a less expensive belt, the spare to put in the truck, and put a couple dollars back in your pocket.

In my experience a belt that costs 4 times as much does not come close to lasting 4 times as long.

 

Well at WOT on the upshifts and the downshifts, the belt does squeek. The Goodyear costs $35 and the one at carquest is like $25, so I dont know what I will do.

 

Beastie,

If your tensioner and the current belt are in good shape the Goodyear belt might help the squeal. I would the other two things first. No sense putting a more expensive belt on with an old tensioner. Often the tensioner will bounce as it wears, often a sign that it's starting to wear.

The tensioners have a decent amout of travel, so using a slightly shorter belt on a worn tensioner might help as well.