jwillman

I deleted the air pump on my 79 16V when upgrading my AC.

I got a 21 inch belt from Roger but it seems very loose, I can spin it on the fan pulley. I had Roger send me a 20 inch but I could not get it installed because I was concerned over the amounbt of pressure I had to apply with a pry bar to try to get the upper bolt hole to align and start ( I pulled 1 upper and the center bolt and loosened one upper bolt to get the shorter bolt on).

I am concerned about how loose the 21inch is but not sure if it is normal for an air pump delete.

Maleficio

I need to do this, too. My air pump seized, so I cut the belt. This was during winter, so I didn't need the big fan spinning, the electric fan did just fine. I also cut the AC belt. AC doesn't work anyway. Not having that extra load on the crank feels good. But I definitely need to get the big fan spinning again.

tmpusfugit

Jim, I just did the air pump delete on my '84. The 20" belt was by far too tight. The 21" worked out fine...I picked it up at Tractor Supply.....I bought the 20" from Roger after measuring the space I had....I had to cut it off....While a 21"x1/2" should be the same from different sources, the Tractor Supply belt is more like 5/8" and fits perfectly....not certain that helps your situation at all, just reporting what worked for me....

jwillman

Thanks Jim.

My belt seems way loose but I did have the car running with it as is and the fan turns. What I don't know is if I am getting full effect.

This is my first summer and last weekend car was running at the second white line with the air pump delete config. I don't have a summer with airpump config reference point.

LEADASS

I installed electric fan, very cheap at NAPA.

tmpusfugit

Jim, I would guess that to be too loose, looks like you need a 20.5" belt.....

My car has been running just a bit over the first line in similar temps to yours (really really hot), not certain that means much either what with differences in gauge accuracy and differences in cooling between cars and the like...I had given some thought to adding a small adjustable idler to the fan bracket itself, if my belt was too long...I will rethink that just for grins and giggles and see if something simple can be done. The electric fan has merit, I avoided that given the cost of doing it right, as well as the additional load on what I think is an already overstressed and under nourished alternator...

jwillman

So is a 20.5" belt available?

I have the same concerns on the elctrical system?

rexpontius

I would also ditch the belt driven fan, just the difference in sound it makes when you rev the engine a little makes it worthwile for me.

Installing a proper 16" electric fan is not very hard, and as an extra bonus you get lots of extra space in front of the engine when you need to work on it.

Cheers

John Speake

Might be worth tryinfg the 20" again. Mine was tight to fit but bedded down quickly so it's snug but not overtight.

KY928

I installed a belt from Tractor Supply over 3yrs ago after removing the air pump. It runs very loose, but turns the fan and has never overheated in the hottest weather.

davek9

My green belt has been working just fine for years and it too looks a bit loose, fan cools great and it has never jumped off, even under heavy (quick) usage. It will be OK just run it and see.

Fixer

The way to get the length right is to cut off the belt, wrap the old belt from the crank to the fan mark the shorter length, cut it. Take this template with you to the parts store. Look at your template belt next to a 20 or 21.

karl ruiter

I run the 21" on my 79. It is loose, but never been a problem, even with the AC on in summer in Honolulu.

Fabio421

Using a 21" belt that isn't able to be tensioned is a chicken $h!t way of doing it in my opinion. Just shim the fan out 17mm and then the fan can be tensioned off of the power steering pulley. I've got all three of my cars running like this and have been for years. This is a video I made for the guys on Pelican showing what I did. It's very simple and works great.



EDIT: By the way, I just realized that the video is NSFW due to me saying $h!t in the beggining of the video.

Brian Ruth

What size belt did you use?