Gates belts on KAD engines

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Does anyone else use Gates belts on KAD engines?

While mine don't shed any (or very little) dust over a season, only about 20 hours after installing (I replace annually), the circulation belt squeaks like crazy when supercharger engaged.

Belt tensioned correctly (I keep a torque wrench onboard). When new, they are great but after only a few hours squeakkkkkkkkk.

Same happened last year.

Are genuine Volvo belts (I know not made by Volvo) really that superior?

PS. Not interested in trying belt grip etc... - heard more bad stories than good

 

[Fishtigua]

Are the belt tensioners/rollers worn?

I've only ever fitted Volvo ones as the cost saving is only a few quid.

https://www.keypart.com/stock/860388-r

 

[alt]

Are the belt tensioners/rollers worn?

I wouldn't think so... the rollers are nice and smooth and the bearings aren't making any noise.... I can spin them fine by hand,

 

[julians]

I had a squeaky supercharger belt on my d4 ( different engine i know) caused by the tensioner being worn,it was still rotating freely,but there was a miniscule amount of play allowing the tensioner to not be absolutely square to the belt which caused squeaking. A new belt fixed it for a few hours,but then the squeaking would come back. Replacing the tensioner fixed it permanently.

Could it be a similar issue with your engine?

 

[tico]

I use gates belts on my KAD43s... no problem at all. Suspect it may not be the belts squealing but the bearings
Although the bearing spins ok by hand it may be a bit dry when under load.
I strip and clean out the bearings each time I replace belts and pack the bearings with fresh grease... seems to work

 

[Momac]

I have only ever had genuine volvo penta belts and found using them to be economical in the long run as they have been long lived and not required any interim adjustment ............in my experience , now in my 10th year with kad32's . Never had any squeaks.

I expect to get maybe three to four years (average 100 engine hours per year) out of a set of belts and even then change them because they are making soot not because of failure. Fresh water use helps as there is no pulley corrosion , and much of the time we are speed restricted.

Gates are a good brand. However I suspect , while the size of the belt may be the same the construction may be less substantial than the Volvo penta branded belts. I did hear of a Gates belt failure after a short period of use.

Having said that a genuine Volvo Penta supercharger belt failed on my friends kad43 after an hour or so running in the supercharger range. (I did advise him not to run continuously in the supercharger range but he will not listen). The replacement belt has, apparently, been okay with similar use.

 

[rafiki_]

You will probably find that Gates are the OE supplier to Volvo. they are one of the biggest and best suppliers of this type of equipment. As others say it is preferable to change the tensioner with the belt.

 

[gjgm]

I dont know why Gates squeaked on my boat and nor did my engineer...oddly we put VP back on and no more squeak. After that I stuck to VP. Not saying that is very scientific but at least it is quiet!

 

[petem]

Don't the tensioners start to run hot as the bearings start to fail and can therefore be detected with an IR thermometer?

 

[alt]

Food for thought guys, thanks.

I replaced the supercharger tensioners this season (one failed) - I'll order 2 new tensioners for the circulation belts and see how I get on.

 

[TK Blue MAX]

Is it a toothed belt,we have these on machines at work ,if they start squeaking, a light spray with wd 40 usually stops it ,they dry out and stick in the pulley, the wd 40 lubes them and seems to work.

 

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Is it a toothed belt,we have these on machines at work ,if they start squeaking, a light spray with wd 40 usually stops it ,they dry out and stick in the pulley, the wd 40 lubes them and seems to work.

The offending belt is a serpentine belt.

However, I think the posters referring to the tensioner may be on the ball as the squeak seems to come from the area of the tensioner.

I was thinking it was the belt's fault (it may be the belts fault due to a tensioner) as it only squeaks when the supercharger engaged (extra load) - it's not the supercharger belt though, defo the circulation.

It's an annoyance rather than a big issue.... not throwing off any belt dust and the boat performs perfectly.... just sounds like there's a cat down there when supercharger engaged.

 

[TK Blue MAX]

Serpentine belts tend to glaze if the alignment isn't spot on ,replacement might be your only option but i wouldn't think a GATES belt will be inferior to a Volvo one ,usually top notch products.

 

[alt]

Serpentine belts tend to glaze if the alignment isn't spot on ,replacement might be your only option but i wouldn't think a GATES belt will be inferior to a Volvo one ,usually top notch products.

I'm going to replace the belt along with the tensioner and see how I get on. The tensioner is original (2003) so I don't begrudge having to replace it...