Belt Alignment & Tension

Kneedrager

I'm in the process of installing my VC clone engine with their swap kit in my 1999 Club Car Turf II. My questions are about belt installation.

1) How should I align the pulleys? Should I align the centers, left edges, right edges? I have a small construction laser I was going to use to help, but wasn't sure what should align with what.

2) How tight should the belt be (with the engine off) ? It's going to be a key start with a reduced idle.

Thanks for any and all input.
-Scott-

BGW

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slonomo

If you have all the parts, use the belt to get the alignment correct. Install the belt and move the parts around to get it straight. What you want is the belt to be centered in the primary, maybe a hair toward the fixed sheave. I typically eyeball this then snug everything down and watch the belt in action to verify that it's not rubbing anywhere.

Tension should be fairly tight. I use the 1-2" rule. If you push down on the top portion of the belt it should move between 1-2" fairly easily. If you force the belt down too hard it will open the secondary sheaves and it will be too loose.

If you are using all Vegas Carts parts, you can always call them to get their specific procedure. Geoff and his guys are always eager to help.

sho305

I try to align the fixed pulleys, so that would usually be the outer secondary and inner primary (they don't move). Use a straight edge across and measure both sides, that way you know they are true to each other. The offset between them depends on the clutches used, but you generally can eyeball how straight the belt is as it will turn when it hits the sheaves if its off. Slo is right on tension too, you can also look at where the belt comes tight in the primary when its running, you don't want it too far off the bottom (loose) or you lose low gearing. Too low (tight belt) and the cart moves at idle (belt drag) and may not shift out all the way to highest gear. Note it will tend to be better on hills/takeoff with the belt tighter.