1010 fan belt replacement?

[newwood]

Hummm. Looks like I’m also going to need a new fan belt as the existing one is looking pretty bad. Oddly, that’s not covered in the service manual—but looks to me like that means removing the hood, grill, radiator, and hydraulic pump to get a new belt on. Can it be that complex just for a new belt or am I missing something. A look through the archives suggest some folks have used the “adjustable length” belts, which would avoid that whole disassembly issue but it looks like this takes a 7/16” belt and adjustable only come in 3/8ths and 1/2”. I’d be concerned about a 1/2” belt staying on the pulleys so I guess I could try the 3/8ths adjustable but was hoping for some suggestions (or if I’m missing some obvious trick on traditional fan belt replacement. Thanks all
Newwood

[Jim B]

I would get the correct belt and replace it. You should not need to do it again for years if the correct belt is installed and the pulleys are in good condition. The parts catalog shows T12530T for serial numbers 10001 to 21900 and T626T for serial number 21901 and after. I find Gates # 7440 for the first one and 7480 for the second. Lavoy may have correct replacement belts in his store, you should check with him.

A good bit of what you remove to replace a fan belt depends on a person's skill and flexibility. Removing the hood will help with seeing what you are doing and access. You can generally work a belt off and on around the fan without removing the radiator. It has been years, and I can't remember for certain if the hydraulic pump drive disconnect opens enough to sneak the belt through or if you need to loosen/remove the pump mounting bolts and pull/pry it ahead a bit to open the gap. You may not need to remove the tubes/hoses from it to do this (saves oil loss).

As for fan belt replacement being covered in a service manual. You have to remember these manuals were written for dealer mechanics, not the DIY market like many automobile manuals. Dealer mechanics were expected to have experience and often training by the writers of those manuals. A fan belt replacement is considered a pretty basic maintenance task, as most mechanics will look at one and understand what needs to be done on a particular machine, so the writers don't write a procedure. The task can be pretty daunting to a person who has not had to deal with front drives and tight quarters. Expect some scrapes and lost skin.

[newwood]

Getting around the fan isn’t so much the issue: the grill/nose requires a hoist to remove, then the radiator, then the hydraulic pump (all to get the belt around the drive pulley). The archives do mention using the adjustable belts which avoid all that but no follow-up on how they did (inquiring minds want to know!). The crawler is in a remote location so there’s a need for practical field options vs shop practice. There must be some pretty deep experience for on-site options?

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

Accu-Link belts work just fine. I have used them on machine tools, such as lathes, were the power transmitted is a lot higher than to run a water pump and a generator. They aren't cheap though.

Stan

[newwood]

Thanks Stan. I don’t mind the extra expense given the savings in time and labor. I do wish they made them in the right width of 7/16, but I think I will just drop down to the 3/8ths which I think will ride in the pulleys ok rather than the 1/2” which seems a little iffy for staying on track.