Bongo Fury

can anyone shed any light on my aircon belt problem?
ordered standard belt - 12.5mm x 1000mm but it seems too short.

have read fact sheet in members area and it all makes sense,
but the belt just won't fit.
have released tensioning pulley but belt too short even bypassing
this.
could air con compresser be larger than standard?
anyone heard of modified aircons?
i know its difficult when you don't know the history of a vehicle and
i've not included photos but any thoughts?
thanks, james

ps. old belt disintergrated but measured it and it's the same length as new one. that's why i'm scratching my head. how did the old one fit?
aircon used to work fine.
old one might be thinner but hard to tell coz it's so worn.

You may have to use a bit of brute force to get it on, used to help out in a Vacuum shop, most belts were very tight to fit, due to once they had run a bit they stretched a little, we used a screwdriver to shoehorn them on, might work the same with your belt

The same thing happened to my air con belt , you have the correct size all I did was back the compressor off as far as it would go then useing some brute force and swear words ( just to help it on you understand ) I got mine on by by turning the pulley and feeding the belt on.Did mine from the near side of the van so lost a bit of skin off knuckles and arms on the sharp edges around the opening also changed the altenator belts at the same time as mine where a bit ropey and you have to remove the air con belt to change them.

I had the same problem when refitting a new altenator on my pajero, looked at modifying brackets, shifting wiring etc, asked a mate to have a look at my proposed butchery and he nodded his head and said "aye you could... but would fitting a slightly longer belts not be easier and quicker?" DOH!!! off to the motor factors who let me have three away. fitted the best and returned the rest..10mins tops. might be worth a go

I am assuming it's a serpentine belt? - if so it is very easy to get the routing wrong and it looks like the belt will never fit. If it is the same sise as the old one you will be able to fit it with a bit of trial and error.

thanks for all your advice.
( i'm logged on as me now rather than "james and mair" )
just to confuse you.
think i'll try a longer belt coz i might be able to force the belt on but the tensioner pulley would be in the way.
i can only think the compressor wheel is bigger than normal,
however unlikely that may seem.

i started working from the top but cut my arms on the sharp bracketry
so crawled under, took off the floor pan/protection thing (easier than i thought) and its all much easier to see and work on, reletively speaking.
luckily we have a gravel drive so i could rake out a bit more room for crawling under!
might need to invest in some ramps.

are the alternator belts the same as aircon, in size.

Nope, bigger

The size you require is 13 x 1125 you will need two ,got mine off E-bay cost £10 + postage for both of them . Hope this helps , Ian.

kawasaki kid wrote:The size you require is 13 x 1125 you will need two ,got mine off E-bay cost £10 + postage for both of them . Hope this helps , Ian.

Having working in the maintenance industry for many years, dealing with air con pumps,air compressors, water pumps, sewer pumps, and just about any other type of pump, fan and belt driven system you can imagine, one thing is certain.
The very worst thing you can do to a belt is to force it on to its pulleys.
You are at risk of damaging the fibre structure in the belt, leading to a premature failure, not to mention the potential damage to bearings and seals.
All systems have a method of tension, no matter what, so take the proper route,and save some misery later.
We had a guy on Newhaven docks chop a finger off by doing just that, he forced a V belt over the edge of a pulley, was feeding it on as he turned the shaft and caught his finger under it.
The 'proper' way might take a little longer, but what the heck, why rush the job, it's not like you have to do it every week, or possibly you will if you stress the belt.
(Could also have a problem picking your nose too )

thanks everyone for your replies.
problem solved now.
mechanic got bongo up on ' lift ' and was better able to lever it on.
has anyone ever replaced it from above?
must be impossible.
removing a worn one from above could be easy but not other way round.
as far as i can tell anyway.

happy bongoing everyone.