Inspected my belts and pulleys today before heading out on the water. Some of the pulleys look a little rusty where they're grooved for the belt. I'm worried that they'll eat up the belts faster than normal. Is there anything that can be sprayed on them to protect them without causing belt slippage?
Serpentine belt pulleys look a little rusty and rough. What to do.
- Thread starter marks737
- Start date
CliffA
Well-Known Member
- Dec 29, 2009
- 4,712
- Boat Info
- 2001 Sea Ray 340DA
Name: 'Happy Place'
4.5kW West. Generator
Purchased Nov. 2014
Fresh Water Use
- Engines
- Twin Merc. 6.2L (MPI)
640 hp (Total)
Raw Water Cooled
V-Drive Transmissions
why not just take a wire brush in a drill and clean out the rust?....most likely after the engines have run for a little while the belts will clean the pulleys by themselves....personnaly i would not spray anything on the belts as it would likely cause slippage....
cliff
Skuza
Well-Known Member
Is this rust that formed over storage? If not and its just there then I wouldn't worry about it. It's in a spot that the belt isn't hitting then thus not causing any damage. And if this is just there NOT from storagae and still bothers ya I would take em off and wire brush them as the other poster said. Then hit em with some rustoleum so they stay pretty.
You may want to also take them off and spin them in your hand. This is hard to completely describe, but listen for noise that shouldn't be there - a rougher, metallic or loose sound. Pulleys are cheap and it's good PM to replace them before they fail - which you just know will NOT happen when you're at the slip.
EDIT: Forgot to add... you may find you can tell if the bearings are going bad while it's still on the engine - but in your hand is just a little easier. Another thing to do is to use a mechanic's stethoscope (or a long screwdriver) to listen to the pulley while it's running by touching the bolt and/or surrounding metal.
EDIT: Forgot to add... you may find you can tell if the bearings are going bad while it's still on the engine - but in your hand is just a little easier. Another thing to do is to use a mechanic's stethoscope (or a long screwdriver) to listen to the pulley while it's running by touching the bolt and/or surrounding metal.
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scoflaw
Well-Known Member
- Aug 10, 2011
- 6,395
- Boat Info
- 1999 Powerquest legend 260 sx 502 mag
2005 Baja 242 islander 496
- Engines
- 502 mpi Bravo 1
496 mag B1
Be sure, that pulleys are not cheap.
Rusty pulleys have absolutely nothing to do with bad bearings
Yes, a rusty pulley will eat your belt alive
Get the rust off of them and paint.
Rusty pulleys have absolutely nothing to do with bad bearings
Yes, a rusty pulley will eat your belt alive
Get the rust off of them and paint.
About $30 (some more, some less) for a pulley is certainly more than an automotive pulley. But when it comes to PM, I'll take that price, if they're starting to sound a little rough, over getting stuck out on the water any day of the week. I'd consider that cheap insurance.
I'm not sure I'm following your logic. It seems as though you are saying that a rusty pulley can never equal bad bearings. Wouldn't it be a safer assumption that IF the pulley is rusty, then the bearings COULD be bad? Especially since bearing can go bad without the pulley being rusty. Hence my recommendation on checking them.
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scoflaw
Well-Known Member
- Aug 10, 2011
- 6,395
- Boat Info
- 1999 Powerquest legend 260 sx 502 mag
2005 Baja 242 islander 496
- Engines
- 502 mpi Bravo 1
496 mag B1
Maybe the vbelt pulleys were cheap, but not the serpentines
The pulleys mounted to the balancer and water pump have nothing to do with bearings. Actually all the pulleys have nothing to do with bearings, unless
you are reffering to the idler pulleys with the internal bearings? In which case , those are made of plastic anyways.
Pulley corrosion is caused by moisture or water flying around, in which case your bearings are protected by seals
Like throwing the baby out with the bath water
The pulleys mounted to the balancer and water pump have nothing to do with bearings. Actually all the pulleys have nothing to do with bearings, unless
you are reffering to the idler pulleys with the internal bearings? In which case , those are made of plastic anyways.
Pulley corrosion is caused by moisture or water flying around, in which case your bearings are protected by seals
Like throwing the baby out with the bath water
You're right - I should have been more specific as I was combining a recommendation for the idlers with the other symptoms that the OP described. It's been my experience that if you're seeing rust accumulating, it's worth a few minutes to check out the idler bearings. Rust doesn't necessarily have to come from water flying around - it also comes from moisture in the air and the idler bearings aren't as protected as the rest. You're in Mass, but as you get further south, the air holds more moisture and that salty moisture can get everywhere. We (family) have a bunch of cabins on the coast of Maine - we don't have nearly the "salt water problems" that are experienced on the Jersey coast - and I'm sure Jersey is not as bad as what the guys in Florida have to deal with.
Again - I'm not saying just toss them... just that it's worth a few minutes to check them out. They may very well be fine - but "assuming" has not worked very well for me in the past.
Again - I'm not saying just toss them... just that it's worth a few minutes to check them out. They may very well be fine - but "assuming" has not worked very well for me in the past.
scoflaw
Well-Known Member
- Aug 10, 2011
- 6,395
- Boat Info
- 1999 Powerquest legend 260 sx 502 mag
2005 Baja 242 islander 496
- Engines
- 502 mpi Bravo 1
496 mag B1
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