Anyone change their engine belts on rear radiator motorhome?

[Letsgoagain]

Evening,
Has anyone on here changed the air conditioner and also the main serpentine belt on a 2004 Cummins ISC 330? I have the rear radiator which blocks easy access from the back so I have to work from the top or bottom.
I've bought my new belts and earlier today I went out to at least change the air conditioner belt. It looks like the only way to install the belt is to work the new one over each fan blade until I get it on the pulley side and then loosen the air conditioner compressor( not quite sure how that loosens either) to install it around that end. The only other conceivable way I could come up with is that the fan itself comes off which would be a mother since I have the rear radiator.
If anyone has any suggestions, something I'm missing or has replaced these I would sure like to hear how you accomplished it.
Letsgoagain

[quikduk]

Well you are going to LOVE this one. (not really... )

I have a '98 C8.3 rear radiator/CAC model. The only way I could change both belts was via a combination of under and above work and included a lot of contortions.

The AC belt requires that you loosen 3 (or 4) bolts/nuts. Tensioning the thing is a bit difficult but I used a long curved motorcycle tire iron to tension the compressor body (pryed (gently) against a boss on the block/head).

The serpentine belt requires that you thread the belt over the fan between (in my case) a very sharp metal shroud. I cut the old belt off after seeing how it was routed but the OM shows how it is routed (as does the Cummins Quick Serve site). You then have to route the belt. After you get "close" to completing the belt routing, you need a long 1/2" or 3/4" (I can't remember) breaker bar to compress the tensioner spring while you route the belt over/under the pulley.

Do NOT get your fingers anywhere that might pinch them and be sure to verify that the belt is reasonably centered on all pulleys. It will self center when you start the engine but it should be close.

Oh, the AC loosening/tensioning part is done under the coach (PS on my engine) while the belt install and routing (both belts) is accomplished while sprawled across the engine. I used a combination of 2-2x12's and carefull stepping on the valve cover (ONLY) to get to a position where I could accomplish the tasks.

Overall, I would rate it at 2-3 on the skills level and about 15 on the patience/ingenuity level as it can get frustrating real quick. (Side radiator people are just wimps!) :whistling :

YMMV of course...

[Flagelpater]

I would be interested to know the condition of your belts and the mileage on them. Please let us know how you make out. I will be attempting the same job shortly.

[Chickadee]

Hey!....quikduc: WHIMPS eh? Well,....maybe, but at least we've still got all our fingers to pick our nose with!!! Steve

[Letsgoagain]

I chickened out on the belt change for now. Getting ready for a trip soon and I think I'll wait until after the trip. The motorhome has 38000 miles on it and is five years old.
I know that its hard to tell from the outside if the integrity of the belt is good throughout but the exterior of both belts look to be in pretty good shape.
I had the motorhome in to a local shop to have the ride height adjusted. Very reasonable, $69.00, so I think I'll let them deal with the headache of changeing the belts when we return.
Of course I hope this isn't something that backfires on the trip. Guess I'm willing to chance it.
Letsgoagain

[chasfm11]

OK, so ours isn't a 330 (its a 5.9) but the changing the belts on ours is easier than changing the belt on my Ford Econoline van.

Here it is, step by step:
1. From under the bed, loosen the two bolts holding the pivot points on the A/C compressor pivot points. Crank the adjusting screw down, freeing the belt on the pulley - flip it off.
2. From underneath, put a 3/8" ratchet (I actually use a 3/8" adaptor on a 1/2" ratchet on the serpentine belt tensioner. push the tensioner with one hand and flip the belt off the back of the tensioner. From there the whole serpentine belt can be flipped off the other pulleys (please be sure that you have a good diagram of how it runs first) and be pulled over the fan in less than 2 minutes, now the the A/C belt is loose.
3. Work the A/C belt over the fan. If they used the correct size belt on the 330 (they didn't on many ISBs) it needs to be turned inside out to clear all of the fan blades. It is probably a 3-4 minute job for a proper sized belt.
4. Flip the serpentine belt over the fan and route it over the pulleys. I'd admit that it takes some reaching from the bottom to do that but it isn't a terrible job. Pull the belt tight on each pulley except the tensioner.
5. Put the ratchet in the tensioner and shove. Push the belt on the back with the other hand.
6. Work the new A/C belt (inside out) over the fan blades. This can be a little tedious.
7. Back on top, pull the A/C belt tight on the fan pulley and slip it over the compressor pulley. Tighten the adjuster to the correct belt tension and then tighten the two pivot bolts on the compressor.

Start to finish, I'll bet that I can do mine again in under 15 minutes (actually, I think that I can do it in under 10 minutes but I'm giving my self some wiggle room.) All this assumes that you don't have an incorrect belt length on the A/C belt and an adjuster mis-mounted to compensate for that. That was a problem on many ISBs. I can tell that in 30 seconds.

[tquarles]

And don't think that putting it off will save you - after all, its just the dash air....

My wife complained the A/C wasn't working well one day - I didn't think much of it, but the next week while changing the oil I looked up and saw 1/2 of one blade of the fan missing.
A week on the phone with cummins and monaco and the proper fan was finally located and delivered to the local cummins shop.
Took the rig in and dropped it off. They called before I even got home to ask if they could replace the *missing* A/C belt while the fan was off.
They think the belt broke and went through the fan. Monaco used PLASTIC fan blades on the 330 cummins, at least in 2002.
Cost several times more for the fan (parts and labor) than the parts and labor to replace the belt - and to this day I still can't figure out how they got the fan off without removing the radiator.
The most expensive non-warranty repair I've had on my '02.

I'll replace my belts early from now on. (belt was 5 years old w/50k miles)

[chasfm11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tquarles I'll replace my belts early from now on. (belt was 5 years old w/50k miles)

That has been my criteria for all my vehicles for 30 years. People have often told me that I'm foolish but I've never had a belt break or a cooling hose rupture (I use the same criteria for those) in all of that time. To me, it is much more about my being able to schedule the work at my convenience and not waiting until the part breaks when I really wanted the vehicle to be in service. Your point about the "collateral damage" that can occur when it does break is also a good one.

IMHO, deferred maintenance only works when the original interval for the work wasn't based on reasonable facts. Most of the preventive maintenance schedules and intervals are based on collected data and betting against them is like betting against the house in Las Vegas. It isn't a matter that you are going to loose, it is a matter of how soon and how much.

[chasfm11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tquarles I'll replace my belts early from now on. (belt was 5 years old w/50k miles)

That has been my criteria for all my vehicles for 30 years. People have often told me that I'm foolish but I've never had a belt break or a cooling hose rupture (I use the same criteria for those) in all of that time. To me, it is much more about my being able to schedule the work at my convenience and not waiting until the part breaks when I really wanted the vehicle to be in service. Your point about the "collateral damage" that can occur when it does break is also a good one.

IMHO, deferred maintenance only works when the original interval for the work wasn't based on reasonable facts. Most of the preventive maintenance schedules and intervals are based on collected data and betting against them is like betting against the house in Las Vegas. It isn't a matter that you are going to lose, it is a matter of how soon and how much.

[GBerner]

I am a little late for this but i just changed my belts on our 2004 Monaco Cayman with the ISB 330 Cummins engine. I did most of the change from the top laying face down in my closet. I did loosen and tighten the AC unit from the ground up. The difference is I took the fan blade off. This only took me a few minutes and was a little difficult to get the pieces lined up to put back on but the belt change was simple once the fan was out of the way. The BIg thing to be careful with doing it this way is do not let the fan or the wrenchs hit the radiator. that would make it a lot more expensive in my opinion. I took the fan off because of the sharp fan shroud and the tight clearence to the fan. The belts had 60000 miles and was 5 years old. they also were shining up the bottom of the grooves so it was really over due. I just bought this home this summer so I will do it sooner next time.