Time to replace engine belt

[Sixpack98]

Sorry, forgot to mention this is an Endeavor with rear 400 ISL

I'm at 4+ years on the engine drive belts and trying to understand if it is something I can do or something best done elsewhere. If I do it myself I doubt I will have any help available which may blow me out of the water from the get go.

Has anyone changed out the belts unassisted? If so what are the gotchas? It looks like the rear cabinet doors and associated flooring need to be removed to gain access to the front of the engine. My biggest worry is how to engage the tensioner to allow the engine belt to slip over it, looks to me that I may need a third hand.

mark

[Abnmarine]

I just changed mine but it was on a V-10.

[jww]

Sixpack98,
I replaced the belts on our '03 Diplomat (330 ISC) about a month ago.
The job can be done without assistance, but it is not pleasurable.
Holding the belt tensioner is the easiest part. Removing the fan was the time consuming part. It took about 5 hours at a relaxed pace.
I have read that the belts can be worked over the fanblades on some coaches. Mine could not.
With your belts being 4 years old you might just carry spares and run them a couple more years. At 7 years old (34K) mine still looked good. Nevertheless I am glad I changed them as I tend to operate on the
"over maintained" side of things.
Best of luck

[rex]

Just a thought on working the belt over the fan. Put it over one blade, then do the opposite blade - not the one next to the first you did. Then do another and the opposite. I think you can get it over the fan doing it this way. Have not done this but know a fellow that did it this way and it worked well for him. I will be finding out soon.

[jww]

Rex
Hopefully yours can be changed with this procedure, as I have heard others state the same. On our coach the serpentine belt is long enough to be worked over the fan........but the "v" belt is not.

[Sixpack98]

Originally Posted by jww

Rex
Hopefully yours can be changed with this procedure, as I have heard others state the same. On our coach the serpentine belt is long enough to be worked over the fan........but the "v" belt is not.

jww,
Good point!!! The "V" belt on our '06 ISL is in front of the engine belt. I guess it would be possible to loosten the "V" belt and slide the engine belt under it but it does not make a lot of sense to replace one belt and not the other.
Did you remove the closet doors and flooring to gain access to the top of the engine?

mark

[jww]

Sixpack,
On our '03 Dip. ( rear radiator, rear closet) there is a floor hatch in the closet that allows access to the top of the rear of the Cummins ISC 330.
All work to perform the belt replacement was performed through this hatch except when positioning the new serpentine belt from under the engine. NAPA sells a neat and versatile tool to assist in releasing and holding the tensioner for belt placement. Don't have the part number, sorry.
As stated you should be able to replace the longer belt without fan removal. The short belt on our coach is for the A/C compressor, and fan removal is required to change this one. Another engineering marvel in the world of MotorCoach design !

[RVThere]

The belt on my ISL 400 (Winn Tour) broke at about 14k miles on a Saturday night on I78 at about 9pm.

On the following Monday afternoon, I helped the diesel tech with the install. I learned:

- get the routing diagram for the belt from FCCC (not Cummins)
- have a belt on hand BEFORE it breaks
- you need a lighted mirror, 1/2 inch breaker bar and 3 hands
- make sure the engine is cold as you and the engine will become 'one'
- take off the stone guard to give better access from below
- there is NO top access from inside the coach

Once you learn all that, the job will take you and your assistant about 10 minutes.

[brrving]

Where has everyone found is the best place to get the new belts?

[Sixpack98]

jww,
I think I know what tool you are talking about. That would be a real time saver. I looked at a pic for the idler on an ISL and it looks like it has either a 3/8" or 1/2" square hole. On our coach I think the aluminum door frame has to be removed before you can remove the closet hatch.

[Sixpack98]

Originally Posted by brrving

Where has everyone found is the best place to get the new belts?

I've had good luck with pricing from Ryder Fleet products. I've also used NAPA. NAPA's prices are generally higher but still a good choice and carry quality stuff.

Truck Parts for Semi,Trailer,Heavy Duty Trucks @ RyderFleetProducts

[EngineerMike]

The Cummins idler pulley has a 1/2" square hole in it for a breaker bar, ratchet or other 1/2 drive tool. I use a long handled ratchet (Craftsman) that comes in handy for a lot of other stuff. The tool referenced above is simply a 1/2 drive w/long handle.

I order belts on line, try Ryder Fleet Products.

Due to possibilities like RVThere cited, I recommend everybody who owns an RV (gas or diesel) figure out how belt changes are accomplished. Easiest way to do this w/out excess brain damage is:
1) figure out when you will have the rig stationary for a coupla weeks
2) follow thru on pulling the old belt(s) out completely, make a step by step record of how to including notes on belt routing, which belt first, second, third...; make the how-to overly detailed as it will be a long time till you do this again; save your notes where you know they will be (no really, where you are absolutely sure you will remember to look, like maybe in a zip-lock zip-tied near the belt R&R or at least zip-tied to the spare belt(s)).
3) measure belts, record any #'s and measurements, and order new ones (delivery probably ~1week)
4) install the new belts when they come and keep the originals as spares

This requires you to ascertain what tools are needed, and what the process includes (fan off or not, method of routing belts, etc...) so in case you are where it will be a long time till service can arrive, you have a DIY instruction set and the tools to manage a simple tho possibly tedious job.

Might also consider that you can probably run w/out an AC belt if needed; you can run a short distance without serpentine belt (but watch the temps verrrrry carefully!!!) using the generator for 12V- I DON'T RECOMMEND THIS UNLESS NEEDING TO MOVE COACH TO A SAFE SPOT OR A SHORT DISTANCE WHERE SERVICE MIGHT BE AVAILABLE!! as you will overheat if you are not careful (you need the water pump moving coolant and it is usually run by the serpentine belt, tho some configurations vary).

E.g.: I found on a previous rig, when doing the R&R drill, that a 4" C-clamp was highly useful in re-tensioning the AC compressor belt as there was no good place to get a pry bar in due to close quarters; the C-clamp made it a snap. Would have been impossible on the side of the road to liesurely figure that out & go get a clamp (i.e. a "special tool" tha you wouldn't ordinarily carry). So I permanently clamped the clamp to the AC mount in case I needed it in emergency (clamps are cheap and this turned 30 minutes or more of highly tedious tensioning labor to maybe 3 minutes of easy work).

[jww]

EngineerMike,
Great advise ! Your mention of the C-Clamp for asisting in the A/C compressor belt tensioning process actually made me feel lucky, as our compressor has an adjustment rod with jam nut. Amazing that such forethought was utilized, just amazing : )

[SPA48]

Napa auto parts has our belts in Calif. I would love to know if anybody found out that they have only one belt that runs the whole 400 ISL as on my 2006 Diplomat!!!! Yea I know==alot of You will call me nuts but it's true and the mech thaT changed my belt thought I was wrong also!!!! I only have a single pulley system.I might add that my manuel says it has two and lists the belts but they are wrong!!!! Monaco was lost to why this happened but maybe they were short on pulleys the day it was built!!!!! I know it had to be a friday JOB.

spa48
2006 Diplomat