Quanta repro belts latest victim

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Dont let this be you!!   Listen to others on this board!  (Like I should have)
If you actually plan on DRIVING your car DON'T USE THESE BELTS!

On the way home from this years Chryslers @ Carlisle show on I81, spotted my temp gauge pegged on 250º.... immediately pulled over and found my water pump belt snapped off (attached picture) and the P/S belt flipped over and rolled onto another groove on my crank pulley.  I suspect it was the P/S belt that started the chain of events....rolling onto the outer groove of the crank pulley causing the W/P belt to fly off & get chopped by the belt  (70 mph and about 3100 rpm)

Luckily, I had a spare set of belts in the trunk....Left on the crappy Quanta belts for the Alt & A/C comp & swapped out the P/S & W/P belts and was good to go....minimal puke-age out of the radiator because I caught the overheat before it got messy....

[69 OUR/TEA]

Holy s&%t Chris,that sucks ! So we fall victim to wanting our cars to be correct(belts)and have no ther option.Do we drive them w/reg parts store belts,and switch for the shows ,the way to go??Good thing you caught that.

[resq302]

I had that happen to me about 10 years ago.  Since then Ive learned to check the belts before every time I take the car out and adjust as necessary.  I also keep a spare set of current v-belts in the trunk for the "just in case".  Same with a spare alternator, starter, caliper (since the bendix 4 pistons are known to leak), and anything else that would be easy to swap out for a long distance show that I would be driving to.

Chris, did anything get damaged aside from the belt?  Hopefully no fan blades got bent or rad banged up or anything.  I know when mine rolled off, I had to repaint some of the pulleys.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Nah Brian, just a few scuffs on my A/C comp clutch & my oil filter......did get a chance to check my coolant level this AM....almost a gallon short!! 

[y3chargerrt]

Lucky that you caught your overheating Chris! I had to tighten my Quantra belts before I made my Carlisle trip. My inner a/c belts is slightly longer then the outer so its always flopping around. I'm going to order new Mopar belts and put the Quantra belts in the trash can where they belong.

[John_Kunkel]

The finest brand name belts often suffer the same maladies, I've had the same things happen to Gates, Goodyear, etc. Alignment and sheave condition are often the cause, not the belts.

If dual belts aren't hand-matched for length one will always be looser than the other...regardless of brand.

[resq302]

My original alternator belt that was from Quanta stretched so far that I had no adjustment left.  I called them up and explained what happened and they said that the belt probably wore or whatever but did try to help somewhat.  They offered a same width belt that was about a half inch shorter so it would appear the same but the part number would not be correct.  Honestly, as long as I have the correct appearing belt on there, thats all I am concerned about since most of the time the engine is off with the part number of the belt hiding underneath.

[hemigeno]

I actually called Quanta this afternoon to talk about a couple of things, and one of them was the tendency of their belts to stretch - which allows the belts to roll around inside the pulley grooves.

They said they've never had anyone complain before, and that they have zero plans to change the tensile strength of the actual belts they sell.  In other words, I was lying to them even though I witnessed that very phenomenon with my engine running on a test stand.  One day when I was at Vance's shop, he said "Watch what that repro belt does" and opened up the secondaries   

While they look good, I wouldn't do much more than idle my engine with their belts installed.

[TUFCAT]

Geez...this really sucks for people who want to "show and drive".

I've had Napa belts on my car for six years.  The brand logo was ugly, but after a little solvent it was gone.

No problems after almost 3,000 miles and no adjustment.

Sounds like I'd be in a heap o' trouble if I ran Quanta belts.

[resq302]

I actually called Quanta this afternoon to talk about a couple of things, and one of them was the tendency of their belts to stretch - which allows the belts to roll around inside the pulley grooves.

They said they've never had anyone complain before, and that they have zero plans to change the tensile strength of the actual belts they sell.  In other words, I was lying to them even though I witnessed that very phenomenon with my engine running on a test stand.  One day when I was at Vance's shop, he said "Watch what that repro belt does" and opened up the secondaries   

While they look good, I wouldn't do much more than idle my engine with their belts installed.

That is a true load of BS what they told you.  I told them that when mine stretched and I had to get the next smaller size.  They are well aware of the problem and since they are the only one who makes it, I think we are stuck with it.

[BananaDan]

I have AC Delco belts on my car 1,000 miles since resto completion and no issues so far.  I was actually ready to get a set of Quanta belts up until Chris blew his belt on 81 last weekend.  I now have a backup set of Delco belts in my trunk.  She's not a trailer queen, I drive her to every show she attends, so for me belt quality is far more important than having a pentastar logo on them.   

[y3chargerrt]

I originally had a set of Mopar belts on mine that I think I got from RTS. I replaced them with a set of Quanta belts. I kept the sleeves the Mopar belts came in so I'm going to the local dealer and pick up another set and be done with it.

[RallyeMike]

Good to know. I think I'd rather protect my investment with quality parts than the right "looking" parts and risk it all. Unfortunately, it's hard to really know the quality of some parts.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

I originally had a set of Mopar belts on mine that I think I got from RTS. I replaced them with a set of Quanta belts. I kept the sleeves the Mopar belts came in so I'm going to the local dealer and pick up another set and be done with it.

Good luck finding them...they are discontinued.   If you do, let me know so I can grab a set

[y3chargerrt]

Mopar discontinued their belts? Why am I not surprised. I will check a couple of dealers today. If I have luck you want me to pick you up a set Chris? Ron

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Yes Ron I would appreciate it