Can I shorten my Gen 1 belt safely?

[Erik Jenkinson]

I have Gates belts, about two months old. They are the propper lengths according to the cucv faqs article. My 25 7575 belt on the drivers side alt. is adjusted all the way out, and still seems loose. The steering pump belt is tight. Stretching perhaps? Can I step down to a 7570 (1/2" shorter) with no ill effects?

 

[gunner01]

Its not recomendedto cut and shorten bels... the splice back together usually will not hold. and welding them back together doesnt work either

 

[mikes47jeep]

HAHA AHAHAHA gunner!!



As long as the belt width and pitch are the same,

Length doesn’t affect anything as far as performance and safety

 

[Recovry4x4]

Hot water won't work either. I have better luck with Goodyear Gatorback belts than any other.

 

[Brad M]

I have Gates belts, about two months old. They are the propper lengths according to the cucv faqs article. My 25 7575 belt on the drivers side alt. is adjusted all the way out, and still seems loose. The steering pump belt is tight. Stretching perhaps? Can I step down to a 7570 (1/2" shorter) with no ill effects?

I also bought the recommended and found them at the end of the adjustment. I went back and got the next size smaller for each alternator. Now they are perfect length and still have a little adjustment left if the stretch a small amount. I kept the long ones behind the seat for spares. To answer your question I have been running the shorter ones for a few months now with no issues.

 

[Warthog]

Sometime the pully will get changed out on the alternator. This causes the belts to not fit.

The stock pully size is 71mm and I have seen them changed out to the more common 66mm size.

 

[Barrman]

Yes you can change to a shorter belt. Yes, your pulley could have been changed. Something else to look for is a flattened out pulley. Look at the pulley with the belt off and make sure it isn't shiny down in the groove where the thin inside of the belt could have been making contact. If you have that, then the pulley is spread out too far and needs to be replaced. You probably don't have that problem, just something to look for.