Red Dot serpentine compressor install

[erasedhammer]

I was just looking through the instructions for the compressor And it says to redrill the hole for the tensioner pulley, but I don't have access to a drill.
Does anyone know if it's actually required to redrill that hole?

 

[beckel]

Yes, the pulley orientation must change to tension the new belt

 

[erasedhammer]

Yes, the pulley orientation must change to tension the new belt

Dang, what would happen if I didn't change the orientation?
I have the later style pancake compressor currently installed, does that make a difference?

 

[beckel]

Im not sure if the pancake style compressor makes a difference. all of my installs have been with the Sanden compressor. With the Sanden installs, if you dont re-clock the tensioner the belt will be too loose. I suppose it might be possible to use a slightly shorter belt to compensate but cant say for sure.

 

[BLK HMMWV]

How in this day and age do you not own a drill motor.
I'm thinking you need to give up your man card.
You have three options .
Go buy a drill motor, borrow a drill motor, go buy a smaller belt.
I'm hoping if you choose either of the first two choices your not going to ask how to use the drill motor.

 

[infidel got me]

He has an OFF-ROAD only drill and cannot be used in the city or anything on, in ,or near a paved road.

 

[erasedhammer]

How in this day and age do you not own a drill motor.
I'm thinking you need to give up your man card.
You have three options .
Go buy a drill motor, borrow a drill motor, go buy a smaller belt.
I'm hoping if you choose either of the first two choices your not going to ask how to use the drill motor.

Currently at a school, and have zero of my tools, and the one toolkit I do have is taking up all the personal storage space I have.
I'll have to borrow a drill (cause f**k buying one) or ship mine from home.
I just wanted to see if I could simplify the process, but it appears not.

 

[erasedhammer]

Yes, the pulley orientation must change to tension the new belt

Not 30 minutes after I start the truck up, the tensioner snaps back to the loose position and starts grinding.
The hole DID NOT need to be redrilled. Now I have a belt that needs replacing and a vehicle sitting disabled in an mwr parking lot.
I'll have to rip the whole system out and move the tensioner back to the original hole..

 

[Action]

Not 30 minutes after I start the truck up, the tensioner snaps back to the loose position and starts grinding.
The hole DID NOT need to be redrilled. Now I have a belt that needs replacing and a vehicle sitting disabled in an mwr parking lot.
I'll have to rip the whole system out and move the tensioner back to the original hole..

Which belt did you use? I am assuming the kit came with a new one?

 

[beckel]

erasedhammer - If I were you I would quit while I was ahead. You clearly arent cut out to work on these trucks. I can assure you that the hole MUST be drilled. I have installed my fair share of these systems and assure you that the hole is necessary to provide the required tension. I suggest you not take out your frustration with your lack of mechanical skills on the folks that are trying to help you.

 

[erasedhammer]

erasedhammer - If I were you I would quit while I was ahead. You clearly arent cut out to work on these trucks. I can assure you that the hole MUST be drilled. I have installed my fair share of these systems and assure you that the hole is necessary to provide the required tension. I suggest you not take out your frustration with your lack of mechanical skills on the folks that are trying to help you.

Yes this is frustrating. And no it's not my lack of mechanical knowledge.
You know the funny thing ? This is the first project I've done on my truck in 3 years where I actually followed the instructions EXACTLY. I've even given myself the benefit of the doubt and gone through to make sure I didn't make a mistake. But no, the instructions were followed exactly.

It's hard to get a picture of the area since the fan is in the way, but the tensioner, at rest, sits perfectly vertical.... Right up against one of the mounting bolts for the compressor bracket. I pull the tensioner down, pull the alternator back, tighten the alternator bolt, then release the tensioner. It sits maybe an inch away from the fan pulley, plenty of tension. It holds fine with the engine off. I start the engine right up and the tensioner snaps right back to it's rest position.

And yes I do need help, help diagnosing why this is happening and how I go about fixing it.
Cause this was just one more thing atop a ****ty day.

 

[beckel]

There are a number of possible causes.

1. If the belt was "sufficiently tight" when you first installed it are you 100% sure that the alignment pin on the back of the tensioner made it into the new hole you drilled? I have seen the tensioner tightned with the pin outside the hole with the same effect you described. The tensioner shifts after a short period.

2. Verify that the pin on the tensioner didnt shear off.

3. Did you use the metal template provided to drill the hole?

4. The tensioner itself could have failed....try actuate the tensioner through its full range of motion without the belt on.

Lastly, the real wildcard here is that you are using a pancake compressor as opposed to the sanden included in the Red Dot kits. Its possible that this has introduced a variable that hasnt been accounted for.

I would start by reviewing the position of the tensioner pin relative to the hole you drilled. It doesnt make sense that the belt would be tensioned and then come loose. By the way, when tensioned properly there is ALOT of tension on that belt. I dont have a force guage to measure it but it takes a pretty good lever to pull the tensioner back far enough to slip the belt on.

 

[erasedhammer]

There are a number of possible causes.

1. If the belt was "sufficiently tight" when you first installed it are you 100% sure that the alignment pin on the back of the tensioner made it into the new hole you drilled? I have seen the tensioner tightned with the pin outside the hole with the same effect you described. The tensioner shifts after a short period.

2. Verify that the pin on the tensioner didnt shear off.

3. Did you use the metal template provided to drill the hole?

4. The tensioner itself could have failed....try actuate the tensioner through its full range of motion without the belt on.

Lastly, the real wildcard here is that you are using a pancake compressor as opposed to the sanden included in the Red Dot kits. Its possible that this has introduced a variable that hasnt been accounted for.

I would start by reviewing the position of the tensioner pin relative to the hole you drilled. It doesnt make sense that the belt would be tensioned and then come loose. By the way, when tensioned properly there is ALOT of tension on that belt. I dont have a force guage to measure it but it takes a pretty good lever to pull the tensioner back far enough to slip the belt on.

1. Belt was 100% tight. Tensioner pin definitely was in the hold, verfied several times before installation.

2. It's a possiblity, I will be disassembling the area tomorrow and examining what went wrong.

3. Slow down there, I didn't use a pancake compressor, I threw away the pancake and I am using the compressor that came with the red dot kit.
I got the template with the kit as well, placed it on the bracket, using a center punch and drilled the hole according to the template. Looked identical to the drawings in the instructions.
And the belt is plenty tight. The only reason that the belt didn't come off and shred itself in the fan or take something out is because the alternator was pulled way back. So technically the system was still under tension without the tensioner, but it was grinding on a bolt so now the vic is out of commision...

 

[TacMac2012]

I think the problem here is you failed to mention you have the new style serpentine setup and not V-belts or the old style serpentine system. There is no need to drill any holes to install the compressor on the new style serpentine setup. the compressor bolts up in the identical position as the idler pulley that goes in it's place.

 

[erasedhammer]

I think the problem here is you failed to mention you have the new style serpentine setup and not V-belts or the old style serpentine system. There is no need to drill any holes to install the compressor on the new style serpentine setup. the compressor bolts up in the identical position as the idler pulley that goes in it's place.

That's not correct?
The kit is a serpentine red dot kit. The instructions most definitely say and show redrilling of the pin hole and a serpentine belt in one photo.
I had the 5 belt v belt setup before this on my 6.2 and that was way simpler, and also no drilling there.

 

[beckel]

Good to hear you are using the Sanden compressor. That will make troubleshooting this much easier. I have installed this exact setup most recently on a 2009 GEP 6.5L with the Litens design serpentine setup. I believe that is the newest style serpentine system out there and the hole had to be drilled. If you are sure that the hole was drilled properly than its likely that your tensioner failed.

 

[erasedhammer]

Good to hear you are using the Sanden compressor. That will make troubleshooting this much easier. I have installed this exact setup most recently on a 2009 GEP 6.5L with the Litens design serpentine setup. I believe that is the newest style serpentine system out there and the hole had to be drilled. If you are sure that the hole was drilled properly than its likely that your tensioner failed.

That tensioner has been through a lot. I'm not surprised. It's been shattered to pieces and put back together....
Lol I wouldn't say it's a good thing to have this setup, all my experience with red dot has been horrible. My last compressor failed about 2 months with only a week total in operation... (That time the system was professionally charged/evacuated) The receiver/drier seems to be a rare and expensive unit making replacements hard to come by.
On top of that I currently had a hose come loose and rub up against a pulley, putting a hold in the high pressure hose that is currently just patched to prevent more moisture from coming into the system...

I have a burning rage for AC systems since they are super picky about air(moisture) and that annoys me to no end....

 

[Action]

The belt gets tension from the alternator and the tensioner?

 

[Retiredwarhorses]

Unless the compressor pulley is a different diameter then a standard pancake compressor “OEM”, there is no need to drill that hole on the new style cast Compressor bracket....I’ve only ever installed factory AC, not the red dot kits.
if your not running a compressor, there is a delete kit.

 

[erasedhammer]

Unless the compressor pulley is a different diameter then a standard pancake compressor “OEM”, there is no need to drill that hole on the new style cast Compressor bracket....I’ve only ever installed factory AC, not the red dot kits.
if your not running a compressor, there is a delete kit.

Yep would agree there. Just installed it back in the original hole. Runs fine, belts a but loose, might get one a bit shorter cause the tensioner is jumping around a tiny bit...

Dang so I drilled that hole for no reason... I knew the pancake braket didn't need it...