R500 belt noise

[Trev G]

Some advice would be appreciated re belt noise ,oil change etc.

1. When slowing down at junctions etc there is a screeching , vibrating noise from one of the belts.It goes away when I rev the engine.I presume its the alternator belt?

Having replaced the alternator a few weeks ago I noticed the old alternator was hard up against the chassis and had worn a groove in the casing as indeed the new one is

to get the proper belt tension.Not sure if the noise would be the belt or the alternator rubbing but would I be better off getting a shorter belt?

2.Engine now done 8K.(mostly on track) Rebuilt by Minister at 5K 4 yrs ago.Should I get new timing belt fitted? (Worried that noise might be timing belt)

3.Just drained the eng. oil (at sump )and fitted new filter.Should I put in 5 ltrs to start with and measure when hot or is that too much?

 

Many thanks.

[6speedmanual]

Hi Trev G

 

1) A shorter belt might be a good idea. They come in 5mm steps. If you take belt you've got to a motor factor they can probably decode the length from the part number

 

2) Eliminate squeal from 1) first! Personally not sure a toothed timing belt would squeal as that sound is more associated with slippage. Regarding replacing t/belt at only 5k miles, seems very short to me, but not sure what stress it is under at high revs on a high lift cam. I'd check with Minister to see what they say. Would be interested to hear.

 

3) If you've only drained oil at the sump plug and not the dry sump tank (by removing bottom square plate) 5 litres would probably give overfill. When I did similar sump drain, I only got 3.5 litres out.

 

All the best.

 

6SpeedManual

*tongue*There's no such thing as too much BHP per Ton 😬

[Rob Walker]

Sounds like you have the stock Rover alt belt fitted. The R500 runs a reduced diameter crank pulley this requires a shorter alt belt, CC will supply you with the correct belt.

[Trev G]

Thanks for the advice guys.I took off the alternator belt this evening and will tel CC tomorrow for proper belt.Having removed the oil pump belt I noticed the tensioner pulley was quite stiff to turn (could be the problem?) so will also order one as well.Does anyone know if I can order the pulley/bearing seperately or do I need to buy the tensioner as well? I also phoned Minister today re timing belt and they advised it would be safer to change now and also it might be wise to think about a refresh in the not too distant future.Planning on doing approx 10 hillclimbs over the next few months which wont rack up more than 100 miles so any engine work will hopefully wait until winter.(Allow time for my wallet to recover).Anyway thanks again.

 

 

 

 

[Rob Walker]

Yes you can buy the pulley and bearing separately.