87 Chevy Astro Serpentine Belt Problems
gordon62864
09-12-2005, 09:17 PM
I have a 1987 Chevy Astro Van...The Serpentine belty came off and when we bought a new one it came off in 10 minutes and then another new one came off in less than 30 seconds!! For some reason the belt keeps coming off by the water pump pully...the water pump is good! But heres the thing if you take the fan blade off...the belt will stay on for as long as it runs!! But then again I have to have a fan blade!! I am not understanding this. I have already been through 3 belts in 2 days...at 26 dollars a piece trial and error is out the window! I would appreciate any help you can give me. By the way it just started doing this...before this it was great. And besides the belt the van runs perfect!! No loose bearings in any pulleys that we can tell...but like I said if you take the fan blade off but you know leave the pulley and stuff it does fine!!
Very Sincerely,
Rob
P.S.
If you have any ideas please email me at [email protected]
Very Sincerely,
Rob
P.S.
If you have any ideas please email me at [email protected]
tword99
09-12-2005, 11:32 PM
I have a 1987 Chevy Astro Van...The Serpentine belty came off and when we bought a new one it came off in 10 minutes and then another new one came off in less than 30 seconds!! For some reason the belt keeps coming off by the water pump pully...the water pump is good! But heres the thing if you take the fan blade off...the belt will stay on for as long as it runs!! But then again I have to have a fan blade!! I am not understanding this. I have already been through 3 belts in 2 days...at 26 dollars a piece trial and error is out the window! I would appreciate any help you can give me. By the way it just started doing this...before this it was great. And besides the belt the van runs perfect!! No loose bearings in any pulleys that we can tell...but like I said if you take the fan blade off but you know leave the pulley and stuff it does fine!!
Very Sincerely,
Rob
P.S.
If you have any ideas please email me at [email protected]
It's an aerodynamics thing. One the fan is unbalanced, mounted wrong (not flush), or the belt tensioner is weak
Very Sincerely,
Rob
P.S.
If you have any ideas please email me at [email protected]
It's an aerodynamics thing. One the fan is unbalanced, mounted wrong (not flush), or the belt tensioner is weak
Aqua Angel
09-13-2005, 09:22 AM
might sounds a bit stupid though. are you sure this is the right belt with the proper size? kind of weird considering that i also have an 87 Astro Van.
Make sure that when you put the pulley that it is nice and tight "all 4 bolts at the fan clutch area". to loose? it will come off i have seen some people doing it.
as the other guy, make sure that the tensioner is not damaged or have the proper tension.
Good luck
Make sure that when you put the pulley that it is nice and tight "all 4 bolts at the fan clutch area". to loose? it will come off i have seen some people doing it.
as the other guy, make sure that the tensioner is not damaged or have the proper tension.
Good luck
Kings-x59
09-13-2005, 10:04 PM
I think these guys are on the right track. If you have a timing light or can borrow one, hook it up and shine on the fan pulley and run the engine. It'll give you a "freeze frame" view of what the belt is doing on the pulley.
I didn't see that you said the pump was new, so even though it is still pumping coolant, the bearings might be slopping, throwing the shaft, and fan out of balance.
I didn't see that you said the pump was new, so even though it is still pumping coolant, the bearings might be slopping, throwing the shaft, and fan out of balance.
evil_motors
09-14-2005, 09:52 AM
could ba a pully locked up.. or not aligned right.. take the belt off and spin each pully to make sure they are A. straight and B. not frozen
MABerry
11-13-2005, 12:07 PM
I have a 1987 Chevy Astro Van...The Serpentine belty came off and when we bought a new one it came off in 10 minutes and then another new one came off in less than 30 seconds!! For some reason the belt keeps coming off by the water pump pully...the water pump is good! But heres the thing if you take the fan blade off...the belt will stay on for as long as it runs!! But then again I have to have a fan blade!! I am not understanding this. I have already been through 3 belts in 2 days...at 26 dollars a piece trial and error is out the window! I would appreciate any help you can give me. By the way it just started doing this...before this it was great. And besides the belt the van runs perfect!! No loose bearings in any pulleys that we can tell...but like I said if you take the fan blade off but you know leave the pulley and stuff it does fine!!
Very Sincerely,
Rob
P.S.
If you have any ideas please email me at [email protected]
I had the same problem on my 89 Astro. Come to find out that it was the power steering pulley. The previous owner had the pulley replaced, but they didn't have the pulley pushed down all of they way. It was a simple fix. Just look at the pulleys from the passenger side of the van and see if all the pulleys line up. AutoZone has the tools to line up the pulleys. You might also check the power steering pulley bracket. I talk to a mechanic and he said that the early models astros/GMC safaris have a problem with the power steering bracket cracking.
Hope that this helps
Very Sincerely,
Rob
P.S.
If you have any ideas please email me at [email protected]
I had the same problem on my 89 Astro. Come to find out that it was the power steering pulley. The previous owner had the pulley replaced, but they didn't have the pulley pushed down all of they way. It was a simple fix. Just look at the pulleys from the passenger side of the van and see if all the pulleys line up. AutoZone has the tools to line up the pulleys. You might also check the power steering pulley bracket. I talk to a mechanic and he said that the early models astros/GMC safaris have a problem with the power steering bracket cracking.
Hope that this helps
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