WHIPPLE Belt slapping... - Page 4 - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

4U2NV-SS · 08-06-2019, 02:14 PM

Any updates????

The RPM belt should be here Thursday. Special order belt only

4U2NV-SS · 08-06-2019, 02:15 PM

Has anyone tried the newer Continental belts? Supposed to be better than their o;d gatorbelts

TheBracketeer · 08-07-2019, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4U2NV-SS

Any updates????

The RPM belt should be here Thursday. Special order belt only

No, ... now telling me it won't ship until 8/16

4U2NV-SS · 08-07-2019, 01:47 PM

Who did you order it from? My tracking shows it will be delivered tomorrow

TheBracketeer · 08-10-2019, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4U2NV-SS

Who did you order it from? My tracking shows it will be delivered tomorrow

Autoplicity ... won't be buying from them again.

Oh, and I shredded another RPM belt in the mean time also.

4U2NV-SS · 08-12-2019, 08:50 AM

I got my RPM belt, put too much tension on the belt and after one hard pull lost it between 2-3shift. Seems like it walked some on my balancer and eventually shredded

I had another one come through napa and picked it up Saturday. I double checked all the pulley alignments and took it easy between shifts. Seem to run good with limited tension 50% on the tensioner. According to the log I was making 12.5 lbs, still seems a about a 1 lb down, so I will have to look into why that is.

Bracketeer- how do you think you shredded it?

TheBracketeer · 08-14-2019, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4U2NV-SS

I got my RPM belt, put too much tension on the belt and after one hard pull lost it between 2-3shift. Seems like it walked some on my balancer and eventually shredded

I had another one come through napa and picked it up Saturday. I double checked all the pulley alignments and took it easy between shifts. Seem to run good with limited tension 50% on the tensioner. According to the log I was making 12.5 lbs, still seems a about a 1 lb down, so I will have to look into why that is.

Bracketeer- how do you think you shredded it?

My tensioner ran out of travel between gear changes, and the belt became loose and ran off the edge of one of the pulleys.

4U2NV-SS · 08-14-2019, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBracketeer

My tensioner ran out of travel between gear changes, and the belt became loose and ran off the edge of one of the pulleys.

That's not good.
what balancer do you have again? The RPM belt seems to work well. I just need more time to mess with it. Does your smooth idler have flanges on it to keep it aligned? I had one without the flanges and it keep jumping off track there

TheBracketeer · 11-18-2019, 07:19 PM

Problem is now solved. It was misalignment of the pulleys.

The die-cast plate that holds the idler and tensioner needed the back and face machined on a table mill, as well as the face of the tensioner that bolts onto it. Once they were machined we used a micrometer to check offset and machined some shims to provide alignment within 1/1000th.

I tried the RPM belt, but it was obviously too short and shredded within minutes.

Now I am running a genuine HD from Napa and it is fine.

NOTE - I will never buy another gates belt from Amazon - I suspect they were counterfeits. The belt from Napa seemed to be better quality and had much less stretch when fitted.

Greenhornet2 · 11-18-2019, 07:37 PM

Glad to get an update. Always good to know the solution.

TheBracketeer · 02-02-2021, 06:56 PM

OK. .. it has literally taken me until now ... a year and a half later to finally fix this issue for good.

I still kept throwing belts, so I went to an ARS heavy duty tensioner (like they use on COPO) and tensioned the crap out of the belt. The result ... I snapped the stud that holds the blower pulley hub into the jack shaft. So I fixed that, broke it again, and again, and again. (Yep I know ... I was stupid for retrying and not getting to the root of the problem).

So eventually, I am thinking it is the RPM belt that caused the issue, and Whipple tell me the blower has to go back to them to be fixed ... and guess what ... UPS drop it on the way and crack the housing (and refuse insurance). So now I'm up for a new blower.

So while this is getting done, I also decide to go E85 ... so new injectors, fore pump, flex fuel sensor etc.

So I get the car back together and as my tuner is tuning it, he says that the blower is kicking in way to aggressively due to the vacuum actuator snapping shut so quickly with the lack of vacuum from the big cam ... so he sends a text to Whipple and they advise that we re-route the air line for the vacuum actuator from the plenum to the snout of the blower.

So I do that and it completely changes the drive-ability of the car. I also figure out that it is most likely the aggressive boost on and off that is causing the belt to throw, as it is tensioning on and off too quickly. Belt hasn't thrown since.

But here is the D'oH moment ... I don't think "hey ... now that is fixed, I can go back to a regular belt, loosen off the tension and go back to a regular tensioner" ... and what happens ... I break the stud out of the new blower.

Well it is now fixed thanks to an engineer friend, with improvements in the design and an ARP stud ... AND most importantly, it's back to the right belt, tensioner and tension.

One of those jobs that you look back at yourself and can't believe how stupid you were. Oh well ... what doesn't kill us makes us stronger (and broke).

So the moral of the story ... if anyone has issues with a Whipple throwing a belt, check the alignment first, then if it still does it, and the car is cammed do the following.

- Remove the short vacuum line from the bottom of the plenum to the vacuum actuator
- Remove the brass fitting from the bottom of the plenum and replace with threaded brass cap to block it off.
- Cut the vacuum line half way along that goes from the snout of the blower, under the throttle body to the vapor purge solenoid
- Put a T-piece in the cut in vacuum line and reconnect ends and fit clamps
- Run a short piece of vacuum hose from the open side of the T-piece to the vacuum actuator and clamp both ends.

larry_g · 02-02-2021, 08:32 PM

Really interested in details in the vacuum actuator. Mine slams shut as well but I'm not having a problem throwing belts.

Do you have a boost gauge that reads your vacuum at idle?

Any chance you have a video of the actuator operating that I can compare to?

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

TheBracketeer · 02-04-2021, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by larry_g

Really interested in details in the vacuum actuator. Mine slams shut as well but I'm not having a problem throwing belts.

Do you have a boost gauge that reads your vacuum at idle?

Any chance you have a video of the actuator operating that I can compare to?

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

I don't have that sorry ... what I can tell you is that is has completely changed the car ... not nearly as aggressive and uncontrollable.

Brock Landers · 10-04-2022, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBracketeer

OK. .. it has literally taken me until now ... a year and a half later to finally fix this issue for good.

I still kept throwing belts, so I went to an ARS heavy duty tensioner (like they use on COPO) and tensioned the crap out of the belt. The result ... I snapped the stud that holds the blower pulley hub into the jack shaft. So I fixed that, broke it again, and again, and again. (Yep I know ... I was stupid for retrying and not getting to the root of the problem).

So eventually, I am thinking it is the RPM belt that caused the issue, and Whipple tell me the blower has to go back to them to be fixed ... and guess what ... UPS drop it on the way and crack the housing (and refuse insurance). So now I'm up for a new blower.

So while this is getting done, I also decide to go E85 ... so new injectors, fore pump, flex fuel sensor etc.

So I get the car back together and as my tuner is tuning it, he says that the blower is kicking in way to aggressively due to the vacuum actuator snapping shut so quickly with the lack of vacuum from the big cam ... so he sends a text to Whipple and they advise that we re-route the air line for the vacuum actuator from the plenum to the snout of the blower.

So I do that and it completely changes the drive-ability of the car. I also figure out that it is most likely the aggressive boost on and off that is causing the belt to throw, as it is tensioning on and off too quickly. Belt hasn't thrown since.

But here is the D'oH moment ... I don't think "hey ... now that is fixed, I can go back to a regular belt, loosen off the tension and go back to a regular tensioner" ... and what happens ... I break the stud out of the new blower.

Well it is now fixed thanks to an engineer friend, with improvements in the design and an ARP stud ... AND most importantly, it's back to the right belt, tensioner and tension.

One of those jobs that you look back at yourself and can't believe how stupid you were. Oh well ... what doesn't kill us makes us stronger (and broke).

So the moral of the story ... if anyone has issues with a Whipple throwing a belt, check the alignment first, then if it still does it, and the car is cammed do the following.

- Remove the short vacuum line from the bottom of the plenum to the vacuum actuator
- Remove the brass fitting from the bottom of the plenum and replace with threaded brass cap to block it off.
- Cut the vacuum line half way along that goes from the snout of the blower, under the throttle body to the vapor purge solenoid
- Put a T-piece in the cut in vacuum line and reconnect ends and fit clamps
- Run a short piece of vacuum hose from the open side of the T-piece to the vacuum actuator and clamp both ends.

Do you have a pic of what you've done with the vacuum actuator? I'm not really grasping what you did there. Thanks.

11-18-2019, 07:37 PM	#52
Greenhornet2 Drives: 2011 Camaro 2SS LS3 Whipple Join Date: May 2019 Location: Connecticut Posts: 1,925	Glad to get an update. Always good to know the solution. __________________ Whipple 2.9 CAI ID1050x injectors ZL1 Pump JRE FPCM JMS Voltage booster JRE Rough Idle blower cam BTR .660 springs CHE trunnion kit 1 7/8 Speed Engineering Borla Atak JRE scoop 1.5" lowering springs BMR trailing arms and toe links Cradle inserts 704WHP 603WTQ 93 octane

02-02-2021, 08:32 PM	#54
larry_g Drives: 2014 1SS/1LE Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 826	Really interested in details in the vacuum actuator. Mine slams shut as well but I'm not having a problem throwing belts. Do you have a boost gauge that reads your vacuum at idle? Any chance you have a video of the actuator operating that I can compare to? Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk __________________ 830 WHP 700 WTQ, Whipple 2.9 @ 13lbs Boost, Flex Fuel Tune by Blevins Tuning, LSA SBE, 3.5 GripTec, ATI LS3 Damper, AFR 260cc Mongoose, ARP Studs, Yella Terra Ultralites, Johnson 2110R, BTR PDS Stage 3, Melling 10355, Improved Racing Baffle, ID1050X, DSX Triple Fuel Pump, RotoFab CAI, NW 103mm TB, Stainless Works 1-7/8" LTH to 3" Speed Eng w/ X-pipe to NPP, Powermaster 9509 XS, Detroit Speed Motor Mounts, MGW, Monster LT1-S, ZL1 Calipers, DBA Rotors & Pads, Bilstein B6 Struts & Shocks, BMR 1.25" Drop Springs & Adj Rear Bar, Pegasus Solid Bushings, Z/28 Wheels, other misc parts.

08-06-2019, 02:14 PM	#43
4U2NV-SS Drives: 1999 Camaro SS Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Denver Posts: 275	Any updates???? The RPM belt should be here Thursday. Special order belt only

08-06-2019, 02:15 PM	#44
4U2NV-SS Drives: 1999 Camaro SS Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Denver Posts: 275	Has anyone tried the newer Continental belts? Supposed to be better than their o;d gatorbelts

08-07-2019, 01:47 PM	#46
4U2NV-SS Drives: 1999 Camaro SS Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Denver Posts: 275	Who did you order it from? My tracking shows it will be delivered tomorrow

08-12-2019, 08:50 AM	#48
4U2NV-SS Drives: 1999 Camaro SS Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Denver Posts: 275	I got my RPM belt, put too much tension on the belt and after one hard pull lost it between 2-3shift. Seems like it walked some on my balancer and eventually shredded I had another one come through napa and picked it up Saturday. I double checked all the pulley alignments and took it easy between shifts. Seem to run good with limited tension 50% on the tensioner. According to the log I was making 12.5 lbs, still seems a about a 1 lb down, so I will have to look into why that is. Bracketeer- how do you think you shredded it?

11-18-2019, 07:19 PM	#51
TheBracketeer Drives: 2011 2SS Whipplecharged LS3 Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: San Clemente Posts: 146	Problem is now solved. It was misalignment of the pulleys. The die-cast plate that holds the idler and tensioner needed the back and face machined on a table mill, as well as the face of the tensioner that bolts onto it. Once they were machined we used a micrometer to check offset and machined some shims to provide alignment within 1/1000th. I tried the RPM belt, but it was obviously too short and shredded within minutes. Now I am running a genuine HD from Napa and it is fine. NOTE - I will never buy another gates belt from Amazon - I suspect they were counterfeits. The belt from Napa seemed to be better quality and had much less stretch when fitted.

02-02-2021, 06:56 PM	#53
TheBracketeer Drives: 2011 2SS Whipplecharged LS3 Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: San Clemente Posts: 146	OK. .. it has literally taken me until now ... a year and a half later to finally fix this issue for good. I still kept throwing belts, so I went to an ARS heavy duty tensioner (like they use on COPO) and tensioned the crap out of the belt. The result ... I snapped the stud that holds the blower pulley hub into the jack shaft. So I fixed that, broke it again, and again, and again. (Yep I know ... I was stupid for retrying and not getting to the root of the problem). So eventually, I am thinking it is the RPM belt that caused the issue, and Whipple tell me the blower has to go back to them to be fixed ... and guess what ... UPS drop it on the way and crack the housing (and refuse insurance). So now I'm up for a new blower. So while this is getting done, I also decide to go E85 ... so new injectors, fore pump, flex fuel sensor etc. So I get the car back together and as my tuner is tuning it, he says that the blower is kicking in way to aggressively due to the vacuum actuator snapping shut so quickly with the lack of vacuum from the big cam ... so he sends a text to Whipple and they advise that we re-route the air line for the vacuum actuator from the plenum to the snout of the blower. So I do that and it completely changes the drive-ability of the car. I also figure out that it is most likely the aggressive boost on and off that is causing the belt to throw, as it is tensioning on and off too quickly. Belt hasn't thrown since. But here is the D'oH moment ... I don't think "hey ... now that is fixed, I can go back to a regular belt, loosen off the tension and go back to a regular tensioner" ... and what happens ... I break the stud out of the new blower. Well it is now fixed thanks to an engineer friend, with improvements in the design and an ARP stud ... AND most importantly, it's back to the right belt, tensioner and tension. One of those jobs that you look back at yourself and can't believe how stupid you were. Oh well ... what doesn't kill us makes us stronger (and broke). So the moral of the story ... if anyone has issues with a Whipple throwing a belt, check the alignment first, then if it still does it, and the car is cammed do the following. - Remove the short vacuum line from the bottom of the plenum to the vacuum actuator - Remove the brass fitting from the bottom of the plenum and replace with threaded brass cap to block it off. - Cut the vacuum line half way along that goes from the snout of the blower, under the throttle body to the vapor purge solenoid - Put a T-piece in the cut in vacuum line and reconnect ends and fit clamps - Run a short piece of vacuum hose from the open side of the T-piece to the vacuum actuator and clamp both ends.