serpentine belt/pulley problem

[eksphatrob]

I went up to CMU for the weekend and sometime on the ride up there the battery holder thing fell off and i didnt notice it, the battery shifted and was rubbing on that upper pulley/serpentine belt and it wore a hole in the battery....the acid ate away the belt and fell off and after that happened thats when i disovered the battery problem....so the pulleys and everything down there got corroded....any clue to clean that crap off and was wondering if that ruined the pulleys or anything.....i think im going to powerwash the engine bay and everything tommorrow and see if i can get a new belt and if theres any serious damage done....


thanks....this forum is a HUGE help.

 

[rlw001]

I think baking powder ( Arm&Hammer Box) will neutralize the acid. You should probably touch up where the paint was damaged.

 

[Yamaha V6]

BTDT. Once upon a time the Ford dealer put a stock belt on my UDP'd MTX, moved the pulley right under the battery, hard launch moved the pulley up through the bottom of the battery at the drag strip, instant acid-dip for the engine bay.

Baking soda will help, as Bob mentioned, and yes, you'll want to replace the parts that were damaged. Best bet: remove the components & neutralize, whatever's stopped corroding after a few days of hitting it with soda & is still intact (tensioner brackets, bolts, etc.) you can then make a judgment call on keeping or replacing.

 

[etc1006]

I've heard before a quickie clenup of acid is Sprite. Yep, soda Sprite. Grab a 2 liter (or 2) and pour it all over your pulleys and all the other stuff that got doused.

HTH, Eric

 

[eksphatrob]

sweet thanks for the help ill go try the baking soda and sprite tommorrow

 

[SHOZ123]

Baking soda will make a gritty mess, Sprite will do nothing, get some ammonia. Gets into everything and rinses right off, or you can leave it sit.

 

[eksphatrob]

i was goin to dissolve baking soda in hot water then spray it on with a spray bottle and let it sit for a little bit then powerwash all the pulleys and everything that got corrosion built up on it, how hard is it to put on a new belt myself? any tools i will need?...thanks again

 

[SHOZ123]

Sudsy household ammonia works sooooo much better.

 

[eksphatrob]

alright i think theres some of that under the sink i might try that lol...i just called auto zone and said they have 2 belts for the SHO, one is $9.99 and the other is $14.95...im thinking the timing belt was the 10.00 one she mentioned unless theres 2 belts i need..im pretty sure theres only one belt on the left side of the engine but i could be wrong lol...i gotta go find my keys so i can get under the hood...

 

[SHOZ123]

You should have done something right away, even just flushing with water. The acid will just sit there and keep eating away until it is neutralized or washed off. The ammonia can be bought at any grocery store.

 

[eksphatrob]

k so i got the pulleys and everything clean and uncorroded and neutralized with some ammonia and then washed it off with water...k so i went to autozone and i got 2 belts cause im not sure which one i needed or if i need both, i got the one for AC-alternator and one for powersteering, im not sure if i need both or not, any clue?

 

[Howdy_Doody]

If you have a 94-95 MTX, there is a catalog error on the belt size. Do some searches on here for the correct size. Using the wrong size belt will result in the idler pulley rubbing the battery and causing the mess you have now.

 

[eksphatrob]

lol there was ALOT of corrosion on the bigger pulley thats on the side of the engine, i thought the teeth on it were gone but it was just so corroded it looked smooth but i cleaned it off with some water and a brush and now its fine i figured out that the belt i need is the AC/alternator belt because i couldnt see the other smaller belt further back on the engine, now im thinking that the pulley that the back of the belt rests on is the belt tensioner or am i wrong? if it isnt that wheres that located at, sorry for all the questions just trying to get my sho running so i dont gotta drive my parents 91 4 banger van with 271,000 miles on it, lol its SOOOO slow and i gotta baby it so i dont **** it haha...

 

[eksphatrob]

the belt size i have for it now from autozone is Duralast part # 445K6

 

[eksphatrob]

yeah i read the other post just now im gonna go back and swap the belts..thanks

 

[eksphatrob]

damn that was a pain in the a$$, finally got the thing on there but man that was a pain in my a$$....lol....too the whole tensioner pulley assembly off to get the nut loose then did the allen wrench thing on top then bolted it back on and got the belt on and tightened everything down put a battery in it and VRRRRRROOOOM it came roarin to life lol, finally glad i got it fixed , thanks for all your guys' help, yet another example how this forum helps me out ALOT

 

[eksphatrob]

HEY well i think i over tightened my belt cuz i started it up and the belt got real hot and a lil smokey and squealed like no other....how do i know when the belt is the right tightness?