Drive Belt, FYI, What it should not do back there!

    This post is now edited!


    In a sharing of information with @samowens44, it was learned that there was indeed a problem with the video that I present here.


    Please review @samowens44 video in the link below for proper belt operation. Or as presented later in this thread...
    Final Drive Belt Tension Check Procedure


    My video should be used currently as an undiagnosed problem.


    Updated! My angle drive unit was found to cocked in the cradle which caused the high side deflection in belt travel.



    Hey @samowens44


    I was shooting some footage for a problem I am chasing and thought this would be a good lead in or follow up for your Belt Alignment and Adjustment videos. This shows why the drive belt is adjusted closer to the inside of the pulley. Belt travel is real. I didn't jump down hard in the vid but I am sure it will get the point across during accel and decel. Watch the gap open and close between the belt and the inner side of the drive pulley.


    I have to apologize in advance. The GoPro was mounted directly to the swing arm.
    The vibration and wind chop in that area is horrific. It made for a good steady shot for the belt and drive pulley.... the sound,scenery, and Slingshot, not so much.


    The first part was shot without the housing and then the housing was installed.



    Slingshot Flyer! Well, of course it's red... :REDSS:

    Edited 3 times, last by airoutlaw ().

    This has been edited to reflect some new information. Do not want anyone to get the impression that the video presented and my comments supporting the condition. At the time I viewed the video I thought as @airoutlaw thought was a true condition that happens to all belts. I felt I should do a run with my properly adjusted drive belt to see how it rode compared to his. I was surprised to find my belt did not ride over at all. This meant that something is wrong and like he said, undetermined at this time. My original comment is below.


    @airoutlaw excellent show and tell on belt alignment results for driving. This is proof for the reasoning around the proper adjustment for the close to the inside edge of the pulley. Thank you for taking the time to do that for all of us. Understanding why is a big part of the equation for acceptance. The engineers knew that the belt will stretch and walk on the pulley for a certain amount. The other part is now we need to be sure our belt tension is proper or it could possibly walk too far. I am planning on an adjustment procedure video for that soon. I take it, your belt has the proper tension, there is a belt adjustment gauge and I do not have one. Belt tension will be very important for all this to work properly, I am sure. I believe now the reason for being close to the inside edge is to allow for belt getting loose over time and giving some extra travel allowance. Airoutlaw, thanks again for your extra effort to help us understand.

    Final Drive Belt tension specifications.


    Belt Deflection w/ 10 lbs of pressure rotate tire to the tightest point of the belt for checking tension. Tension is checked at the "V" point of the swingarm opening. That opening you see from the side. It is about the half halfway point of the belt. Also the closes point the belt comes in close to the swingarm.
    New Belt 0.30 in (8 mm)
    Used Belt 0.40 in (10 mm)


    This all means that when you put 10 lbs of pressure on the belt at the point indicated, the belt should only move within the specs shown above. It is a tight condition for sure. The tension tool is something I will be looking at purchasing, just to make it easy to check. Hope it is not $200.

    Wow, found one online, telt tension Meter that covers the 10lbs reuqiremnt. $20 at amazon. Ordered already, will be here in two days. The price is small enough, we should all have one to check our belts. I will produce a video very soon to show the procedure.


    Quote from samowens44

    Final Drive Belt tension specifications.


    Belt Deflection w/ 10 lbs of pressure rotate tire to the tightest point of the belt for checking tension. Tension is checked at the "V" point of the swingarm opening. That opening you see from the side. It is about the half halfway point of the belt. Also the closes point the belt comes in close to the swingarm.
    New Belt 0.30 in (8 mm)
    Used Belt 0.40 in (10 mm)


    This all means that when you put 10 lbs of pressure on the belt at the point indicated, the belt should only move within the specs shown above. It is a tight condition for sure. The tension tool is something I will be looking at purchasing, just to make it easy to check. Hope it is not $200.

    .


    Respectfully you should preface your post that this is the "by the book" spec that many, including many dealers, feel is waaaay too tight ....


    Especially since the swingarm does not move in a constant arc relative to the final drive pulley so belt tension increases the moment any weight (like the rider) is added and substantially increases when the rear suspension compresses during normal operation ....


    A belt tension gauge is like $10 ...


    ....... nerd-squared


    .

    :REDSS: The ghost of SLingshot past ......

    @Orangeman, I have made the notation on my post of the specs. Thanks for your input into this thread. Post order info on the belt tesion gauge please. The Final Drive Belt has two adjustments that look to be very important due to the evidence of belt travel that @airoutlaw demonstrated in his video. I feel strongly now that a too loose belt is going to move farther on the pulley. Not sure what this will do to the belt life or performance. I am happy the Belt Drive has come to a point of discussion. I am going to test the results of belt tension adjustment. Results will be available soon, weather is bad this weak in Florida.

    Quote from samowens44

    @Orangeman, .... The Final Drive Belt has two adjustments that look to be very important due to the evidence of belt travel that @airoutlaw demonstrated in his video. I feel strongly now that a too loose belt is going to move farther on the pulley. Not sure what this will do to the belt life or performance. I am happy the Belt Drive has come to a point of discussion. I am going to test the results of belt tension adjustment. Results will be available soon, weather is bad this weak in Florida.


    Yup...pretty messy here ... tornado warnings this morning on the SE coast .... rain bands and gusts supposed to hang around all week .....


    A couple years ago we (a few of us and our dealer) did measurements, cold, hot, unloaded, with various load levels as an exercise while we where looking for an explanation for the rampant rear bearing failures .... posted all that on the DS but can't find it now ...


    ... look forward to your assessment ...


    ..... nerd-squared


    .

    :REDSS: The ghost of SLingshot past ......

    Ok, follow up on @airoutlaw video. I checked my drive belt with my new belt tension gauge and found my belt to be right on the button for proper tension and also alignment is right near the inborn side of the drive pulley for proper alignment. Here are the results of my belt. I wanted to see how a properly adjust drive belt performs on the pulley under similar conditions. Showtime!





    How to Check Belt Tension

    I have been chasing a problem with the angle drive and belt since the recall. The video I shot was one day after the Certified Polaris Technician adjusted the belt tension. That technician however, failed to address my concern of the belt alignment mechanism not functioning properly. IE, the drive belt will not adjust left or right without the pivot bolt being fully rotated to the most inner or outboard position. Any rotation of the pivot bolt while rotating the tire in between will not cause any movement of the swing arm and thus belt alignment. If movement only occurs at the most further outter positions, what is keeping my swing arm from sliding left and right?


    Since I had no other reference of belt operation, I assumed this travel was normal based on maintenance manual for troubleshooting. Noise on acceleration or deceleration...


    I was shooting the video to address whether or not my belt was in fact slamming the rear pulley rim.


    I thank you @samowens44 for another video to reference and for your series on maintenance.


    Time to contact the "spert" Polaris Certified Technician as to why the belt alignment fails to operate per maintenance manual. (although the manual fails to address the pivot bolt rotation of the 22mm allen on the battery side)

    Slingshot Flyer! Well, of course it's red... :REDSS:

    Not sure of the issues with your Pivot bolt. I did not have any of the issues you are describing for belt alignment. As can be seen in my Belt Alignment adjustment procedure video, as I turn the Pivot bolt in small turns and rotate the tire, the swingarm move to the direction I want. That is the way it should work. It is sounds like maybe a bushing is missing or something. I think it should be inspected totally by Polaris. Now, as I show and describe you do require 25 ft lbs on the lock nut on passenger side while performing this adjustment. I still wonder what tension the Certified Polaris Technician adjusted the tension deflection. If you belt tension is correct then we have a problem that at this point I do not know the answer.


    My video on Belt Alignment Adjustment Procedure.

    we currently adjust our belt alignment by tuning it's pitch, where I have found that as little as a 1/8th turn of the alignment bolt can make a significant difference. It is set at approximately 0.7 inch deflection cold, just because it is an easy mark to hit.


    A ways back I posted that I thought that the belt moved outwards during acceleration and was poo pooed about it, thank you for vindicating me, airoutlaw and Sam! :)


    Bill

    Just got off the phone with another dealer...


    They will take a look at the swingarm adjustment to determine if the recall assembly may have been done incorrectly... read that as crushed a bearing or sleeve bushings.


    Will keep you all posted.


    but Lordy don't the wheels turn slow...


    At this point, it looks like a "no joy" Maggie Valley.

    Slingshot Flyer! Well, of course it's red... :REDSS:

    Gotta love recalls. The swingarm recall is where this all started. The problem reared up in Maggie Valley last year and we lost a ride for that reason. Three dealers since.


    Put our Slingshot in the shop May 1st, with one dealer, (this was the dealer who did the recall) for the angle drive front seal leaking, squealing belt, and belt alignment mechanism not working. They changed the seal, adjusted the belt tension, and totally ignored the belt alignment problem. Took them ten days.


    Took it to a second dealer cause no joy with the first one. They tore down the swing arm and checked out all the bearings, retainers, seals and found no defects. I had purchased a new belt and asked them to install. During the installation, they found the angle drive cocked. They squared it up and set the alignment and tension. They say it is fixed. I have my doubts. They could not explain to me why the belt alignment doesn't function properly. Which along with the noise, was my complaint.
    Currently, it is not screaming like a banshee. Haven't had it back long enough to mount a GoPro on and look again. To adjust the alignment, you had to rotate the pivot bolt to the most inboard or outboard threads to get the swingarm to move. No movement between those two points made any difference. Brought it home and the belt has not moved from their setting. However, the pivot bolt is almost at the extreme outboard travel for threads. I suspect that when I hit the right twistie and squat jump out of it, the swingarm will slide across the pivot bolt. We put it in the shop the Saturday before Maggie Valley. Told them we had money down and needed it quick. Said they would do what they could. They pulled it into the shop on Friday of SSITS 2018 almost done. We got it back Thursday the week after SSITS.
    Two weeks and four days out in the weather. Ours is garage kept and has never been exposed for that long. Automatic wash requirement and hardware now that will need repainting.
    Yep, any future requirements for shop repair, they gonna give me a day they can start and I will drop it with them that day and park my ass at their service counter. Pissed doesn't even begin to describe it.


    And that's the story currently @samowens44, @EjFord, and others who may have been keeping track.


    Twenty- eight days to have a seal and a belt replaced between these two dealers. Oh, and find the angle drive cocked.

    Slingshot Flyer! Well, of course it's red... :REDSS:

    Edited once, last by airoutlaw ().

    My dealer has a sign saying all vehicles must be dropped off...no waiting for service....meaning you just can’t drive in and get something fixed.....mine spent more time outside their garage (days) than inside...


    Kinda makes you wonder why?
    Not enough people that know what to Do?
    Something To Hide?
    Can’t predict how much time it will take to make the repairs.....
    no inventory of spare parts so they wait for them all to come from Polaris...

    @airoutlaw thanks for giving us that detailed description of your nightmare. Will be looking forward to your Video of Belt performance. A cocked Angle Drive would give a problem with the way the belt would ride and move on the pulley. I am very concerned about the the Pivot Shaft and no movement until a a point has been reached. This is not right. I can turn my pivot bolt and get movement of the pulley and the belt aligns along with it. Just the slightes movements. Have them compare yours to another Slingshot in the shop. I think I would want to watch that. Good Luck my friend, I hope you get it resolved soon.

    My dealer will let you make an appointment but they keep a lock on the mechanic doors, they don't want anybody back there for any reason. You deal with the service person only.