Drive Belt Question... most likely a repeat, but it is important to me!

    your teeth all look good...is it just the back of the belt that’s coming apart?


    General question...how hot do you think those belts get during operation? Could it be heat related...causing the layers to separate? It’s definately breaking down from something.


    Can you see if anything is rubbing on the belt?

    I understand that the rounded teeth of thebelt indicate wear and tear..... I think we all know that if we have owned a slingshot since 2015, we have seen most ALL of the weird incidents with beltsand other wear items, but the back of the belt looks like somebody took a torch to it! That is where I get lost?

    Just thinking...it might not be the belt...it could be something rubbing or loose or broken. Check the drive play and swing arm bearings for play....could be a mechanical problem. The belt could be the symptom....of a problem....if it’s just not a complete belt failure.

    If it is so misaligned that it can round off those teeth like that, it could be that the belt is getting hot... but the "mechanic" that was showing the customer the wear and tear says the "Belt cover" is doing it? Really? No Way! Maybe if the owner, who is really meticulous about the appearance of their slingshot might be using some sort of belt dressing or cleaner that could be damaging the belt... but i have seen guys use Acetone, Brake cleaner and even rubbing alchoal to clean the belt, and I've never seen one that looked this bad before

    if you can eliminate worn parts and free play and nothing rubbing....I’m going with a defective belt...could be manufacturers defect....things happen.....now if it happens to the new belt...you have a major mechanical issue somewhere.

    .


    Where the belt passes through the frame on its way to the final drive pulley is there any paint worn off ....


    There is very little clearance here which could cause the back of the belt to rub if the Sling is riding lower/higher than stock, has a really soft rear shock, or running an air suspension where it is not always driven at or close to stock height .....


    When I was looking at having a new rear pulley made this was the concern that prevented changing the pulley size ..... at least on units before the '17 frame change ... haven't looked at one of the newer Slings to know if its the same .....


    .... nerd-squared


    .

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

    Quote from StickerDick


    I am shocked at how bad this belt is? Has anybody else seen anything like this on their slings?

    Hello Mark,


    I can fill you in on the details of this, since as you know, the Slingshot is here at our shop for the automatic conversion. Also, feel free to give us a call and ask us directly in the future if you have these types of questions, we are always happy to help.


    This slingshot that this belt came from has an aftermarket pulley that has incorrect geometry for the belt installed. The incorrect geometry of the belt caused excessive stress on the belt at the point where the round teeth connect to the belt and once we did a full throttle pull, 3/4 of the teeth came off. We have ran stock belts on plenty of higher horsepower Slingshots than this one without any issue, this failure is because of the incorrect geometry on the aftermarket rear pulley. The owner has been advised to change the pulley back to the stock pulley.


    If you have any more questions, just let us know.

    Witness the power of the new automatic transmission - you believe that much power ripped all the teeth off my belt ??? :D Was the most awesome thing you ever saw. - now if you believe that I have a bridge I’m unloading at a phenomenal price :00008172:



    Damn - Dave beat me to the punch before I could have some fun :evil:

    I might not be right but I can sure sound like it

    Quote from StickerDick


    I am shocked at how bad this belt is? Has anybody else seen anything like this on their slings?

    For comparison, here is the side profile of the rear pulley that is installed on this Slingshot -



    Here is a picture of the front pulley -



    Here is a CAD image of the side profile of the teeth based on information from Gates -



    You will notice that the pulley that is on this Slingshot has a very flat top of the teeth on the pulley with no curvature leading into the face. This squared off corner puts a larger stress right at the base of the teeth on the drivebelt, instead of the face of the teeth where it is designed to take the stress. Fortunately the belt broke here once we were doing full throttle testing on the system and we were able to take care of it for the customer.


    This is an All Things Chrome(ATC) pulley. There is a number of these pulleys out there. They are made from Billet Aluminum, much lighter than stock but had the wrong tooth profile. I purchased one used from a friend, noticed that the teeth on the pulley was showing wear when I determined that the profile was incorrect. This happen in the motorcycle world also. I hung it in the garage cause it’s purdy. This is the first belt failure I have heard of, I am sure more will follow.

    Ok - I absolutely hate thinking I have to get rid of my beloved chrome pulley (many dollars) !!! Soooo I need some input from you metal experts. Would it be possible to remove the belt and use a dremel tool to just barely knock off the square ridge on each tooth. Will that damage the integrity of the pulley or cause me other problems?? Any input will be greatly appreciated

    I might not be right but I can sure sound like it