Belt lubrication

    rabtech I have been trying to find the thread where you mentioned to "use the belt lub of your choice" on the belt for squealing but I can't find it.

    What do you use?


    My belt is making some high pitch squealing but only under load. I am meticulous with the cleaning. I hit the belt and sprocket area with low-pressure pressure washer soap then hose it down. Dust and debris are not an issue for me in SoCal. I really don't want any kind of lubricant "slinging off" ( no pun intended ) the belt and mucking up the stern but the squeal is annoying to say the least. Once the belt is warmed up it diminishes some but when starting off the line it's like I have a cat stuck in the sprocket.


    Suggestions please and Thank you in advance!

    We’ll get there when we get there and not a minute before. 😎

    You need to adjust the belt for tracking and tension!


    Like you already noticed, as the belt warms, and tightens, it becomes more quiet. Our belt tends to wander towards the outside under acceleration, and the squeal is when the belt came into contact with the outside lip. The looser the belt, the more it will wander. The trick is to finding the "just right" adjustments for tracking and tension so to keep the belt from contacting that outside lip.


    Sounds pretty easy, right? Well, now the reality, at least with us, I wish that I could tell you the definitive way to adjust your belt but it appears that each SlingShot has it's own "sweet spot" in which only trial and error can be used to find it. Once I started messing with our belt it took well over a year of such trial and error to find that "sweet spot" with ours. If I were to give any advice adjust the tracking to where the belt is just touching the inside lip after coming to a stop, as you ride the belt will naturally move outwards away from the lip. I have also adjusted our tension so to get the approximate 0.65" of deflection at 90-100 degrees F. (The manual says .063" at 60-80 degrees.)


    Oh, I just noticed where we have been here before with this discussion: Drive Belt


    As far as a belt lube, I have used the following with temporary success.

    Image result for liquid wrench dry lube


    Have fun and good luck!


    Bill


    Added note, With writing this post I became curious about what our belt tension is at a lower temperature where our garage is currently 60 degrees and I am showing 1" of deflection. So our belt is tightening from 1.0 inch deflection at 60 degrees F to 0.65 inches at 95 degrees F, an approximate 0.35" difference in deflection with a 35 degree difference in temperature, (can it really be that easy?) Anyways, with the drop in OAT recently, (below 45 degrees F.), I am also noticing some minor squealing starting out until things get warmed up a bit, so if there are adjustments that will cover our entire riding temperature range, I have still yet to find it.


    bill

    Thank you for the response! I have the socket and Allen head tool for making the adjustments with the swing arm. In a previous search for this I found a lot of people saying that you needed the shop manual and the process was quite arduous. My belt more often than not is just a tad out from the inside sprocket edge. As you mentioned it will walk and sometimes it is just a tad from touching the outer sprocket edge after I’ve gone for a ride. My 2016 stayed put all the time. The largest gap was always on the right hand side and the belt ran that gap Hot or cold.

    I have seen some videos about raising the stern end up and releasing the tension on the belt and then do in the adjustment. I really do want to learn as much as possible before opening this can of worms.


    Can you explain to me what you mean by 1 inch of deflection. When you say deflection do you mean the belt on the lower side being able to move up and down a full inch? If so my belt would be way too tight to do this and perhaps that is the issue.

    We’ll get there when we get there and not a minute before. 😎

    the belt is too tight. I just had the same problem and the tech at the dealershiptook care of it.

    Quote from SoCal

    Can you explain to me what you mean by 1 inch of deflection. When you say deflection do you mean the belt on the lower side being able to move up and down a full inch? If so my belt would be way too tight to do this and perhaps that is the issue.

    Yes, see posts below.


    One thing that I have noted is that on the newer SlingShots Polaris has removed that outer lip from the rear sprocket, this should make the alignment adjustment a whole lot easier?


    I am hoping that now that we have finally found that "sweet spot" on the Grasshopper, we will be able to not touch this again and we can put away this lil can of worms for good!


    Bill

    I had the same issue. I have been told that you shouldn't use any dressing on belts so... I wouldn't recommend it, a personal call. However I did no adjustments and used this drive lube product purchased at Lowes. Most likely the same stuff as wjfyfe posted above. I used it sparingly, just a short burst at the few inches of inner belt exposed lower end of the belt drive and took a ride immediately to distribute the dry lube. Wow! What a difference! For mine it was like night and day. It's been a few hundred miles still riding with a smile.


    I watched the video from Sam and have digested all the very helpful replies and they are all much appreciated. But I’m a simple man and I think squirt from a can is definitely worth a try!☺️
    I moved the slingshot into the driveway today and checked the belt tension and I may be an eighth of an inch greater in slack than I should be so I’m not sure I’m gonna mess with that. I will give this dry lube a chance and see what happens thank you very much!


    I have a new bag set up for touring that I’m very excited about, more on this later….😁

    We’ll get there when we get there and not a minute before. 😎

    Quote from SoCal

    I watched the video from Sam and have digested all the very helpful replies and they are all much appreciated. But I’m a simple man and I think squirt from a can is definitely worth a try!☺️
    I moved the slingshot into the driveway today and checked the belt tension and I may be an eighth of an inch greater in slack than I should be so I’m not sure I’m gonna mess with that. I will give this dry lube a chance and see what happens thank you very much!


    I have a new bag set up for touring that I’m very excited about, more on this later….😁

    Everyone seems to have different issues at different levels. For me I could feather the throttle at known points and it wasn't too bad. Just irritating and predictable. After the dry lube I smiled and felt like in comparison I was driving a Cadillac. I hope you get the same result. Keep posted.

    I just went on Amazon to get some and before I saw the 12 Can pack I went holy mackerel, can’t believe you paid that much for a can of lube!!🤪


    So being totally lazy I grabbed a can of this and we’ll see what happens. Looking forward to the Cadillac ride!





    We’ll get there when we get there and not a minute before. 😎

    ^^^


    I'm with you but 68 divided by 12 = $5.66. Less than a gallon of premimum in Cali. ^^.


    Hope it works but I have tried other items such as the polyurea grease below with no luck. I was really surprised at the results the blaster dry lube gave and would have suspected the same result as the polyurea grease. What I thought was gear backlash disappeared with the dry lube. Tite Grip above sounds great and may be a good result. It's made in America so I'm pulling for it!


    Quote from rabtech

    I have never used belt dressing or anything on the drive belt. I have had mine scream before. It always went away after I cleaned it with purple degreaser though.

    I have some purple degreaser. I'll have to give it a try someday.

    DONE! Stick a fork in it! Two two second shots, one on the top underside and one on the lower- that’s it. 130 miles today and not a peep! I’m a believer!


    And, this lubricant only hit maybe 4 inches of the belt on top and 4 inches on the belt on bottom. I did not hit the whole belt, only what was exposed while parked. I wanted to do a short shot first and see what happened and the results were amazing!

    We’ll get there when we get there and not a minute before. 😎

    Edited once, last by SoCal ().

    The one thing about applying a belt dressing that has me concerned would be if the dressing caused the belt to attract and hold more dirt and dust



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    While the outer lip is gone, the front sprocket now has lips on either side of the sprocket. The front sprocket doesn't seem to get as dirty as the rear and with less contact area maybe they noticed it got rid of the noise. :/ Belt alignment seems to be a bit different on the 2020-21's but with a lot less belt noise.

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    Quote from Edward Neal

    The one thing about applying a belt dressing that has me concerned would be if the dressing caused the belt to attract and hold more dirt and dust



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    I agree and I will be keeping an eye on the belt however the minimal amount I put on hopefully will not be an issue

    We’ll get there when we get there and not a minute before. 😎

    Quote from SoCal

    I agree and I will be keeping an eye on the belt however the minimal amount I put on hopefully will not be an issue

    I look forward to hearing what you think after its been a good bit - - lets see how it holds through your Death Valley trip :thumbsup:


    If after that you love it I just may order a can to try

    Cage Free - 2016 Pearl Red SL

    DDM Short Shifter, Sway Bar Mounts Coolant tank Master Cylinder Brace & CAI

    Twist Dynamics Sway Bar, JRI GT Coilovers, Assault Hood Vent

    OEM Double Bubble windshields & various other goodies