Drive Belt

    I have made myself familiar with the procedure of adjusting the drive belt. I have the large 22MM Hex Bit and the 30mm socket ready to go.


    This is my question;


    I imagine that any belt that needs adjustment would be most if not all of the time in the same spot. MY belt is sometimes in the correct position and looks great. Then the next time you see it it is what seems tight up against the inside left of the sprocket. Then the next time you see it it is slightly out from there. Tonight when gettin home I moved the sling about ten feet forward and then back. The belt looked perfect. A tad out from the inside of the sprocket and the small "gap" on the right outboard side. When going to look at my sling prior to buying it I said to the owner - have you done anything with the belt? It is a bit off to the right. He said no. It had 1800 miles on it at the time.


    The two pictures included are from two different times today. I know we are only talking about 1/32" - 1/16" "walk" in the belt here but is this normal? I would think that it would be in one place all the time. My last sling was - it never changed. AND I feel that when it is to the left ( inboard side ) of the sprocket it is making a squealing sound - then goes away. It is not an angle drive sound it is a squeal. The squeal mostly happens when decelerating then when under power it goes away. Belt is clean too.


    SO... Before I do the adjustment is there anything else to be looking for? Angle drive adjustment? Perhaps make sure the double nut is tight or torqued correctly?


    I will put my wrench on every bolt I can see/find while down there too cuz ya never know...


    Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to all who chime in on this!



    I consider this to be almost correct. A bit to the left I believe would be ideal.



    This is after 60 miles and our first stop today - almost the opposite of above.

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

    Yes, I feel your frustration, my experience has been that the belt will move on the rear sprocket for several different reasons but primarily it tends to move to the outside when accelerating, (the colder/looser the belt, the more it will wander), which is why you initially adjust the belt closer to the inside. Keep in mind that as the belt warms, it will tighten. If the belt comes into contact with either the inside or outside lip, that is when it tends to squeal. So that is your goal, not necessarily achieving an exact placement of the belt, but simply to keep the belt in between the lips by adjusting position and tension. A good starting point is with a slight gap on the inside and the tension set near given specification, (,63 inch deflection) at an OAT of between 60 and 80 degrees F, as your manual specifies. I use .7 inch deflection simply because it is easier to read on the scale. Unfortunately, from there a little trial and error is typically involved in the process so when the belt no longer squeals during accelerating or decelerating, you know that you are all set.


    Oh, and another thing, when in reverse, the belt will tend to move towards the inside, so you need to check the belt location only when the vehicle has been traveling forward.


    A further note is that the swing arm is on a smooth shaft so to adjust its location you need to push the swing arm in one direction or the other. To move the swing arm to the right, (passenger side), you need to "loosen" the right side and "tighten" the left. To move the swing arm to the left, (driver side), "loosen" on the left and "tighten" from the right. Further keep in mind that the apparent motion of the belt on the sprocket is opposite to the direction that you move the swing arm.


    All clear as mud now?


    I will emphasize again, I am only relating my experience that I have mostly gained by trial and error, not exactly my expertise on the topic.


    And with that said, here is yet another edit where I believe I have discovered an easier way to adjust belt tension since installing adjustable shocks, and that is to adjust the shock rather than going through the process of adjusting the angle drive? This is only a theory at the moment.


    Bill

    82,000+ miles and my belt I believe was changed once under warrantee --- tech didn't like the way it looked and changed it. Probably 40,000 miles ago. I let the guy who is following me check to see where the belt is riding. Several of the guys who I know with a lot of miles don't worry about the belt.


    FunCycle thoughts....

    All great thoughts on this and very much appreciated! I must admit my prime motivation was just eliminating the squeal. Perhaps I will get to this in the next week and give you all an update on how it goes. Given what you have shared I believe my squeak is coming from the belt on the inside lip of the sprocket and I will try to move it a tad out!🙂

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

    Quote from SoCal

    All great thoughts on this and very much appreciated! I must admit my prime motivation was just eliminating the squeal. Perhaps I will get to this in the next week and give you all an update on how it goes. Given what you have shared I believe my squeak is coming from the belt on the inside lip of the sprocket and I will try to move it a tad out!🙂

    First thing I would suggest is to get a can of dry lube and spray the belt, if the noise goes away, then you know for sure it is the belt. Then the next thing I would do is scrub the belt good and see if that helps. Once you start playing with adjusting the belt do it on a day in which you are calm and patient, for you may not end the day in that condition!


    Bill

    Quote from EjFord

    82,000+ miles and my belt I believe was changed once under warrantee --- tech didn't like the way it looked and changed it. Probably 40,000 miles ago. I let the guy who is following me check to see where the belt is riding. Several of the guys who I know with a lot of miles don't worry about the belt.


    FunCycle thoughts....

    I did wash it one time, some people are just too ANNAL

    I hear a little squeal mostly when decelerating but being a new SS driver i don't know what is normal and what I should worry about. I don't have a thousand miles yet and there are a lot of noises that are new to me. They all go away when I turn up the music or take out my hearing aid. I am not even going to get into belt adjusting and I would only make it worst I am sure. Most of the miles so far have been between 40 to 75 degrees mostly in the low 60s. Will see what she sounds like this Summer.

    If the music is to loud you are to old.

    Quote from wjfyfe

    First thing I would suggest is to get a can of dry lube and spray the belt, if the noise goes away, then you know for sure it is the belt. Then the next thing I would do is scrub the belt good and see if that helps. Once you start playing with adjusting the belt do it on a day in which you are calm and patient, for you may not end the day in that condition!


    Bill

    i’m all about easy and convenient first thank you🙂

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

    Quote from SoCal

    All great thoughts on this and very much appreciated! I must admit my prime motivation was just eliminating the squeal. Perhaps I will get to this in the next week and give you all an update on how it goes. Given what you have shared I believe my squeak is coming from the belt on the inside lip of the sprocket and I will try to move it a tad out!🙂

    SoCal


    I have never messed with the belt tension on Cage Free. I know that back before I bought her she was the demo at the dealer and they had done the swing arm recall replacement - - I just kind a assumed that in doing the replacement they would have made sure the tension was correct


    Also the only time I have ever had belt noise as always been when the belt has gotten dirty (worst time was after a trip out to Pappy & Harriets and that dust bowl parking lot of theirs)


    Anyway the one thing I want to mention that might be of interest is that when my belt has been in need of cleaning any noise or squeeling from the belt always seems to be much more of an issue when its cold - I think the belt get stiffer and this causes issues - - knowing this I would tend to want to do any belt adjustments in the afternoon when it is warm and I would also think going for a good ride to make sure the bels is at operating temperature would be advisable


    so before anything I think You should take a nice Sunday ride - - weather looks to be perfect, perhaps lunch with your beautiful wife at the beach and then belt adjustment after you get home :)


    As a side note I also think wjfyfe has a good idea about possibly using the height adjustment of the rear coilover as a way to make minor adjustments - I have always read that lowering the rear will tighten the belt and is slightly lowering my sling would make the adjustment of the belt better seems like something worth considering

    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

    Edited once, last by Edward Neal ().

    👌🏼Seeeeee that’s why I’m here! All great ideas!

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

    I'll offer my very limited experience with belt noise. When I took delivery of my new (3.8 miles) Sling in my driveway, it was so noisy it sounded like I was driving it away from the wrecking yard. It's hard to describe but it was a combination of squeal, grind and click and it was loud! I immediately bought the tools and loosened the tension from Polaris' spec of .63" to 1 1/4" - 1 3/8". Problem solved and I haven't touched it since. My recommendation, for what it's worth, is to loosen the belt and see what you get.

    Remember folks - this isn't a rehearsal, this is The Show!8)

    Quote from SlingLow

    I'll offer my very limited experience with belt noise. When I took delivery of my new (3.8 miles) Sling in my driveway, it was so noisy it sounded like I was driving it away from the wrecking yard. It's hard to describe but it was a combination of squeal, grind and click and it was loud! I immediately bought the tools and loosened the tension from Polaris' spec of .63" to 1 1/4" - 1 3/8". Problem solved and I haven't touched it since. My recommendation, for what it's worth, is to loosen the belt and see what you get.

    good point and thank you. I am not familiar with the belt tension technique but will look that up as well

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

    The maintenance manual recommends adjusting the drive belt when the OAT is between 60-80 degrees F. I have gone along with that but recently started contemplating if it might not be better to wait for a hot day, after an extended ride, and then adjust the belt to the tightest that one may wish it? This way the belt should never get "too tight?"


    Bill

    Quote from SlingLow

    I'll offer my very limited experience with belt noise. When I took delivery of my new (3.8 miles) Sling in my driveway, it was so noisy it sounded like I was driving it away from the wrecking yard. It's hard to describe but it was a combination of squeal, grind and click and it was loud! I immediately bought the tools and loosened the tension from Polaris' spec of .63" to 1 1/4" - 1 3/8". Problem solved and I haven't touched it since. My recommendation, for what it's worth, is to loosen the belt and see what you get.

    Agree 100%. Factory recommended spec of 0.63” is just WAY too tight (& that’s a cold spec - belt gets tighter when it’s hot). I used same amount of play as SlingLow with no issues whatsoever.

    Slingshots: making children out of adults since 2014