Question: Proper V-Belt Sizing. . .(gates for reference)

[Bolisk]

Working on my barn found 1972 LS5 with PS and A/C. I'm just about ready to start the re-assembly of the front of my engine. In the process I would like to replace the v-belts. Looking at old previously installed belts showed that I have a mix mash of belt brands and dimensions.

My first question is is the correct width of the belts? Some of my belts appear to be .41 in width, while others appear to be .47 (or 1/2). My concern is that the .41 size appears to sit to deeply in the pulley. . .and new .47's appear to sit to high in the pulley (exposed). Proper v-belt sizing (if memory serves) suggests that the top of the belt should be close to flush with the top of the pulley. Does that still hold true?

Using Gates as a replacement brand. . .this these two sizes appear to correlate to their 7 and 9 series v-belts (i.e. 7xxx or 9xxx, where "xxx" = belt length in inches. . .such as 9445 would be a .47 wide belt of a length of 44.5 inches)

So I guess the question I have is. . .what happened to the size in between these to sizes. . .or the 8 series belts. . .as that would seem to be the "correct" width for the pulleys that I have. . .which don't appear to be made any more (if ever).

What width do other LS5 owners use?

Thanks,
Jon

 

[frank_nesta]

Narrow belts are for PS and Alternator, wider belt is for AC. That is the way they were from the factory. You could go wider if you can find the right length. It should not hurt anything to go wider but, not necessary.