alternator belt

for 328:

alternator belt: napa xl 25 7312
water pump: gates 7m630

 

I carry spares at all times, but replacing an alt belt on the side of the road, at night, in nice clothes with my wife in the car would just SUCK! However, if I was in a bind, it could be done!

 

I believe there are 2 different sizes. Look under the Ricambi sponsor site and you can see which belt you have. Most auto stores do not carry the gate "industrial" type belts. I replace mine every 2 years and keep the old one for a spare. I got 6 belts in the garage. Mine only cost $25 and I have a local auto store get them for me. Good luck

 

Yeah, I guess there is a piece of me that doesn't want people seeing me broken down! A little dignity for my F-Car at the very least, that and it's always embarrassing to be on the side of the road as other motorists roll by. But I also can hear them (in my mind) saying "I knew those 308's were crappy!" I just can’t stand that! I try to keep my baby clean and running in top form as best I can to avoid such situations. But there is only so much one can do.

 

I feel the same way, I do NOT want a Ferrari sitting broken on the side of the road. That being said, there's no reason for a Ferrari alternator/water pump belt to fail any sooner than the same kind of a belt used for the same purpose on a Ford or a Toyota. Was it old/cracked/brittle?

 

Single belt set-ups were/and still are an unpredictable problem. Some cars throw them, and some won't. A Dec 83 tech bulletin from the factory addressed a solution with a two belt kit. My 84 308 was one of these problem cars and I finally had to move to a two belt design about 3 years ago.

 

I have a copy on my website: MondialQV.com

Click the photos link to bring up the photo album. Select the "Mondials" sub-album, and then the "Exotic Mondials" sub-album. There are some photos of a red/black Mondial in there.

 

"A Dec 83 tech bulletin from the factory addressed a solution with a two belt kit."

Interesting...by the 80's (or 70's, or 60's or 50's, or 40's etc...) properly sizing/aligning the appropriate accessory belts/pulleys on engine assembly was pretty much understood. I guess Ferrari was a little late reading the "belts and pulleys" chapter of "engine building 101"

 

AFAIK, no one has reported/identified a substitute previously. These Gates "Polyflex" belts are a little unusual and are from Gates Industrial division (not their Auto business). If you do a search on "Gates Polyflex" or "Gates 7M975", you'll get the relevant threads -- but, IIRC, the best anyone has done is finding an industrial supply company where they can get the Gates' belts at a little better price rather than finding an equivalent (and more easily sourced) substitute.

 

what the hell's wrong with you guys?
can't you read?

 

This belt also takes right much more tension than the standard v belts on most other cars I have worked on. If it is not properly tensioned it will tend to eat the belt as well.
And yes i learned that one the hard way when I changed the belt and did not look up the tension but did as I had always done on other vehicles.

 

never mind.....

 

Hello from Novato, about to leave for Pebble Beach. Yesterday, after much squealing, I realized I had lost both altinator belts on the 1984 BBi 512, as both 'generator' lights came on. First thought was, how is the water pump doing?? Good deal: that is a separate belt and still intact. Is there a cross reference for these 2 different size belts, 117314 and 102918? I see there are cross over belts for the Mondial or 308 mentioned, by Napa and Gates. I plan on measuring the two circumfrances with string and a putty mold of the V groove. Any cross-over refereces would be greatly acknowledged!! Peter

 

Some people suggest a thicker belt (8mm or 10mm.) Easier to find and supposedly less likely to throw but no personal experience

 

Hopefully the original poster has learned the one advantage to the single belt system and that is the alternator light. If you see that you know you must shut down immediately BEFORE the engine overheats. The two belt system seems better but it relies on a small tensioner bearing and gives no failure warning other than a rising coolant temp indication.