halftrack fan belts (don't buy the french ones)

[steve-0]

i purchased a few sets of the french fan belts sold by halftracks.com parts suppler a while back and they dont fit. has anyone else had this problem? they are to short, i even tried unmounting the generator, getting the belts on then mounting it with no luck. did the french use a smaller pulley on the generator? i did some research and found a great belt though. gates c46. they fit perfectly. also thanks to halftrackm2a1 on this board the Gates TR28492 belt is also a match. the belts are the same length and angle and both work fine. the TR28492 good for higher speeds. the C46 has a cloth covering like the originals which is why i purchased them
for more info check out these links.

http://g503.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=174068

http://www.gatespowerpro.com/Comergent/en/US/direct/gates  search for C46 and TR28492 to get info on them

http://www.royalsupply.com/store/pc/GPT-C46-1085p33398.htm

[andy]

I have a virgin unopened French crate motor (well i opened it but never opened since it was sealed). It came with a new fan and 2 belts (sealed with motor) They do not fit either, so no the French didn't use smaller pulleys. Possible shrinkage over the years?

[steve-0]

there has been alot of confusion about the belts so here are the facts

the original belts specified in the TM9-710 page 175 and TM 9-1711 page 39 state the following.

7/8 in wide  x49 in long. White No. 372659 (matched set) V-belt

this size belt will not fit or at least not properly, its one inch to short and that one inch makes a big difference.

the gates C46 belts are 7/8 in wide  x50 in long and they fit perfectly.


there has also been some confusion about the belt angle with gary telling people that these have the wrong angle to them as you can see in this listing. note the 40 degree on the tag in the pic
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HALF-TRACK-GOODYEAR-GENERATOR-BELT-SET-WHITE-MOTORS-160AX-WWII-/251551195766?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a919ea276



here are the facts
the gates C46 belts have a 40 degree angle just like the originals.
here are some sites that list belt angles for this belt

http://www.mibelting.com/indbelt.htm
http://www.vbelts4less.com/V-Belt-Specs_ep_45.html
http://www.gizmology.net/pulleysbelts.htm



also
belts have a shelf life of 8 years with Proper storage and temperatures less than 85 Degrees and relative humidity below 70%.