Well, I'm now Normally Aspirated!
 

I took out my Z for the first time on Wednesday 3/30 since it was 70 degrees and sunny. I had it on the highway and was tearing up the roads and basically remembering just how much fun this car was.

I then took it out again on Thursday and noticed that when I punched it, that familiar "getting thrown back into your seat" just wasn't there. I looked at my boost gauge and noticed that it was registering only a couple psi (I normally have 9 psi).

I go home and take a look and my Procharger belt (the shorter of the two..the one towards that back that turns the blower) is completely smooth (i.e. all the teeth are gone) and it is slipping like crazy since the pulleys are toothed.

I'm guessing that since the car sat in a fairly cold garage all winter the belt "loosened" and I was too anxious to check my belt tension before I took the car out and this lead to slipping and ripping off of the teeth.

It made such a squeeling racket when I drove it I simply cut the belt off. So I am N/A again. VERY hard to go back once you have felt the power!

I ordered both belts (figured I might as well get the other one too) from ATI yesterday and should have them in about a week. MAN are those suckers EXPENSIVE! $95 apiece!! Is there anywhere else to get them cheaper for future reference?

damn...you scared me! I though you took the SC kit of your car! :) Glad to hear it was just some slippery smooth belts. :)

I found them on line a while back for $18-27 apiece..Cant find the site anymore..

I know how that feels . Couple weeks ago I tightened my serp belt up and forgot to tighten up the tentioner pulley back up , and it fell off . I lost all boost and power steering .

what was the difference like feeling that loss of power?
WHere do you notice it gone the most?

Lower end especially. Seems like it takes FOREVER to get up to speed. Then you really miss that SLAM into the back of your seat at about 4000 RPMs.

HUH!!! If you find it LET ME KNOW!

Didn't someone post once that you could use some other kind of belt that you could get from an auto parts store?

When I broke an ATI belt I just jumped on GATES website and found a local rep. They had them BOTH in stock and they were around $25 a piece, all I had to do was drive 45 minutes to Cincinatti to pick them up. They are an industrial GATES belt so I don't believe you can get them at an auto store.

i know what that feels like...try going from forced induction...to swiss cheese block!...even worse than just NA...my car sat in my garage for a month while i frantically ordered parts..then i flatbedded it to my shop...and i will get my car back in 2 days...it has been 4 months without my 350z...

i feel your pain, but it could be MUCH worse

Do you know the URL for GATES website? I already ordered these but just for future reference. Hell, I'd get a few just to have for quick backup if this ever happens again!

As for the Swiss Cheese engine, I hear ya DCalb. I have been "without" my Z for 4 months as well but it has been under cover in my garage, no holes in the engine though!

Being the brilliant surgeon I am, I figured that out all by myself. However, I don't see where on this site I would find the Procharger belts. I assume I'd need some sort of parts number or something?

yeah, you can get the numbers from the belts, or I think even from the book that came with the Procharger. Keep in mind this is NOT an automovtive belt, its an industrial belt.

OK Thanks.

You could also call OReily's autoparts stores if there are any in your area.

Thanks.

I got the new belt from ATI (just a little bit of a mark up on the $95 price!) and I had a TWO HOUR ORDEAL getting the damn thing on.

No matter what I did, I couldn't get that sucker to slip on there. You have to loosen these little hex head things and rotate this wheel to bring the two pulleys you are working with, colser together. You rotate the wheel toward the passenger side if you are putting the front (longer) belt on and toward the driver's side to install the blower belt. You have to stick a screwdriver or some other sturdy metal object into this hole on the wheel in order to turn it.

Mine wouldn't turn far enough! I had it as far as it goes (while still leaving the three hex head in) and no deal. I then took them off completely (not just loosened) and tried to turn it more to get me another fraction of a millimeter. Still nothing.

I tried heating the belt up but these things are so strong and thick that you can't really stretch them. I decided to try and remove my pulley to see if that would help and that baby was STUCK on there. I did manage to get it to move backward a little which aligned the belt a little straighter but I still couldn't get it.

Finally, I tried to turn the wheel even more (now burying the holes where the three hex head screws normally go) To do this I had to insert an Allen wrench into the hole and pound it with a hammer to get it to turn a bit more. FINALLY, I got the belt on.

This was only after dinging up my blower bracket a bit (not to mention my hands too!) and breaking a screwdriver and two Allen wrenches!

Then I had to get it to turn BACK so I could re-insert the three hex head screws! NOT FUN!

Anyway, I finally did get it all back to where I needed it and I am once again SUPERCHARGED!

Funny thing is that it seems like I get a little less belt squeal now! :)

I was all ready to go when the guy who was going to paint my front lip and my driver's side, side skirt says he was coming to pick them up. They are now off the car and getting repainted (had some curb rash and a nasty scrape on the lip). So the Z remains in my garage.

Can't wait to break it out!

This pic will explain what I was talking about.

The red circles show the two hex head screws and the red arrow shows where the third one is (can't see it in this pic)

The greenish arrow shows the hole in the "wheel" thing you have to stick the Allen wrench into to turn it and get your pulleys closer together.

The purple splotches are where I dinged up the bracket. :(

Saw it myself...Live and in person....OUCH!!

Doc,
Forgive me if this has been addressed before, but I noticed that your routing on the belt seems different than the other Prochargers that I have seen, including mine. Shouldn't the belt go on top of the idler pulley? Was this intentional? any benefit to your routing? Do you think that had anything to do with your belt failing? Just an observation.

This has been brought up before. My belt goes under the pully, if I remember right. The idler pully is not cogged, so it doesn't really matter one way or the other, as ong as the belt is tight. I would tend to believe that running the teeth of the belt over the smooth tensioner would eventually wear the teeth out, or damage the smooth pully over time.