87Brougham307

Hello,

i drive a 87 Brougham 307. Yesterday my ps belt squealed like hell,never heard that. This morning i cranked her up and the belt cracked. I bought already a new one. In wich groove on the wp pulley belongs the ps belt,i find no diagram and im really lost. Thanks

elB

The middle is how it is routed on my '89:

87Brougham307

So that shown diagram is right?

elB

That it is! They only line up one way and will rub if you do it any other.

87Brougham307

Thanks for your help.

oldcutlass

The pulley groves that the belt travels all line up together. If its in the wrong groove its very obvious.

FStanley

olds 307 and 403

As long as you have all three belts on and decent tight it shouldn't squeal. It sounds like the ps belt is getting old. The only time I had a squeal was when I removed the power steering belt.

87Brougham307

I only have to belts on,alt and ps. My ac compressor isnt working,but im thinking about putting the ac belt back on but unplug the compressor so i just use the pulley as a little more balance for the whole engine,because right now i just got the 2 belts on the right side.

olds 307 and 403

You have to put it back on. Trust me, I tried it without the A/C belt. I tried soap and super tight, no good. The belt burnt off one -30 day, A/C belt put back on, no more squealing issue.

87Brougham307

Man you give me hope.So the compressor is not working i just unplug it and use the pulley,right??

olds 307 and 403

Mine also wasn't working. Yeah, unplug it and it should be good.

87Brougham307

I buy a new ac belt today and try it.I heard from a lot people today they had the same squealing issue until they put the ac belt back on.Seems to be a common 307 problem.Ill post the result tonight.I really appreciate your respond.Im german and since one year in the usa and my Brougham is my one and only.Rebuild the whole engine.

joe_padavano

See my response to your other thread on this same topic. Most people have no idea how to properly tension the PS belt on these cars.

Koda

broomstick and haul on it?

olds 307 and 403

Joe talks about the tightening all three points and using a screw driver against the inner lip behind the pulley. For easy service, I leave the lower bolts barely loose and just tighten the top one fully and carefully pry against the reservoir body to get it tight enough. I then just tighten the top bolt with a 15mm wrench. Joe's method is the textbook way, mine is much easier and works fine. Considering how much new belts stretch, they need adjusted 3 times, no matter the accessory in my experience, in a short amount of time. Wait till they are fully stretched before doing properly, unless it will drive you nuts.

joe_padavano

And yet by following the "textbook" way, I've never had a squealing belt and never had to retension a new belt. Back in my young and stupid days, I did dent more than a few PS pump reservoirs by prying on the thin sheet metal reservoir.

olds 307 and 403

That is why I said be careful if prying on the reservoir. Joe, it has to be a new belt issue, something has changed. I even had a new serpentine belt start squealing, it stretched past where it had proper tension. The alternator belts also don't hold tension either. This is Napa(Gates) and Dayco belts, both are US made. I have actually found I have I have to go below the factory size, they stretch that much, the adjustment points are not loosening off, still where I tightened them.

87Brougham307

That was pain in the *** to put the ac belt back on,but anyway its done. I cranked up the engine with ac and ps belt and i was close to the tears,NO MORE SQUEALING: Man im so happy everything is tight and all the belts are new. Now it only squeals for 2 or 3 seconds in the morning but thats not bothering me. Thanks everybody for the help.

olds 307 and 403

Awesome, just double check tightness, I bet they have already stretched some.

87Brougham307

Thats what i think too,new belts need to be retensioned. But can you imagine how excited i was when i put the ac and ps belt back on and i was about to crank her up. It was all or nothing,heaven or hell...😁 And then that moment she fired up and quiet like a baby...That was the moment where i realised how smooth those 307 is when everything works proper. It was the first time that i changed the belts on my own and it took me couple of hours,lol. But next time im faster.

olds 307 and 403

The Olds V8's belt system can be very complicated. The are spacers that have to be in the right places and the pulleys must match the water pump length and there is 3 of them, not two like the sbc. I inherited a 260 installed in 70S, it was squealing, they installed a tiny belt off the power steering just to the water pump. I added a proper length belt it then would throw the alternator belt. I had to take a straight edge and found the pulley half way in between where it should be. It had the correct length 5.6" water pump from my measurement. I just spaced it out enough to line up with the next pulley. When I installed the 350 in my 70S, it had the 6" long water pump. Of course the alternator lined with the same pulley as the power steering. I didn't want one really long belt so I spaced out the alternator pulley till in line with the next pulley. These were both with the non A/C passenger side alternator bracket. A good way to see if your belts are aligned is to rev the motor past 4000 rpm, they exit the pulleys quickly if not right, been there. This why the water pump length must match the pulleys or it will cause issues from squealing, to breaking or flipping off belts. Both my 88 see 4000 and my 70 5000+ rpm and no squeals or throwing off the belts which is the real test.

87Brougham307

I red in another post that someone just used a alternator belt as ps belt cause the alternater belt is 1 shorter. He didnt had to retension. I just start to work on my caddi and that 2 or 3 second squealing isnt bothering me. I will tension it today again and then watch.

olds 307 and 403

With the belts I was buying a few years ago, retensioning was rarely needed. Now I need to go one or two sizes smaller, which is ridiculous. I even had a Dayco serpentine belt stretch so much it squealed under load. Maybe it is the Dayco and Napa(Gates) belts that just have this issue, I don't know.

87Brougham307

I retension today and watch it,otherwise i try the shorter alternator belt for the ps.