Yanmar serpentine belt kit issue

[SilentOption]

Has anyone installed Balmars serpentine kit on a 4JH3 TE?
The crankshaft pulley has small tangs that hold the hamonic balance wheel. Do I pound the Balmar pulley over those tangs or grind them off.

[molly1]

i can't answer that question but would be curious to know if you can still use the pulley cover?

[SilentOption]

Originally Posted by molly1

i can't answer that question but would be curious to know if you can still use the pulley cover?

Balmar is looking into it now. I'll post the outcome. It's a common engine I can't believe I couldn't find a youtube showing how to solve the issue.

[GreenWave]

Hmmm, I have this engine and will check it this weekend. Havne't had it long enough to know the answer.

[molly1]

On a separate matter, I just checked the price of the serpentine belt kit here in Australia and was quoted $970 plus freight and more if I needed to change the pulley and the adjustment arm (about another $300).
This seems excessive. Am I right?

[chris in SG]

Originally Posted by molly1

On a separate matter, I just checked the price of the serpentine belt kit here in Australia and was quoted $970 plus freight and more if I needed to change the pulley and the adjustment arm (about another $300).
This seems excessive. Am I right?

Well, in my opinion, the price is shocking, I would love to know the reason. Is it genuinely because they are manufacturing small quantities or is it because they know that if you buy an alternator rated at 100 amps or more, sooner or later you will be tired of v belt wear and replacement.

On the other hand, the performance improvement is stunning. I converted one engine 3 years ago and since then there has been zero wear and no need for adjustment. I have just splashed out on a kit for my other engine which had been de-rated (for charging) to the point where it was really not contributing at all.

I have said before, on another thread, that I think Balmar is wrong to sell 100 amp alternators with a standard V pulley for a 1/2" belt. Obviously, if they only sell these alternators in combination with a serpentine kit, the price of the package would virtually halt all sales. My post didn't exactly gain support, with most people politely suggesting that I might spend more time monitoring belt tension. But I strongly maintain that the Balmar 100amp alternators with a single V pulley are not 'fit for purpose'.

[Adelie]

Seems like it would be a very low volume item, and some of the axle diameters are going vary engine to engine so the are going to have to stock a bunch of different pulleys or stock a smaller number and drill out the center holes custom every time.

[Q Xopa]

Originally Posted by Adelie

Seems like it would be a very low volume item, and some of the axle diameters are going vary engine to engine so the are going to have to stock a bunch of different pulleys or stock a smaller number and drill out the center holes custom every time.

Get a good Machine shop guy. I got one here in Panama.

I couln't tell you exactly how much my pullies were as I had them made at the same time as a bunch of other stuff, maybe $3-400. Labour is not expensive here. I got a double set done for one Alternator each side.

There is some Mount fab, adjuster brackets, spacers etc plus other non Alternator stuff.

The hardest part is working out the dimensions for the bits. But if you're a little bit mechanically inclined its definately not rocket science.

Go for it I say.

Good luck!

[s/v Jedi]

$464 from Rod Collins: https://shop.marinehowto.com/product...yanmar-engines

Picture is my new setup on a 4LH-HTE. Love it.

[Q Xopa]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

$464 from Rod Collins: https://shop.marinehowto.com/product...yanmar-engines

Picture is my new setup on a 4LH-HTE. Love it.

Yes, not a bad price, and Rod gives a lot of his time in contributing to educating the Community so if you going to buy it, I definately recommend buying from him.

I went a bit trickier with my setup. I made my crank and water pump pullies larger, to speed up the Alternators and slow up the water pump.
When I asked they didnt have a dual Alternator option.
Also I have 7/8" shaft large frame alts so I'm not sure if they have those pulley options. I think the Balmar kits are 6 ribs? I went for the 8 rib option. Both 6 and 8 are reasonably common so I thought if I'm going to do this I might as well go for the 33% more belt grip.

Having said all that, I agree it's probably not worth the extra time messing around for realistically not much extra gain. I'm sure the Balmar kits are a big step up from standard.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Q Xopa

Yes, not a bad price, and Rod gives a lot of his time in contributing to educating the Community so if you going to buy it, I definately recommend buying from him.

I went a bit trickier with my setup. I made my crank and water pump pullies larger, to speed up the Alternators and slow up the water pump.
When I asked they didnt have a dual Alternator option.
Also I have 7/8" shaft large frame alts so I'm not sure if they have those pulley options. I think the Balmar kits are 6 ribs? I went for the 8 rib option. Both 6 and 8 are reasonably common so I thought if I'm going to do this I might as well go for the 33% more belt grip.

Having said all that, I agree it's probably not worth the extra time messing around for realistically not much extra gain. I'm sure the Balmar kits are a big step up from standard.

Actually the Balmar belts are J10 so 10 ribs, really skookum

[Q Xopa]

Ah ok, I stand corrected. Nice.

[dfelsent]

I’ve got a 150 amp alternator which does put that out when the batteries are very low. Mostly puts out about 75 amps limited by battery acceptance as I try to avoid deep discharges. 450 Ah firefly. LiPo would change that for sure.
I have a 1/2” Gates Green Stripe belt properly tensioned and aligned (which is far from trivial) and have very low belt wear or resulting dust. I spent quite a while setting it all up, over several weeks.
If you read the Gates belt manual
https://www.gates.com/content/dam/ga...nual-fr-fr.pdf is one small section
you will find a wealth of information related to our application.
Basically proper alignment and tension has a huge impact on belt life and wear and available power transmission.
Again, kind of fussy stuff. But really worth paying attention to.
I have had setups that ate belts due to misalignment.
I have looked at serpentine kits but not worth the $ to me right now.
Please don’t get me wrong. Serpentine belts are amazing. (See the manual above.).

[Allied39]

Originally Posted by molly1

On a separate matter, I just checked the price of the serpentine belt kit here in Australia and was quoted $970 plus freight and more if I needed to change the pulley and the adjustment arm (about another $300).
This seems excessive. Am I right?

No, that seems about right, generally everything in oz is at least double what it is in the US.
Just sayin is all....and answering a question of course

[SilentOption]

Originally Posted by SilentOption

Has anyone installed Balmars serpentine kit on a 4JH3 TE?
The crankshaft pulley has small tangs that hold the hamonic balance wheel. Do I pound the Balmar pulley over those tangs or grind them off.

So it turns out the kit is right for the engine with no mods. Balmars crankshaft pulley presses onto the Yanmar pulley. The photo in the supplied instructions don't match of course but lined the new pulley up with the bolt holes and pushed it on with my foot. It is actually a very good fit once it's in place.