AC belt

[tony6373]

Yesterday the a/c belt broke going down the interstate. GM dealer was closed for the holiday weekend. Autozone sold me a 13a1525 which turned out to be too long. I'm guessing that I need something like a 13B1450? Anyone know the correct belt for a '94 LY with a 454?

[Vycan]

Tony,

Congratulations on your new motorhome. How are you enjoying her?

[tony6373]

After trying several different belts that didn't fit I ran out of time and turned it over to the local shop that is doing the oil, lube, and inspection. Texas requires a safety inspection, photo, scale weight sheet and proof of insurance to apply for a title. So I took it to the local radiator shop (they have the best reputation in this area) for the inspection and told them to replace the belt also.

The LY drives nicer then my old 270 classic did and the engine is much quieter then the old Isuzu diesel was (even with the exhaust leak). The radiator shop will work on the exhaust leak also. It sure is nice to have a real bed (as opposed to a flip lounge). But I do miss the classic Airstream looks.... nobody stops to take pictures of the LY.

I'm looking for a new set of tires. The 8R19.5s are hard to find and expensive. Local Love's truck stop said they could not even mount something that small. So I may have to go to Camping World again. PO has installed 225R70/19.5s which are about an inch shorter.

All in all I think I will like the LY once I get it all sorted out.

[92landyacht]

I just installed a complete set of 8 8R19.5 tires for under $1500. I purchased the tires from Simple Tire.com. I purchased the Samson Long Haul GL283A 8/R19.5 Tires. So far they ride very nicely. Can't say about longevity, but for $141 a pop they a pretty good deal.

To get them installed I just removed them 2 at a time and took them to the local tire store. Most shops can do the 19.5 wheels without any problems. So far I've had three different shops do them. I would strongly recommend using some form of balance mechanism. My personal preference are the Dyno Beads. No vibration at all and they're used by a lot of trucking firms.

[tony6373]

Okay, the correct A/C belt for a 1994 LY 30 with the Chevy 454 is XL 25-7603 form Napa. The air blows cold again.

Just got the M/H back from the shop yesterday. They replaced both exhaust manifolds. Much quieter now. So it passed safety inspection and I have my Texas plates.

I've decided to wait untill Bridgestone or Michelin 8R19.5s are available again. Meanwhile I aired up the airsprings and that raised the coach about half an inch I think. That's about as much higher as it would be with the 8R19.5s.

I replaced the plugs (CR43TS) and plug wires last week. Anyone know the correct plug gap? In the old beaker point days plug gap was 0.035" and HEI systems were 0.080" as I recall. But this system has a small seperate coil and small (compared to an HEI) distributor cap. So I guessed and set them at 0.040".

So I'm back on the road again or will be in a couple of days.

[tuner]

This year we bought a 1994 Airstream Land Yacht 30 with the 454. We had the dash AC converted to 134 freon with a new compressor, new dryer, and new hoses. The system was flushed. The new drive belt lasted about 1 hour before it would not drive the compressor. Several attempts to tighten the belt would only last 1 hour. Finally, the adjustment screw ran out of travel. A new belt was installed and lasted about 8 hours then would not drive the compressor. When tightened, it only lasted 1 hour. Tightened again, lasted only 1 hour again. Cold air while working.

Is there a special belt that is required? Does anyone else have this problem?

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[tony6373]

My only suggestion would be to be sure that you get a good quality belt like Gates which is what Napa sells under there own name. There are some cheap low quality belts out there that will not last. On my '94 30' LY there is only one belt driving the compressor. So I cary a couple of spars.