alright i have a 1986 ws6 trans am. my belt is dead and wanna replace it, how do i find out if it is jsut a V-belt or if i need a serpintine belt? thanks respond asap please!

 

V-belt systems have more than one belt, serpentine systems have one long belt snaking around everything.

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89 iroc-z 305 tbi
k&n filtercharger, open element air filter. nuffin' else

 

ok thanks, i have the v-belt then. now another question i have is...is it possible to convert from teh v-belt to the serpintine belt? and how hard would it be?

 

Brit,

You have an '86 TA? I've always said they were the bastard-child of the breed, and here is one more reason why:

Actually, you have both types of belts on your engine, if it is a TPI. My '86 T/A-TeePee Eye has the standard 37° 'V' belts for the power steering, A.I.R. pump, and A/C compressor. The alternator and water pump drive, however, uses a five-rib poly-V belt (that some people call "serpentine").

The belts are as follows:

* Acc. Belt - Main - 5PK1140 (GM-14088681) (Poly-V)
* Air Pump - 15330 (GM-14091516) .38" X 33.0"
* P/S - 15400 (GM-14033905) .38" X 40.0"
* A/C - 15550 (GM-14081276) .38" X 55.5"

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Later,
Vader
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If you want to beat the World, it might reach up and pull you down...
Adobe Acrobat Reader

[This message has been edited by Vader (edited October 23, 2001).]

 

weeeiiiirrrd. Guess I'm glad I never had one of those cars. heh

 

Enkil,

1986 'F' body TPI:

The last year for perimeter rocker covers;

The first year for the one-piece rear main crank seal (late 1986);

The last year for the flat-tappet cam;

The first full year for the faster "165" ECM;

The first year for the analog Bosch MAF;

The "variety assortment" belt drive system;

The only year with the CHIT light mounted on the rear hatch glass;

The last year of the integrated HEI ignition coil;

The first year for the improved TH700-R4 valve body;

The first year for the increased spline count input shaft (late 1986);

Should I continue? Are we having fun yet?

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Later,
Vader
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If you want to beat the World, it might reach up and pull you down...
Adobe Acrobat Reader

 

Im still trying to find an 86 with the two piece rear main seal. Mine was manufactured mid-November 1985, cant remember the exact date offhand. The engine was original, numbers matching just in case you are wondering.

I think that there were some 87 SC Camaros with the dork light on the top of the rear glass... leftovers I'd bet.

'Variety' belts were used 85-87.

Addition:
Only year for the screw down dist. cap, coil in cap HEI style.

First year for the hatch pull down.

Last year for Recaro seat option.

86 is, by far, the bastard-child.

 

Max,

Right on with the data, as usual. According to the factory data quoted in some performance manuals, there were some two-piece cranks in 1986. Maybe they were all in the trucks? All I know is that the one-piece was the new standard late in the '86 model year.

I didn't know about the automatic hatch motor option, nor the Recaro seats.

I did know about the distributor cap (a.k.a., integrated coil), and finding the correct one at Pep Boys or Auto Zone is always a good way to spend the afternoon laughing at the newbies behind the counter, repeating "...but the computer says..." I usually let them off the hook after a few minutes and give them the correct part number while I can still laugh about it.

Just wait until you try to find an intermittent wiper motor assembly for one...

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Later,
Vader
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If you want to beat the World, it might reach up and pull you down...
Adobe Acrobat Reader

 

...and it was the last year for the V-8 without the heater core water valve - the hoses ran hot water to the core constantly, summer and winter.

------------------
Later,
Vader
------------------
If you want to beat the World, it might reach up and pull you down...
Adobe Acrobat Reader

 

Let's not forget GM's biggest mistake in the form of a peanut cam in the Iroc-Z. Yeah, 86 had issues. It wasn't the first year for the hatch pull down though 'cause my 85 Iroc has it.

 

Thats interesting, I wasnt aware the pull down was used before 86, only the electronic hatch release. I wonder if someone converted it, its not that hard to do. Im sure Willie knows.

Vader, it may very well be they stuck them all in trucks. When I was selling parts the catalogs listed a split mid-year, although I cant remember what date they said it was. I know that every 86 I came across had the one piece rear main including my own car.

Some guy around here has an 86, I used to see it around years ago... like late 80's. It was just like my 85 cept the color... mine was white, his is red. Gold painted wheels, gold speckled pattern with orange stripe between the gfx and body, TPI, t-tops, WS6, etc etc. and he had the Recaros as well. I saw that same car, same personalized plates, same guy about a week ago and the car looks just as brand new as before! I almost felt like I hit a time machine

 

A friend of mine has an 85 IROC, and I bought the trunk pull-down motor off of him because mine was shot.

 

Whups, my mistake. He has an 86.