700rmk Water Pump Belt - Wear Limit

[hymanykd]

Figureed it was time to change the water pump belt on my 97 700 since it's been about 1800 miles when I pulled it an compared it to the new belt ($66 from the stealer) it was less then half the width measured out its about 1/4" wide. Never changed on before but is this the normal wear? Inside the casing there is bacl belt dust seems, if it is normal seems like a pretty poor design...

 

[rmkrazi]

If you would've done some searching on this forum you would've came across a guy who is offering water pump belts made out of kevlar for $20. His forum name is sledguy...

 

[manowar]

Yes it is normal and a poor desine just put a new one on every year thats what i did when i had my 97 700 rmk. The one from sled guy is a great deal but still check it every year to be sure its ok .

 

[POS Pol]

I have had two 97's and ran them thousands of miles and never replaced a belt. They just never wore on mine. You might just make sure that the alignment is good with the crank. I had a crank slide apart at the piston pin and when I tore it apart the belt wasn't straight and it was a pretty worn. But you couldn't hardly pull it when the motor was warm and I had just had the crank rebuilt.

 

[sled_guy]

There are lots of things that can cause issues with that belt it seems. The tolerances around the front water outlet is the worst... the belt slaps against it and starts to wear. The other thing is that I've seen pull ropes fray and drop debris in the housing which then causes an issue.

My '00 800 had like 3500 miles on it over 2 seasons before it failed. Since then I've been leary to go more than a year without checking it and replacing it.

Also, if you ever pull it off and want to reuse it, make sure and note the direction the belt went on. I've had several guys pull their belt off and within a ride or two of reinstalling it fails. I'm guessing it has worn in a certain way and it doesn't get put back on the same direction or maybe even the same teeth and that causes the failure.

sled_guy

 

[ice man]

1/4 inch is the wear limit,i get 3000miles out of one