So a while back someone asked how tbelts with no covers worked on a lifted car in the snow.....

 

 

 

If you nail a field of over a foot deep snow (maybe 2 feets it was up to bottom of b umpers) and 40 miles an hour......

 

The tbelts pop off one side!

 

I got them back on but did it in the dark so it was off. So today I took em off and put them back on.

Hmm- I think I'll keep my covers... I love playing in my soob in the snow. I hate working on my soob in the snow.

Hmm- I think I'll keep my covers... I love playing in my soob in the snow. I hate working on my soob in the snow.

 

I don't think that it is a problem with regular snow driving. I never had a problem before anyhow. I just hit a lot of snow really hard really fast.

check the tension next time.......suppose you had the covers ON and the belt popped off, that would suck. be glad the belts were open!!!! -milesfox

the covers came on the car for a reason(or two)

 

I dont like to mess with t belts all the time so I make sure I have my covers on. but this is an OLD dead horse that no longer needs beating.

Well as you all know I bought Austin's XT and have been driving it for a year now and have put 20,000 miles on it atleast by now. It has open timing belts. Was kinda handy lastweek when the idler pully seazed.

And wouldn't a skid plate prevent snow drifts from screwing with the belts with no covers?

 

Pyro

Well as you all know I bought Austin's XT and have been driving it for a year now and have put 20,000 miles on it atleast by now. It has open timing belts. Was kinda handy lastweek when the idler pully seazed.

 

might not have seized if it was not exposed to all the water and debris the fan blows at it as you fly down the road.

 

 

just a thought.

Well at 130,000 miles I think it was about due. I will let you know how all the new ones hold up

I "seized" my engine last winter blasting through drifts with open t-belts. After a few hundred feet of 2'-3' drifts at 40mph or so, the snow had packed so tight into the engine bay that the pulleys couldn't spin any more. A few minutes of digging the engine bay clear, and I was on the road again, no harm done.

 

I thought about modifying the OEM skid plate to make it wider for a 'winter edition', but I ended up actually taking the skid plate completely off. The engine's own heat does a good job of melting away any snow that gets in there.

 

I'm not going to wade into the 'to cover, or not to cover' debate, but I'll just say I made my decision based on my family driving style and habits, the local weather and road/offroad conditions, and the amount of maintenance I do on the car myself. For me, not having covers makes sense. For others, it might not.

I thought about modifying the OEM skid plate to make it wider for a 'winter edition', but I ended up actually taking the skid plate completely off. The engine's own heat does a good job of melting away any snow that gets in there.

 

If it's fluffy snow maybe. But then if there's a hidden rock or chunk of ice, your oil pan or oil pressure sensor takes the brunt. Ouch.

 

I've thought about making a full width winter edition skid plate for my friend's '90 legacy. Last winter she ripped the plastic skid plate off, and has actually ripped outer CV boots off and blown side walls out of tires coming up her driveway when the ice filled ruts have formed. Just driving up to her house in the winter is more serious offroading than most SUV's ever see. I'm a little suprised she hasn't taken off her tie rods yet.

If it's fluffy snow maybe. But then if there's a hidden rock or chunk of ice, your oil pan or oil pressure sensor takes the brunt. Ouch.

 

It was a decision based on my climate and the road/offroad condition, just like with the t-belt covers. Ice and rocks aren't a concern where I am. I've never heard of anyone from around here actually hitting their 4x4's skidplate on anything, ever. The only thing hidden in a snowdrift might be a concrete parking curb, and if you're hitting drifts in a parking lot or on a residential street, you might just deserve to find one.

Well you guys that know Austin know whats on the XT for a skid plate. Does a nice job and covers the whole bottom of the car pretty well. I just need to figure out how to mount the swap bar backup. Kinda sucks to change oil and filter thou. Have to remove the plate every time but I think it does a good job keeping crap off the roads in the open belts. I dont do any off roading but it does see a lot of gravel roads out by me.