v-belt to flat four ribbed (XT) belt swap.....regarding the A/C pulley

[Marck]

Anybody ever swap over from the v-belt to the flat four ribbed belts that are on the XTs'? I am tired of these stupid v-belts slipping. I got new expensive (just under $30) good quality NAPA Brand V-Belts and I got them on damn tight, but they still slip at first startup. I think my pulleys are all worn out. I want to do the swap. I have spotted an XT with all the pulleys that I need (alternator, W/P, idler, PS, Crank) in a local salvage yard. The only problem I see is what am I going to do about the A/C compressor. I want to keep my A/C and I can't swap the whole compressor because the Hitachi is too huge or too long and the bracketry is all different. Oh ya I have a matsush'tsu (panasonic) compressor aka the small square one. Can I swap the ribbed belt clutch from the Hitachi XT onto a Matsush'ta compressor, or can an A/C shop convert my compressor to the flat ribbed style?

[Marck]

Well, I went to an A/C shop today to see what they can do about converting the v-belt style A/C pulley to the flat 4 ribbed A/C pulley. They looked in their catalogs and found that the matsush'ta compressor does not have a 4-ribbed belt style clutch assembly avaiblable. They can't even get the stock clutch assembly separately for that particular compressor. It is sold as one unit supposedly. They said that I can just swap the part that the belt lies on (the pulley part) without swapping the whole clutch if the Hitachi pulley on the XT matches in depth, diameter, and the hub that the pully w/ bearing slides onto is the same diameter.

 

 

So off I went to the salvage yard today to look at the XT's A/C compressor. The clutch/pulley assembly is 6" in diameter. My matsush'ta compressor's clutch/pulley assembly is 5" in diameter. So this ain't going to work unless I ditch the A/C or swap A/C compressors. I already said that I didn't want to lose my A/C. And to swap compressors seems like more trouble than it is worth. The Hitachi compressor is much larger and therefore it is probably much heavier. The benefits of going to the flat 4 ribbed belt is not enough to justify adding more weight onto the front of the car. I would also have to change all the brackets and I bet the electric connectors coming off the compressor are different too so you may have to do some simple rewiring and what not. So I deemed it not worth my time to pursue it any further. For those without A/C or those who have the hitachi compressor stock on their car, the flat 4 ribbed belt system is a nice alternative to the v-belt setup and it is an easy swap. I bet is makes it easier to do the XT6 alternator swap because I think it uses the same type of pulley.