I recently bought an ac delete pulley. However the diameter on this one is 5". I also noticed that putting on the serpentine belt was very difficult as the tensioner was stretched back as far as it would go. The belt barely fit. My question is this: Will this severe tightness of the belt ruin anything? Also, is the correct pulley size for the ac delete 3"? Does it matter that I have a 5" one? Would it be a good idea to use a belt that is approx 1" longer? Thanks.

 

there is a diffrent size belt for ac/delete. if you have the belt on too tight it can ruin the bearings in the alt, ps, and tensioner,

it happend in my jeep, mechanic put belt on wrong and it was way too tight or he had the wrong size and it took out my ac, then my power steering, it put a lot of stress on the bearings in the pullys

 

The AC delete pulley was smaller, but off center. So the stock belt size fit on mine with out any problems.

 

There are markings and a pointer on the belt tensioner, to show the acceptable operating limits. If the pointer is outside the limits, and the belt is too tight, you are going to do damage as noted above.

There were apparently two different AC clutch pulley diameters used over the years, so sometimes the stock belt will fit fine with the AC delete pulley, and other times you might need a different belt.

Is this a "factory" 1LE AC delete pulley, or something else?

 

Is the 5" dia the one GM Performance Parts sells? Just curious so I know whether or not to expect buying a different size belt when I pull my ac out this weekend.

 

The pulley is just a generic one and not genuine GM as there are no markings. The fit was fine and everything aligned. It seems that the pulley diameter for the ac compressor was a bit smaller (4") compared to the 5" ac delete pulley that I am now using.

 

i used the stock belt no problems?

 

As I recall, the 1LE delete pulley was probably no more then 3" diameter, and offset on the bracket.