Eagles International Forum

I read this tread again and noted that the kevlar belts are from farm type stores (Tractor Supply, Farm and Home, etc). My observation is that they tend to have belts of what I call second level quality (how is that for being politically correct ).

Also, there was a comment about being able to get belts on short notice. Eagle used industrial belts (the fan drive is often a B86 although I have heard folks that have to go to a longer "B" section belt). Those belts are readily available at any industrial power transmission distributor (Motion industries has a branch in every major city). As Clifford pointed out,they do not give their belts away, but you will find that they are name brand belts (Motion is mostly Gates).

In truth, the fan drive on our Eagles really does not put much of a load on the belts. Even if it were 20 hp (I don't think it is that high), one belt could easily pull that load for a long time (and Eagle used two belts).

As I have said several times, kevlar belts are working for some folks, and that is good background info.

Jim

I like to try to tie threads together whenever possible. I did a search of "fan drives" and got 13 pages of hits. Probably the most relevant thread was: http://eagles-international.net/forums/ ... 2b4#p30149

In that thread Dan Lenz (the guru of Eagle information) stated:

The B-86 matched set of two belts was used on bus serial numbers 7444-8653. Starting with bus serial no. 8654 and higher, it changed to part number 449-X-S also a matched set of two belts. Not sure what the difference between them are, but there was a change and the 449-X-S was also used on the Eagle Model 10's and 15's with the miter box drive. There was also a siamese belt used on later models.

I did read a couple of posts where folks used slightly longer of shorter belts. However, the B86 or BX86 belt seems to be the most likely belt to fit.

I just did a quick check and you can buy both the B86 and BX86 belt from Amazon - imagine that

No matter what you use, be sure to carry a spare set with you. When I install new belts, I put the old belts in my parts drawer. If the fan drive belts fail, you are dead in the water.

Jim

Thanks Jim.......as usual, your right on the ticket. When I first needed these belts, I referred to your earlier post that said they didn’t make the soec’d One anymore, and gave the length you replaced yours with. I then drove to Family Farm and Fleet and bought some. Simple as that. I needed to get the bus out of a yard I pulled into when the belts broke, and it had to happen right then. I’ve been lucky that they’ve lasted since then and will replace them with your suggestion this spring. But, I do have to say, that these Kevlar agricultural belts have hung in there for 3-4 years and still look good. I’ve done a huge amount of work on this old bus since then, including bagging the drivers side drive axle, a load of engine work, rust and exhaust, and too much to list here, but it’s finally getting where I trust it to be on a highway regularly. Kind of fun, kind of hell, kind of expensive........but since it’s one of Journeys old Tour Buses............it’s at least Cool!

Jim

Hi Jim. Glad you are making progress.

I probably was not too clear. The kevlar belts (assuming they are made by a reputable company) should give years of service. The only possible issue would be that they need to be re-tensioned more often.

Keep us posted on your progress.

Jim