[19 2SS]

Originally Posted by jtengr87

Is the mounting bolt coming loose or is the bearing in the pulley failing due to excessive play?

the bearing in the pulley wears down and gets loose over time

[Martinjlm]

Originally Posted by 19 2SS

the bearing in the pulley wears down and gets loose over time

Wears down over time? Like from March to July? I feel bad for the OP.

[jtengr87]

Id be surprised if this is a bearing issue. If I had to guess I'd say the idler pulley is loosening up enough to move inside the bracket causing the belt to loosen...

Either way I'd suggest keeping an eye on and maybe marking the position of the idler pulley on the bracket, may also give gates hd green belt a try

[Vtor_ZL1]

I'd wager to guess pulley was left loose at some point, the mount surface was ovalled over and now can't take torque required to keep it attached.


Check surface where idler mounts for flatness, check "tightness" of the bolt hole and.. red loctite!

[Cool SS]

I appreciate all the post with helpful insight and tips.

Whipple has contacted me. We haven't finalized anything yet but I do appreciate them making the effort to start the process of getting this resolved.

I'll update when there is more to share.

[jtengr87]

Hey Cool SS/19 SS,

Check this out, see if this is what you've been dealing with
https://youtu.be/unI8-tQVC_I

[Cool SS]

Originally Posted by jtengr87

Hey Cool SS/19 SS,

Check this out, see if this is what you've been dealing with
https://youtu.be/unI8-tQVC_I

Thanks for sharing this vid. I'm not sure if the cause is the same but it seems to be something very similar. Whatever it is, the wearing out of pulleys seems to be a common enough problem that Whipple should seriously look into how to keep it from continuing to happen.

Lucky enough this car was still drivable without the supercharger belt. Whenever my belt shredded it took out a hose or two as well causing fluids to spew.

[19 2SS]

Originally Posted by jtengr87

Hey Cool SS/19 SS,

Check this out, see if this is what you've been dealing with
https://youtu.be/unI8-tQVC_I

yeah if it happens again I'm going to replace the whole tensioner instead of just the pulley, thanks for sharing!

[jtengr87]

Great, hopefully you guys can get this problem behind you.

[KingLT1]

I am going to try explaining what the issue is in better detail.

1) Make sure the tensioner pulley has the snap ring in place so the pulley can not move on the bearing inward toward the tensioner arm. If it doesn't eventually it will make contact with the arm and throw the belt.

2) The slider tensioner pulley has a rectangular shape nut on the back side that fits in the machined slot. If you flip it around the wrong way upon install then it will limit the amount of travel that you can slide the pulley and make the belt a bitch to put on. This puts too much pressure on the tensioner arm. You need to flip that nut 180 and you will see the slider pulley will move towards the throttle body another 1/4" or so. Now you should be able to slip the belt on and the tensioner arm ends up around 3/4 travel with the belt instead of almost maxed out.

Again the issue is almost 99% installer error, but I would not blame the installer entirely because Whipple isn't clear about these small but important details in the instructions.


In regards to the Youtube video...17-18 degrees of timing on pump gas isn't conservative. That is quite a bit actually.


So in a nut shell there is too much tension on the tensioner arm because the nut on the back side of the slider pulley is installed the wrong direction limiting the amount of travel the slider pulley needs for large pulley setups. Which is why you often hear about people complaining that the belt is a bitch to get on. It shouldn't be that tight.... This again puts too much tension on the tensioner pulley and it ends up walking on the bearing, then makes contact with the tensioner arm which causes the pulley to destroy itself and then throws the belt.

[SSUNDVL]

Originally Posted by KingLT1

I am going to try explaining what the issue is in better detail.

1) Make sure the tensioner pulley has the snap ring in place so the pulley can not move on the bearing inward toward the tensioner arm. If it doesn't eventually it will make contact with the arm and throw the belt.

2) The slider tensioner pulley has a rectangular shape nut on the back side that fits in the machined slot. If you flip it around the wrong way upon install then it will limit the amount of travel that you can slide the pulley and make the belt a bitch to put on. This puts too much pressure on the tensioner arm. You need to flip that nut 180 and you will see the slider pulley will move towards the throttle body another 1/4" or so. Now you should be able to slip the belt on and the tensioner arm ends up around 3/4 travel with the belt instead of almost maxed out.

Again the issue is almost 99% installer error, but I would not blame the installer entirely because Whipple isn't clear about these small but important details in the instructions.


In regards to the Youtube video...17-18 degrees of timing on pump gas isn't conservative. That is quite a bit actually.


So in a nut shell there is too much tension on the tensioner arm because the nut on the back side of the slider pulley is installed the wrong direction limiting the amount of travel the slider pulley needs for large pulley setups. Which is why you often hear about people complaining that the belt is a bitch to get on. It shouldn't be that tight.... This again puts too much tension on the tensioner pulley and it ends up walking on the bearing, then makes contact with the tensioner arm which causes the pulley to destroy itself and then throws the belt.

This is a great post and should be stickied in some form or hopefully help others with a similar issue. OP should consider changing title too.

[Joshinator99]

Originally Posted by KingLT1

I am going to try explaining what the issue is in better detail.

1) Make sure the tensioner pulley has the snap ring in place so the pulley can not move on the bearing inward toward the tensioner arm. If it doesn't eventually it will make contact with the arm and throw the belt.

2) The slider tensioner pulley has a rectangular shape nut on the back side that fits in the machined slot. If you flip it around the wrong way upon install then it will limit the amount of travel that you can slide the pulley and make the belt a bitch to put on. This puts too much pressure on the tensioner arm. You need to flip that nut 180 and you will see the slider pulley will move towards the throttle body another 1/4" or so. Now you should be able to slip the belt on and the tensioner arm ends up around 3/4 travel with the belt instead of almost maxed out.

Again the issue is almost 99% installer error, but I would not blame the installer entirely because Whipple isn't clear about these small but important details in the instructions.


In regards to the Youtube video...17-18 degrees of timing on pump gas isn't conservative. That is quite a bit actually.


So in a nut shell there is too much tension on the tensioner arm because the nut on the back side of the slider pulley is installed the wrong direction limiting the amount of travel the slider pulley needs for large pulley setups. Which is why you often hear about people complaining that the belt is a bitch to get on. It shouldn't be that tight.... This again puts too much tension on the tensioner pulley and it ends up walking on the bearing, then makes contact with the tensioner arm which causes the pulley to destroy itself and then throws the belt.

Originally Posted by SSUNDVL

This is a great post and should be stickied in some form or hopefully help others with a similar issue. OP should consider changing title too.

Great post, King. That's the kind of info that makes this forum rock.

I agree that the thread title is unfair to Whipple. They are at the mercy of the installer most of the time. That's not to say manufacturer defects don't occur, but the majority of Whipple owners have had no problem.

[Cool SS]

Originally Posted by 19 2SS

yeah if it happens again I'm going to replace the whole tensioner instead of just the pulley, thanks for sharing!

After communicating with my installer Whipple sent out a whole new tensioner assembly the second time the pulley failed. Still failed a 3rd time. The installer used a laser alignment tool to make sure everything was good. I'm pretty sure this is standard procedure. This is why I don't think the problem is the pulley in my case but something somewhere else. We'll know soon.

[Cool SS]

Originally Posted by SSUNDVL

This is a great post and should be stickied in some form or hopefully help others with a similar issue. OP should consider changing title too.

Originally Posted by Joshinator99

Great post, King. That's the kind of info that makes this forum rock.

I agree that the thread title is unfair to Whipple. They are at the mercy of the installer most of the time. That's not to say manufacturer defects don't occur, but the majority of Whipple owners have had no problem.

I agree that what was shared is great info. Again, thank you to everyone who has shared helpful tips.

The title is my experience, my experience isn't unfair to Whipple, its unfair to me.
Serious question, why should I consider changing the title, and to what? This is my truth. I could see your point if the title were "Whipple Sucks" or Don't Buy Whipple!" After three failures I regret getting a Whipple. Its been a horrible experience. I know this is not the case for most Whipple owners and I am happy for them. Every now and then there is a bad unit. I think I'm the unlucky one this time. It's easy to blame the installer/installation etc. It's entirely possible that my unit is a bad one. My guy and Whipple communicated after the 1st and 2nd time the tensioner pulley failed. Instead of just a new pulley they sent out a whole new pulley assembly after the 2nd failure. It still failed a 3rd time. The problem isn't in the installation, the pulley, or the pulley assembly, it has be someplace else. Whipple has reached out, the car will be looked at this week.