So having the right size belts helps…
So it turns out that the belts I was trying to use were too short, by about an inch. The bigger ones slipped right on. It took about 45 minutes to get the 2 alternator/waterpump belts and the power steering belt installed and tensioned. I had to guess on the tension. On a post-belts test drive, there were no squeals and the engine was generally quieter than before. The old belts were pretty aged.
In the remaining 15 minutes of my lunch hour I removed the fog lights. They’re a classic look on the classic 900, but since one had a broken lens with rusty reflector, and the other was mounted crooked, they weren’t adding much to my 900’s appearance. Now they’re hanging out in the garage with the rest of the parts I’ve liberated from the car. I’m thinking the A/C compressor and its tangle of hoses may be the next parts added to that collection.
I’m looking forward to practice tomorrow!
Ran into the same thing on mine, except all te belts were about a 1in to big pulled back as far as the tesier woud alow. All te local parts stores called for the wrog belt. luckily the owners maual had the specfied belt numbers.