Good point.  On some TiiCo setups it does spin the water pump.  Not on mine
though, alternator only.

Gary
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Marshall" <vanagon@volkswagen.org>
To: "Gary Stearns" <gstearns@OPTONLINE.NET>; <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, March 05, 2002 11:49 PM
Subject: RE: TiiCo vibes, I found it!

> Gary,
> Great observation, but I wouldn't remove the v-belt from the alternator
and
> go for a test drive as this belt also spins the water pump right!?
>
> David Marshall
>
> Fast Forward Automotive Inc.
> 4356 Quesnel Hixon Road
> Quesnel BC Canada  V2J 6Z3
> mailto:info@fastforward.ca <mailto:info@fastforward.ca>
> http://www.fastforward.ca <http://www.fastforward.ca>
> Phone: (250) 992 7775           FAX: (250) 992 1160
>
> . Vanagon Accessories and Engine Conversions
> . Vanagon, Transporter and Iltis Sales and Importation
> . European Lighting for most Volkswagen models
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com]On Behalf
> Of Gary Stearns
> Sent: March 5, 2002 6:21 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: TiiCo vibes, I found it!
>
>
> Our TiiCo installation was one of those that was burdened a major droning
> resonance in the interior at about 3800 rpm.  I drove myself crazy trying
to
> eliminate this. Nearly all of my efforts were targeted toward the exhaust
> system.  Now I realize that the exhaust vibration was an effect, not a
> cause.  Last week, the droning suddenly stopped on it's own.  Totally
gone.
> Smooth constant sound all the way up the tach.  A day later I discovered
> that the bracket that maintains belt tension on the alternator had
> fractured.  Though broken, nothing fell away and it still kept the belt
> tension by keeping pressure on the broken spot.  I noticed the break,
> removed it, and welded it up. The droning vibes came back big time. I
> remembered reading that many automakers have ended up revising alternator,
> A/C and other accessory mounts to eliminate noise, vibration and harshness
> (NVH) in 4 cylinder engines.  Oh my god, I found it.
>
> The solution came in the form of one of the rubber bushing mounts intended
> to mount the exhaust brackets in the TiiCo installation.  After alot of
> experimentation I decided that the one on the muffler side was making the
> droning worse, so I left it out. Now, I used it to separate left and right
> sides of a fabricated alternator tensioning bracket.  It's been installed
> for about a week, the droning has not returned, and it seems to do a good
> job of maintaining belt tension.
>
> The fact that not all TiiCo engines seem to have this problem surely
relates
> to the variety of belts and brackets that mount the accessories.  Some
have
> A/C, some don't.  Some use one long serpentine belt for most of the
pullies,
> some don't.
>
> If you have the TiiCo droning, test this theory by removing the tensioning
> bracket and the belt from the alternator (yes the charging light will come
> on) and take a test drive.  I'm betting it will be the quietest ride in
your
> TiiCo powered Vanagon that you've ever had.
>
> Gary
>
>