if you're just stuck not being able to get those belts, I have a box of
them.........good used ones. They're take-offs from converting to a Single
Belt system, which I do to any diesel vanagon I'm involved with.   (
hopefully I'll find the time to pursue getting more of the exactly correct
pulleys I use for that conversion ) .

I suspect the  10 mm ones  will work.......but I've also found over the
years that a too-wide belt can easily jump out of the v-groove, so be
careful about going up in belt width.
scott
www.turbovans.com
( Man,  if there was ever a part or system on a diesel vangon that needed
upgrading .......it's that bizarre two belts adjust with shims set up !!
I WISH I had the engineers here that came up with that goofy system, and
make them change and adjust the belts over and over until their fingers are
bloody ........it's easily 10 or 20 times harder to deal with than the good
ole 'single belt, tilt out the alternator to adjust or replace the one
belt'........which is what a proper single belt conversion for a DV
provides. )

----- Original Message -----
From: "AD Felder" <dieseldoofus@YAHOO.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Saturday, March 07, 2009 9:29 PM
Subject: 82 westy drive belts

My owner's manual indicates that the v-belts are to be 9.5x600 LA and
9.5x643 LA. I have not been able to find these sizes anywhere. 10mm, yes,
sometimes, but not both sizes from the same place even. I have found little
to no information about belt sizes on the i-net. Some mfr's websites "hint"
that the 10mm are actually 9.5mm wide (Bando, I think). Here is some handy
info about belts and pulleys, that also indicates 9.5 being the actual
standard width, along with 12mm http://www.gizmology.net/pulleysbelts.htm
and that you should not change belt widths.

Questions:

There is only .5mm difference between the two sizes. Is this significant
and/or did VW just pull that size out of a hat, even though 10mm width belts
were common at that time as well. Air cooled (at least some) are called out
as 10mm.

Why does no-one, including VW parts suppliers, list these belts?

Any sources for 9.5 belts? I would like to use Conti, but there are NO
retail sellers of Conti in this country that I could find. Their "local"
office for the US is in Thailand, I think.

I humbly await someone to educate me about this.