why is belt so loose?
 

Ok so I got a new belt and ran it on the old clutches for a while. Problems with chatter even after cleaning belts. i replaced both drier and driven clutches and still some probs. (ran it like this for about 10 minutes) I looked at it again tonight and found out that my dumb ass put the asymetric belt on backwards. i thought duhh... no wonder. Reversed the belt expecting everything to be great...and it now wont engage worth anything to get it going. I am concerned that I can remove the belt with little effort and definatly dont have to diassmble anythig to do it. I can just roll it it right off. SOME TING WONG! any ideas?

Sorry I forgot to say it's a Manco 606 with a robin 6.5 and standard torque converter set up.

Hmm... is the torque converter engaging correctly? I know when I had my Manco Vortex, which had the same engine and clutch set up, at one time I had a problem where the converter bell wasn't getting pushed out like it should. I took it apart and lubricated it and it worked fine. How "loose" is the belt?

Let me see if I can explain this. Take a look at the picture attached. Generally speaking, you pinch the belt just behind the drive. As you pinch it, the front of it will lift off of the drive. You typically want about a 1/4 inch gap of space off of the drive when pinched. Make sense? If you have an excessive amount, it will have a hard time grabbing the belt.

pablo, sounds like you have the wrong belt length.
comet's spec chart shows the driver to driven's center-to-center distance required for a given belt.
check that first after measuring your driven's outer diameter.
you should not be able to pop the belt off w/o relieving tension first.
go here:
http://www.*************/PDF/Comet_30series.pdf

It's definatly the correct #5858 belt. see previous post by me. it only has 2 hrs run time on it. The cluthes are both brand new and they are identical to the ones they replaced. I did the belt pinch test and when the belt is pinched behind the driver to the point that they are touching, it looks more like 1/2" or so gap off the driver. Its hard to tell for sure, because i didnt take the clutch apart so i blocks my view.

I made a poor quality video of wot take off from two different angles. Pls watch at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH1OEtaeFPc

and offer your thoughts.

consult the chart in the link i gave and measure your center to center distance and cross reference it to make sure you have the right belt.
that is the only way to know for sure things are as they should be.
5858 isn't a part number that jives with the other asym belts.
the video is useless, at least to me, sorry.
also, a loose chain can cause some takeoff chatter, and so will loose engine or jackshaft bolts.
good luck, we're all counting on you.

I have to tell you that when I saw your vid, my first thought was that doesn't look like the correct belt.