LTR belt issues- '99 Prostat 205
 

Took the boat out this afternoon, and it had some belt issues. The boat is a 99 Prostar 205 with the 330 hp LTR engine. Anything above 4k rpm the engine would throw the belt. This happened pretty much all day. The belt does need to be changed, but there appears to be a belt alignment issue as the belt wants to ride on the front edge of the water pump pulley. I just purchased the boat a week ago and this was the second outing. Toward the end of the first outing, the belt started to squeek, but the belt was never thrown. Before going out today, I put a new tensioner on the boat, thinking that was the problem. It appeared to not have an effect, or maybe making it worse. I plan to change the belt tomorrow, but the alignment problem still concerns me. Has anyone else had this issue? I know there was an alternator bracket recall, but I'm not sure if the previous owner had of fixed. Could this be the problem?

Thanks,
Jason

That sounds like the problem- the previous owner didn't have it repaired or the dealer didn't bother to do it. Call MC and find out what the part number is. If you sight along the front edges of the pulleys, you'll see that it doesn't line up and it's off by about one groove.

**** Here is the info I got from Indmar when I made my request last year. ***

SERVICE ALERT

Date: August 21, 2001

Advisory #SA2001-1

SUBJECT: MasterCraft LTR Alternator Bracket

There have been reports in the field of failures of the cast aluminum alternator bracket, alternator
bracket bolts and/or alternator case mounting tab on MasterCraft LTR models equipped with
serpentine belts.
Indmar Engineering has determined that an additional bracket may eliminate the stress that occurs
on the alternator mounting system during acceleration and deceleration of the engine or when the
boat is being operated in rough-water conditions.

Engines with serial number IC983582 or higher will have this bracket installed at Indmar. An LTR
Alternator Bracket Kit has been developed to deal with the units experiencing this problem in the
field.

PARTS REQUIRED
495109 LTR Alternator Bracket Kit
FLAT RATE TIME
.5 hour
BULLETIN EXPIRATION
Warranty consideration under this bulletin will expire on Sept 1, 2002.
PROCEDURE
1. Release the tension on the belt tensioner and remove the serpentine belt.
2. Remove the 3/8-16 X 3-3/4” bolt and washers from the upper mounting boss on the
alternator. Discard the bolt but retain the washers for re-use.
3. Remove the lower circulating water pump mounting bolt on the side of the pump nearest the
alternator. Retain the bolt for re-use.
4. Align the alternator bracket from the kit between the mounting boss on the alternator and
the lower circulating pump mounting hole.
5. Install the water pump mounting bolt through the bracket and pump and into the block.
6. Install the new alternator-mounting bolt along with the washers retained during disassembly,
through the bracket into the upper alternator mounting boss.
7. Torque the alternator bolt and the water pump bolt to 25 Lb. ft. (35Nm).
8. Reinstall the Serpentine belt.

That one covers the breaking brackets but the alignment issue was from the '99 model year. In fact, it was the first run of LTR motors that had the belt alignment problem, as well as the charging lead being too taut, which caused the ring terminal to break. If it's not a problem by now, it probably has been taken care of.

Good info guys. Jim- the part # listed above fixes the alignment issue too, or was a seperate recall?

I don't know of I still have a copy but in late '99 or early 2000, they had a recall for the alignment issue. The brackets breaking was another one. These were generally because the vendors changed something without consulting MC. The alternator bolts that were breaking were due to the vendor changing the hardness and assuming the ones that were called for didn't need to be a particular hardness.

When I contacted Indmar with my serial # last year that is one of the three service alerts they sent me for my 99'. Just thought I would throw it out there...

http://mymastercraft.com/Forum/view_...=10&category=2

Mastercraft Part # 81496005

Does anyone have any pictures of the original water pump pulley vs. the new design? The boat has 500 hrs on it. I can't believe this wasn't taken care of before?

Also, any pictures of the new bracket vs old alternator bracket?

I added some pics of the alignment problem. Can anyone confirm if the water pump pulley is the new or old version?

Any opinions?