# 1987 Bonneville 3.8L V6 Belt Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** belts, bonneville, engines\ **Created:** [February 20, 2008, 8:05pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1987-bonneville-3-8l-v6-belt-question/10935 "2008-02-20T20:05:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![popof9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5fc32e/32.png) [@popof9](https://community.cartalk.com/u/popof9)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 8:05pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1987-bonneville-3-8l-v6-belt-question/10935/1 "2008-02-20T20:05:42Z")
A friend if mine with this car has an a/c ompressor clutch that is siezing up. He wants to get a shorter serpentine belt so he can bypass the a/c till he gets around to fixing the clutch. Problem is, neither Autozone nor Advance Auto Parts list the belt assuming no a/c the only kind of belts they sell are for Bonnevilles equipped with a/c. Yet, the belt routing guide shows how to bypass the a/c compressor. Question is, how can he get the right sized non-a/c belt? ---
**Author:** ![NYBo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nybo/32/17281_2.png) [@NYBo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/NYBo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 8:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1987-bonneville-3-8l-v6-belt-question/10935/2 "2008-02-20T20:14:24Z")
He can use a string to measure the length the belt would be using the non-a/c diagram, and take that measurement, along with his original belt, to a parts store and have them match one for width and length. Shouldn’t be that hard to do. I believe many manufacturers have the length (in millimeters) as part of the part number for their belts. ---
**Author:** ![popof9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5fc32e/32.png) [@popof9](https://community.cartalk.com/u/popof9)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 8:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1987-bonneville-3-8l-v6-belt-question/10935/3 "2008-02-20T20:47:34Z")
Now why didn’t I think of that. I guess that’s why they pay you the big bucks 🙂 Thank you NYBo. ---
**Author:** ![NYBo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nybo/32/17281_2.png) [@NYBo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/NYBo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 9:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1987-bonneville-3-8l-v6-belt-question/10935/4 "2008-02-20T21:18:12Z")
One more factor to consider: Make sure the belt tensioner has pressure on it when the measurement is done. Otherwise the measurement will be too long and the belt won’t be tight.