It's just not happening for me. I've got a flywheel (metro) that actually has grooves cut into it, and a ribbed belt. No matter what I do, after 20 seconds or so, the belt travels outboard, and hangs on by 1/8 th of its width, very scary. Well, not as scary as a cracked flywheel. But twisting the engine, and the alternator, I can't get the thing to track the grooves in the center.
The alternator has a grooved pulley, with no flanges on it, and the belt tracks off it too, to about 50% off.
I've come across some info on the web, about flat belts and pulleys, with the pulleys needing a crown, which keeps the belt centered. I'm about to grab a couple rolls of electrical tape, and build up the center of my flywheel, and see if that helps. I
guess most of you have ribbed belts on plain flat flywheels, and the grooves are not really needed.
http://woodgears.ca/bandsaw/crowned_pulleys.html I've also heard that a bad belt with a warp in it, can do this too, but a replacement is about $80, so before I buy a new one,
I'd like this thought confirmed. (engine shipped with the belt on flywheel and alternator pulley)
Any suggestions, if the belt falls outboard, what direction should I twist the engine or/and alternator ?