Question: I have an Olds 307 in my 1990 caprice. There are three fan belts. One belt powers the A/C compressor and air pump on the left side of the engine. The other two belts power the power steering and the alternator respectively, both on the right side of the engine.

I disconnected the air pump and compressor, meaning only two belts are attached to the pulley/balancer, but both of these accessories are on the right side of the engine. No belt is attached to the left side. So the load on the engine is lopsided. There is no visible wobble on the pulley at idle.

Can this damage an engine over time however? Do all of the belts have to be attached to balance the load so its not pulling to one side? Just curious, don't have any experience with this. Thanks for any feedback.

It will not affect the engine in any way, shape or form. Look at some serpentine systems (such as LT1 in in some models) - the entire accessory pulley/belt drive is on the passenger side, nothing on the driver's side!

I disco'd the same 2 belts in my 85 Caprice a couple years ago. No adverse effects. I asked the same question you did, and got replies indicating removing the belts would not cause probs.

Thanks for the feedback. Good enough for me. I can't find any info anywhere indicating that removing certain fan belts causes any long term problems either. But I'll let everyone know if I discover otherwise! :smile: