Whirlpool belt drive belts

[potatochips]

I know there's a V belt and a notched belt, and then a multi-groove belt specific to the portables. But, are there two varieties of the V belt? One being narrow and the other being wide? Or is the wide belt considered to be the notched belt and the narrow belt is considered the v belt?

Side discussion, why did Whirlpool change the belt designs?

 

[brucelucenta]

As far as I know, the notched belt is a v belt and considered one also. It is notched I would assume to give it more traction. The wide notched belt is also the most common one too. You could actually replace it with a regular v belt that would work also.

 

[potatochips]

My machine has the solid, narrow 3/8" belt. I got confused as some parts breakdowns I looked at mentioned a narrow, wide, notched V, and grooved belt. And up until then I thought there were only three belts!

 

[kenmoreguy64]

There are only three belts...

1) One for the portables that use the multi-groove belt (these are the later ones with the fast spin).

2) A narrow v-belt for the quiet-pak construction models, I believe it is a 1/4" belt.

3) The most common notched v-belt, which is the 3/8" belt mentioned above.