alternator belt

[mitzylongboy]

hi guyz and galz! i have noticed over a few weeks this winter my alternator has been squealing when i have had all the electrics running ( wiper's, light's, heater, very loud stereo!). having worked in auto electrics for a year in 2004 i checked the charging on my car a while back and was spot on i can also see it running everyday through the digital display on my farad capacitor! i knew the battery had seen better days so i bought a new battery anyway. i just couldn't risk it over winter especially it being an auto. anyway this stopped the squealing under load for a couple of days but has come back. i thought i am going to have to spend more money and buy a new belt. i checked mine for any cracks or parts missing from the ribs on the belt but it's fine but it is a little slack! i assumed it had a pre-tensioned belt as the alternator itself is fixed in one place, then i noticed today on the tension pulley it's adjustable! i can see the bolt to adjust in order to tighten it but as i only have a haynes manual for 1994-2003 4 cylinder cars it doesn't show my 2.5 V6 !!

SO THE QUESTION IS...... where is the bolt that needs to be loosened BEFORE you adjust the bolt for loosening/tightening the tension pulley? there must be one otherwise the bolt you adjust will work/vibrate loose.
i can see a couple of possible candidates but i would rather know which one it is exactly.
i don't want to spend any more money on her as i am intending on getting a VR4 early in the new year.
anyone can help?
oh and merry christmas!!

[The Vee]

The centre bolt clamps the pulley to its slide 14mm (I think)

[mitzylongboy]

not quite sure what you mean? i can see the bolt facing upright has the long thread which will move the pulley up or down in order to tighten or loosen the belt. however there should be a nut to loosen first so that bolt can move, then tighten it back up to stop the pulley bolt from moving. i can't quite make out which one it is.

[Nick Mann]

not quite sure what you mean? i can see the bolt facing upright has the long thread which will move the pulley up or down in order to tighten or loosen the belt. however there should be a nut to loosen first so that bolt can move, then tighten it back up to stop the pulley bolt from moving. i can't quite make out which one it is.

I think the pulley is anchored to the slide? So you loosen the bolt through the centre of the pulley, adjust the position of the pulley on the slide using the bolt you have found, then re-tighten.

It's been a while since I did that job and I can't remember myself now!

[psbarham]

nick got it in one , there is a bolt through the middle of the tensioner pulley , undo that and adjust the tension of the belt with the adjuster once tight (the proper tension is in the members section somewhere) re tighten the centre nut and hey presto , just a word of warning though with this type of adjuster it is very very easy to over tighten and cause all types of problems so just go steady

[mitzylongboy]

thanks guys, i did have a feeling that was the case. i worked on a few mercedes that had the same system when i had to fit alternators to them. i just hope my socket set is short enough to fit between the engine bay and the pulley, it's bit of a tight spot! i used to use the tools from work when had similar systems to work on. i will go easy on it don't worry!

[psbarham]

i normally use a 1/4 drive rachet with a 9/16 socket (i haven't got a 14 mm 1/4 drive ) it just fits , you might need a bit of pipe on the rachet for a bit of added grunt

[mitzylongboy]

no probs. i must admit it's bit of a revalation to see the alternator belt on the OUTSIDE of the other belts! my old trooper was a bas**rd!! there were FOUR belts coming of the crank pulley and the first one was the alternator so you had to remove the power steering pump belt, the air con pump belt and one other ( never did know what that one was for?) just to take of the alternator belt! i came across several cars in the workshop with similar setups but we didn't need to take of the belt completely to remove the alternator itself which is what we mainly did. the worst one was the renault clio 2.0 16v you had to take off heat shields and everything! ( i'm waffling on again!!). thanks guys for the quick response to my query!

[mitzylongboy]

all done! although my suspisions were confirmed. i couldn't get my socket on the nut running through the centre of the pulley. i did have a go at tightening the tension pulley and it worked. i am worried about the fact i didn't need to loosen the first nut to do it so i will have to keep an eye on it. i will have to invest in a set of spanners that bend at the end. like these....