The art of installing an alternator belt...or how I learned to yell at my car

carl

carl

True Classic
1500 with single belt for alternator and water pump. I have always had to unbolt the alternator, tilt it at an angle to get the belt on and then wrestle with the alternator to get it back in place on the lower mount. Today I spent and hour trying to do this and I I still have no belt mounted. Just not enough slack in the belt to get the alternator back on it's mounting bracket. Never had to fight this much before on any of my Xs. Next I'll try doing the motor bump method of trying to get the belt to slide onto the crank pulley. And yes it's the right belt.

If the bump method won't work I may just burn the car to the ground.
 
I've had a lot of difficulty with V-belts on X's. Especially those with AC. Perhaps I expect too much, but I find there is so little adjustment available (for setting belt tension) that it does not allow enough movement to either get the belt on, or to correctly tighten the belt...depending on what size belt I'm using. I do not want to resort to "stretching" a belt on, as several other members have reported they do. And I can't stand a 'squeaky' belt that isn't tensioned enough, as members have complained about. So I resort to a combination of modifying the components to allow more movement (greater adjustment), and finding a non-standard size belt that fits correctly.
 
Its a tricky belt with not quite enough adjustment to get a new one on.

I am a bit nervous of the method using the starter to spin the belt on. So I tend to fit the belt over crank and alternator and through the rear boot panel press the belt onto the water pump pulley and with the car in gear roll it forward. It helps to be on level or a slight down hill. Also keep your fingers only on the top of the belt. You don't want to trap a finger in there!
 
oh man I feel your pain....
As part of a long laundry list of bits from MWB I ordered a new belt for my non-AC '82.
Last weekend I took off the old belt and struggled, doing quite a bit of swearing, for probably 30 minutes (getting on and off creeper ~20 times) before checking the size against the old one. MWB sent me 825mm long belt, old one was 850mm.
Great. Off to Autozone, where they had a dusty Duralast 15335 (33.5" or 850.9mm). Made in Mexico.
More life off my back and nope, too loose at max alternator position.
Back to Autozone to trade it for a 15330 (33"=838mm). This one made in India. Nope, too tight to get over a pulley.
So put the damned old one back on (with alt in max down pos, belt feels BARELY tight enough) while I wait for two AVX10X850LA to arrive from the UK.
www.ebay.com

AVX10 Series Automotive Drive/Fan V Belts 10mm X 8mm - High Quality | eBay

MPN: AVX10. Suitable for ultra modern high speed engines. High modulus and low stretchy tensile cords engineered and treated to carry higher loads without stretching. Also suitable for heavy earth moving machinery applications.
www.ebay.com

My back and knuckles will hopefully be recovered by the time they get here. They better freaking fit...
 
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Gates 7325 was the Goldilocks belt for my non-A/C '86. To get it on I had to do the same as you, completely dismount the alt from its mounting hardware, engage all three pulleys with the belt, then reposition and remount to alt with its hardware. Ended up about halfway along the adjustment groove with at least 1" of potential tightening travel.
 
I never had much drama changing the alternator belt on my 1300. For the 1500, I happened to install the water pump, alternator, and belt before the engine went into the car. Again, no issues. I suppose that if it becomes a problem in the future, I can always pull the engine out.
 
Nurburgringer said:
MWB sent me 825mm long belt, old one was 850mm.
Click to expand...
...but isn't 825 correct for a non A/C:

Which fan belt to use?

What fan belt are you guys using on your non AC 1500 Xs? The new one I put on my brown X seems to keep stretching as every three week interval I have to keep adjusting the tightness of the belt or I get horrible squealing when pulling away from a stop. Never had this before. Don't know if the...
xwebforums.com

Alex(UK) said:
I am a bit nervous of the method using the starter to spin the belt on
Click to expand...
Not had a problem with the "spin the starter" approach, but the method is the same: Put the belt fully on crank and alternator pulleys, push on to LEFT side of water pump pulley so it stays put (about half way), pull off coil lead*, out of gear**, quick turn of key, job done :D

* = important
** = very important
 
Ics19 said:
...but isn't 825 correct for a non A/C:

Which fan belt to use?

What fan belt are you guys using on your non AC 1500 Xs? The new one I put on my brown X seems to keep stretching as every three week interval I have to keep adjusting the tightness of the belt or I get horrible squealing when pulling away from a stop. Never had this before. Don't know if the...
xwebforums.com


Not had a problem with the "spin the starter" approach, but the method is the same: Put the belt fully on crank and alternator pulleys, push on to LEFT side of water pump pulley so it stays put (about half way), pull off coil lead*, out of gear**, quick turn of key, job done :D

* = important
** = very important
Click to expand...
I just like to see what's happening and its hard to see the engine bay from the ignition key.

With the roll the car it also happens a little slower and you can see/help the belt on.

But it is all very similar. The roll method has always worked for me very quick and easy. but as they say horses for courses
 
Ics19 said:
...but isn't 825 correct for a non A/C:
Click to expand...
apparently it is but for some reason not even close to fitting on mine. Non-standard alternator or water pump puller maybe?
Image1051936734530133117.jpg
 
One thing I learned while searching for X belts is the indicated "size" doesn't always mean much. Turns out different belt manufacturers make the same indicated "size" in different actual lengths. Not much different, and normally not a big deal. But on these cars that tiny difference is enough to make it not fit. And it's not just the length of the belt that differs from one brand to the next; also the actual width and side profiles are not all the same. Each of those little differences will make the belt ride differently on the pulleys...affecting the fitment. So the same size from one brand may work but not from another brand.

As if that wasn't bad enough, there's another issue to contend with. I've found the pulleys on my X's differ slightly from one to the next. Again, not much of a difference but just enough to make one belt fit one car but not another.

But wait, there's more. I have also discovered there are a number of different size recommendations for each variant of X, depending on where you look or who you ask. Therefore buying a belt by a recommended size may not be correct regardless of all the issues described above.
 
Dan Sarandrea (Phila) said:
Gates 7325 was the Goldilocks belt for my non-A/C '86. To get it on I had to do the same as you, completely dismount the alt from its mounting hardware, engage all three pulleys with the belt, then reposition and remount to alt with its hardware. Ended up about halfway along the adjustment groove with at least 1" of potential tightening travel.
Click to expand...
Yes, same here. My favorite method is to unmount the alternator and go from there. Once you have the method down it is only a Saturday afternoon. The main concern is that this must be done pre-emptively every so often. I would not want to do it sitting next to the highway. In fact, my methods, requiring a jack, probably prevent me from ever do it beside the road.
 
On using the starter method, I install both a kill switch and a starter bump switch in the engine compartment. I have always rolled this belt on with the starter, (I have had belts fail as well, but in each case it was an old belt that I should have installed a new one instead of just putting the old one back on) (did not have one at hand and I wanted to drive the car)
 
I was getting tired, my back hurt, my dog wanted my shiny sockets and I was done making up new curse words. I bolt the alternator back on, got the belt halfway on the crank pulley and hit the starter. It worked and the alternator top bolt is now sitting at the halfway mark in the slot. I'm using the belt MWB sells for this application. Oddly, the belt I took off (I cut it) is exactly the same part and it was at the end of it's adjustment and loose enough to squeal when the motor was cold.

I had tried turning the motor with a socket and ratchet but the belt just slid on the crank pulley and would not pop into place.

If this belt stretches like the last one I'll be talking to Matt.
 
Nurburgringer said:
for some reason not even close to fitting on mine
Click to expand...
I don't know whether it makes a difference, but certainly the later era carb'ed cars over here seem to use a straight upper alternator bracket that bolts onto the water pump to housing face (where your lift hook is), and not onto the housing side with an angled bracket like you have - Even then, the slack limit is the alternator hitting the pump housing, not the slot in the bracket :confused:
 
For what it's worth, as I mentioned earlier I modify the mounts, brackets, and clearance things so that new belts can be installed and removed normally - without having to remove any components, stretch the belts, bump the engine, swear endlessly, or destroy anything. And they have enough travel to properly adjust them. That way it can be replaced anywhere, anytime if needed. But more importantly I feel better knowing things are as they should be....almost like a real car. :p:D

Also, while I'm modifying things I make changes to the mounting locations of all related components so that the pulleys align properly relative to one another. That is another issue I find on all of my X's.
 
Doc, the alternator will hit the water pump before the upper bolt is at the end of the adjustment groove so there is no modification to be made to get more slack. I have never had a belt go bad on a Fiat during my ownership so I usually only do the belt change as part of my "restoring" a Fiat towed to my house.
 
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