[Vwdiesel]CONCLUSION Alternator belt-What the ?

[Mike & Coreen Smith]

OK, I found the problem(s) I think and I appreciate the help I get from the
list first and foremost above all else.  You guys are one great resource I
must tell you.

Turns out I never even SAW the bolt right underneath the alternator.  What I
was doing was loosening the big 13mm (top)pivot bolt, then the smaller
9mm(?) bolt on the slider......but on the engine side, not the slider side.
The reason it was sliding enough (with a little force) for me to actually
put the belt on, was the fact the bolt on the PROPER end of the slider
bracket was loose (read on).......a little.........we all have to remember
this car sat 2.5 years and has a lot of rust and corrosion.  When I found
the right bolt, I loosened it no problem,quite easily infact....much easier
than the other 2...... but it would not re-tighten tonight.  I removed the
bolt and the threads were FULL of aluminum, either from the alternator body
thread hole itself or some kind of "metal glue"......I'm not quite sure.

Seems to me the PO may have put the last belt on and "glued" the adjuster
bolt into place once he got it finger tight............that or cross
threaded it..........I could see that, as there's not a lot of room to work
under that thing.  I have a few skinned knuckles.

My "fix" was just to put a smaller bolt right on through the alternator and
slider bracket.  It's a bit small. Maybe 1/4" to 5/16th" roughly......but it
worked for now.  A permanent fix might be to removed the alternator
altogether, drill the hole out and install a 3/8th (or whatever) bolt right
on through instead, though I think I might be OK for a bit.

This really scratches my head though..........the main pulley doesn't seem
to be nearly as "floppy" or out of line as yesterday.  Perhaps it was some
kind of optical illusion from the really floppy and loose belt from
yesterday???
It is just ever so slightly out-of-round, but I think for the moment I'll
leave it as is and buy a back up belt.  They're only $9 CDN, which is not
too bad.  I have the tools with me, if it should happen again, but anyone
willing to guess how many kms I'll get out of the new belt?

I could;ve sworn I had a spare belt that came with the car, but do you think
I could find it ???

NOPE!

WOw, that was long winded.

All from here for now.

Mike in Lobster Land

Mike, Coreen & Corey Smith
699 Rte 616 Keswick Ridge
NB
Canada
E6L 1T1
----- Original Message -----
From: "Al Stumbaugh" <alstum at visuallink.com>
To: "Mike & Coreen Smith" <ve9aa at nbnet.nb.ca>
Sent: Sunday, February 20, 2005 5:44 PM
Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] Alternator belt-What the ?


> Hi Mike:
>      There is a "Z" shaped bracket on the bottom of the alternator. If one
> of the
> two bolts in that bracket came loose that might cause that. Some belts
> stretch
> a lot in the first few minutes of running.
>
>      I was out in the middle of nowhere in Southern Virginia when I popped
> the alternator belt. I shut it down right away. No problem, I have a spare
> in
> the trunk, right? Wrong! Never did figure out where that spare belt went.
> I considered calling a tow truck, but really did not have the money to
> spare.
> Then I remembered there was a large bunch of tye-wraps in the trunk. I
used
> four and made a belt with the loose ends sticking out. I pulled the
> tye-wraps
> as tight as possible, just running the water pump. Figured I could do
> without
> the alternator for the last forty miles or so. Turned the heater up full
> blast for
> an auxillary cooling system and made it to the FLAPS. No problem at all.
>
> Al
>
>