What is the proper procedure to get the alternator belt back on?

Answer

You're kidding, right? You loosen the short bolt near the top of the alternator. This is the bolt that passes through a long, curving slot in a long, curving mounting bracket. Once this is loosened, not removed, you can tilt the alternator toward the center of the motor, bringing the pulley closer to the next pulley around which the belt is looped. Grab the belt and pull it around the alternator pulley. Now tilt the alternator back to where it was. This will take the slack out of the belt. You'll have to push pretty hard against the alternator to get the belt tight. Once it's tight, tighten down the bolt you loosened. Now, find the longest stretch of unsupported belt and push against the belt to see how tight it is. It shouldn't be so tight that it doesn't move at all. You want about 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch of slack, but absolutely NO MORE THAN 1/2 AN INCH! If it doesn't fall within these measurements, you need to loosen the bolt and adjust the tension again. That's it. It should be fairly obvious unless you have a car with one of those new-fangled serpentine belts. In that case, same method applies, it's just more complicated to keep track of all the pullies and belt loops.

First answer by ID0000000000. Last edit by ID1072005876. Question popularity: 70 [recommend question]