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hey guys,

got a new belt for the alternator as the other one is knackered. any tips on fitting it? i guess there is some way of loosening the tension off so i can remove the old belt... but i haven't actually looked at it yet

There's the adjustment bolt that you can see from the top that is pretty easy to get at. There is also a pivot bolt at the bottom that isn't quite so easy to get to. You may need to remove the plastic undertray and attack it from the under the car.

cheers gary. the undertray is actually off the car at the moment, so that'll make things easier.

Hey Fatty, how did you go with loosening the pivot bolt?
I found it a lot easier if I scrapped my knuckles on the concrete first, as it
saved me all the loud swearing later on
And even then, i stuffed it up. As heard by nearly everyone on the nightime spur run. ***screeeeeccchh***
Got it right the second time. The skin on my knuckles hasn't healed though...

I couldnt get to that pivot bolt with anything other than a ring spanner, there is not much room to play with in there. Once the new belt is on, you tighten it up with the adjustment bolt, then when your happy with how tight it is you do up the pivot bolt.

You will also have to go back and check the belt in a few days, after its has settled in. They tend to stretch a little, and need a re-adjusting or they screech like Fast Freddy's car..

First up, there's a bolt in the bracket with its head facing the front of the engine. This is the bolt that is used to hold the alternator in place - ie, the tensioner locking bolt. The first thing you'll want to do is back this off a bit.

Now the really long bolt that goes through the end of the bracket is what is used to pull and push the alternator. Wind it anticlockwise until the alternator cannot be pushed in any more. If you are having difficulty doing this, then either a) loosening the pivot bolt (at the bottom of the alternator) or b) using something long for leverage and pushing against the alternator - may help.

Now slide the belt on, but slide it onto the biggest pulley last. I find that it's easiest to get a tough-to-install belt onto the largest pulley.

Once the belt is done, wind the really long bolt back up until tight, and then wind the locking bolt back into place. If you loosened the pivot bolt, ensure it's tight.