alternator belt

[ghunterglas]

Hi, 1st sunny day drive on thursday & it spat out the belt, wasn't far away from home so not a disaster, i got replacement belt from sjs & find out my regular mechanic is away for a few weeks
so................ i have a toolkit & bags of enthusiasm .
Can i have a go ? its a an NA without power steering & access is pretty good is it more complicated than it looks ? ive soaked bolts in wd40 in anticipation but weathers getting rubbish again so no hurry
or should i wait ? what's the worst thing that could happen ?
appreciate any advice, cheers Graeme

[Fredjohn]

The difficult bit is slackening one of the alternator bolts that allows it to pivot and therefore tension the belt.
Otherwise it's straightforward. Especially compared to cam belt change.
Suggest you download the workshop manual from the link at the bottom of any of Brit-Car-Nut's posts.

[ghunterglas]

nice one, cheers, got pdf's from britcarnut's page might have a go at the weekend

[rip]

its a an NA without power steering

Not many of those built so can't be many left.

Did you hear anything like a squeal before the belt snapped? It is known for alternators to seize during the winter so it is worth checking that it rotates without too much resistance.

[ghunterglas]

Hi Rip, nah think I've a front nearside bearing on way out so was too busy listening for that, the alternator moves freely both ways so happy to replace belt when dry enough to take cover off
nice to drive for a couple of days tho' before parking up again.
cheers g

[madbilly]

Hi Graeme,
The WikiLEC write-up gives some help at how to tighten the belt (obviously no need to remove the whole alternator!): wikilec.com/view/Alternator
There's some tips and my write-up in this thread: forum.lotuselancentral.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=10408&hilit=alternator
Have fun!
Cheers,
Will