Alterntor belt is slipping due to oil...where is it coming from?

[jertapper]

The other day the battery light, brake light and another light kept coming on at low rpms. I got under there to see what was going on thinking the belt was slipping and needed tighening and saw that the alternator is pretty much covered in oil as is the bottom of the power steering pump. The inside of the belt has enough on it to make it slick and is what I think is causing the issue. I'm not sure tightening it will really solve my problem. I don't see any point in replacing the belt until I figure out where all this oil is coming from.

What is the best way to try and determine where the problem is?

The oil is pretty black...I was thinking (hoping as opposed to being some engine leak) it was the power steering pump leaking and as it oozes down it was getting flicked around from the power steering pulley and that I could replace it but the lack of redness doesn't help me determine this. The steering fluid is a bit low...but so is the oil. So I can't determine it that way. I'm not sure if the dirt would render it hard to see the red in the power steering fluid but it seems like it isn't steering fluid. Now I'm wishing it were just as simple as needing a new alternator :-( If it's oil based on where the wetness is, where would it be coming from?

Any ideas from you more experience folks?

Here are some pics:

http://home.comcast.net/~jtapper01/IMG_ ... G_3070.JPG

Thanks.

[yodawill2000]

All I can suggest is clean it ALL up with simple green or the likes .The start it up for a bit and see if you can find the source.

[jertapper]

I used a degreaser and tried to clean it up and I bought an A/C belt tension gauge and tried to get the tension within the manual-specified tolerances. The belt is pretty greasy and I see some seepage from the lower power steering hose clamp area.

The power steering unit's adjustment bracket is pretty wet...I'm not sure if I got much degreaser on it. I'm going to give it another spray and try to get it nice and clean and try and see where it comes from.

Thanks for the suggestion. Do you think that even if the belt is a bit slippery, with the proper tension, it should still be turning the alternator pulley enough so that the dash lights don't come on when idling? I'm thinking I might need to go ahead and try to replace the alternator and see if that doesn't clear up the issue. I guess I'll do the belt as well at that time and hopefully if I replace that p/s hose maybe that will stop it from coming back.

While idling, I see the belt moving, so the pulley would have to be not moving. Maybe it's just so old it's not moving that freely due to the bearings not being in good shape.

I am not against buying an oem alternator from trademotion.com but the shipping time and core kind of makes it not worth it. I might just go with an aftermarket one and see how that goes.
Modified by jertapper at 8:58 PM 4/13/2009

[yodawill2000]

If its Oily It could slip me thinks.Keep in mind the belts on the J are meant to be tighter than any car Ive owned.

[coolyun_98]

The leak has been there for quite a while.

Yoda is right. Clean up the mess and find out there the leak is. By the way, if you can get an OEM alternator from conceptz.com. They may have it in stock.

[jertapper]

That website (conceptz.com) didn't work for me. Can you double check it? What is it exactly?

[jertapper]

I took the belt off today and cleaned it vigorously and soaked it and scrubbed it with a toothbrush and then dried it and put it back on. I gave it some time to dry and then fired her up and the lights were on immediately and unlike before they didn't want to come off when I rev'd it up. There is NO WAY it's as slippery now as it was. We'll see for sure tomorrow when I drive it to work.

I think the voltage regulator or the alternator is bad. I can keep driving it to work for a couple days and charging it when I get home. I'm just trying to decide if it's worth it to order from the internet or not.

I think coolyun_98 was talking about "Concept Z Performance" (http://www.conceptzperformance.com) and they sell a nissan alternator for the 300zx that, I think is the same.

http://www.conceptzperformance...16.53

Cheaper than the 276 of trademotion.
Modified by jertapper at 7:44 PM 4/14/2009

[yodawill2000]

I must confess.My Alternator went out when I was so broke I couldn't pay attention. So I opted to roll the dice and get one from Autozone.I did have to swap the pulley but so far (2 Years) All is well.
Modified by yodawill2000 at 7:44 AM 4/15/2009

[J30inthe sun]

What year is your J?

HOLY CRAP! the 97 J alternator is $602.05 at infinitipartsusa!

[jertapper]

What year is your J?

HOLY CRAP! the 97 J alternator is $602.05 at infinitipartsusa!

That sucks. Mine is 96...so much less for me:

Description Year MSRP Price Core Price Your PriceAlternator, j30 95-96 $328.28 $60.00 $276.21

What could account for the big difference?
Modified by jertapper at 8:35 PM 4/14/2009

[J30inthe sun]

Guess they are making up for those low sales figures for the 1997

[coolyun_98]

Hi.

I am sorry that the website i gave u did not work. Yes, I think the 300zx alternator will work with J30. You can write them an email just to make sure. They reply emails pretty fast.

[jertapper]

Hi.

I am sorry that the website i gave u did not work. Yes, I think the 300zx alternator will work with J30. You can write them an email just to make sure. They reply emails pretty fast.

It's ok. I didn't want to wait for one to be shipped to me. I needed to fix it asap.

I got an alternator from autozone this afternoon and put it in. That fixed the lights issue, which should mean things are charging fine now. Not a bad lifespan for the original alternator.

I replaced all the belts as well since I had to take them off and re-tension them anyway. I hate doing that part of this job.