bad pulley

[natsoundup]

For the day or so ....I was hearing a noise around the water pump....thought bearings were going or something.....

today, the engine threw the alternator belt..... i think the noise is the ungrooved pulley that sits inbetween the two grooved pulleys...

i was able to reach in there was play in the pulley...

likely culprit?

[forecast]

I didn't catch your model of car so I'll assume its like mine

The alternator probably has it's own belt, so only three points are invovled in the the belt, the engine crank, the alternator and the pulley.

So your problem is either the alternator or pulley. Reach up in there with the car turned off and see which one won't turn freely.

The pulley should spin freely and soundlessly. Give it a good turn and it should keep spinning for a few seconds.

The alternator will be a tad harder to turn, but it should also be vitrually silent, and should cost a bit after a good hard turn.

[natsoundup]

q45...

all pulleys work fine...the middle pulley has play up and down...it seems as though there is a bolt to tighten...I am a bit miffed as to how this came loose and has play after 13 years and 156k miles... I am pretty sure that's what has been rattling the past couple of days...the play in the pulley.

[DAEDALUS]

Is the 14mm nut holding it down loose? You're right--it's very odd.

[natsoundup]

I believe that's it .......the nut head....must be from underneath the car.....I can see the threaded end looking down from the engine compartment....

BTW....where are the belt tensioners.... they would have to be loosened to get a new belt on correct?

I think I am going to have to take the plastic shroud cover off...and see if I can tighten up that pulley again....

[natsoundup]

there's up and down movement...and a little side to side...so maybe both are loose.... I don't know something doens't seem right..

[Q451990]

You have to loosen the center nut to move the pully, and then the bolt on the bottom sets the position. Sounds like it came loose for some reason. You shouldn't have play in either direction. Is the nut still on the bolt going through the pully?

Heath

[natsoundup]

the bottom bolt is still in...I suspect it just came loose...I am going to install the new belt...tighten everything up... and then report back.....

The nut is still on as well.....

[Q451990]

It's always good when all of the parts are still there!

Heath

[natsoundup]

update.... got it on..... tightened too much at first....burn some rubber....now I am backing off....

I tried to tighten the center nut...but it was pretty snug... i'll give another update when the belt cools down..... this is embarassing...

this is stuff I used to do in my sleep.... when I was a teenager....

at the age of 46...well.... i thought you were supposed to get smarter when you got older....

[natsoundup]

seems to be fine now...

Heath if you e-mail me your address.. I will send the a/c controller to you..

My A/C compressor froze up about a month ago...and now I am debating on whether to fix it or get something newer in the spring

[email protected]90Q 156k miles

[natsoundup]

turns out the bearings in the pulley are bad....

I have tried the hard ways to get the pulley off...anyone know the easy way?

[DAEDALUS]

This whole thread has confused me. By "Ungrooved pulley" I assume you mean the tensioner pulley? It's held on with a 14mm nut. Undo that and remove the cover plate and washer, and the pulley should slide right off. There's also a spacer behind the pulley--don't forget about it.

[natsoundup]

I did that, but the pulley doesn't slide off....I'll try again tomorrow....

yes it is the tensioner pulley.... you see...the last time I changed a belt there was no such thing...you adjusted the belt by moving the alternator.....

i took the nut off...and another washing... I have exposed the bearings..they don't seem bad...anyway...I will try to get the pulley off tomorrow....

[DAEDALUS]

.... you see...the last time I changed a belt there was no such thing...you adjusted the belt by moving the alternator.....

LOL...I had the inverse problem last time I changed a belt on my '85 Firebird...had to study it for a couple minutes before I figured out that yes, indeed, that's what you're supposed to do. I think it was a curved slot that tipped me off. It just seems so primitive. I had a hell of a time getting the alternator pulley "close enough" to being coplanar with the belt.

[natsoundup]

UPDATE: Well, I couldn't get the pulley off...so I pulled the fan and the radiator shroud and saw that it's a whole new world in there..

I pulled the bracket that holds the pulley. It appears that the inner bearing is either screwed on to the spindle or pressed in. I think I will take it to a shop tomorrow and have it removed.

Anyway... I found that I have a crack straight through in my fan..so I will replace that....and I have decided to replace my 13 year old hoses... I squeezed them and for the first time, I heard the brittle cracks on the inside...never heard that before.

I would also say that this is the only way to go in attempting to do the alternator...it seems like a piece of cake.

I was going to do the alternator and water pump as preventative maintenance, but I will wait until one goes and then do the other as well.

That's my insight

[DAEDALUS]

Fortunately water pumps usually fail over time...they'll begin to leak slowly at first as the seal goes. Run your finger along the bottom surface of the shaft housing just to see if it's wet. The alternator I would wait on. It's not an easy job, and moving the compressor helps a lot.The bearings aren't pressed on as far as I know.

[Q451990]

I think your bearing has oveheated and seized or something... it shouldn't be pressed on.

Heath

[Aus94Q45]

The tnesion pulleys should come right off. Maybe some penetrating oil would help. I SLIGHT tap may break it free. Easy to replace. You may as well change out the other two while you are under there. If one goes the others cannot be far behind. Each pully cost about $20 to $30 from Joe's.

[natsoundup]

I took it to a machine shop...they had the right tools to break it free...I didn't want to mess something up....

I contributed 5 dollars to their pizza fund....