Alternator Misalignment - Next Steps??

[MavChick76]

76' maverick - i6 250 w/AC (links in paragraph to parts used)

I have had issues with wearing/squealing/snapping on my V-belt connected to my alternator/water pump/harmonic balancer pulley. I recently replaced the water pump, water pump pulley, and alternator. The water pump and harmonic balancer pulley are aligned perfectly but it seems the alternator pulley is too far forward about 3/8-1/4" (toward the radiator). What would be my next steps to fix this?

link to Photo/video folder of alternator connected to engine:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1--DEYXBwcF-_CEaY18Uf7haSRpFAleVL

 

[philford]

put a straight edge alongside th epulleys and see if this is actually an alignment issue. it can be off kilter or it may be too far forward or back , decide which.

put your straightedge along side the alternator pullley is it paralell to the belt or off kilter ?

watch the belt itself, if it has a "bump" every once around that is a bad belt the joint ins't always done right in manufacture.

try twisting it 1/4 turn, if it turnes 1/2 turn easy it might be too loose.

on some cars there is a rubber bushing and that wears , its on the bolt that mounts it. then increasing tenion also means more off kilter. I kind of think this ford one may not have a rubber bushing. I often work on Volvos and they do have the rubber bushings. I don't remember one in my ford though.
A trick for worn rubber bushing is sometimes to pop it out and rotate it 90 degrees while you wait for a new one. this may not apply here if it doesnt use one.

a trick is to put chalk on the belt , or you might try white out . then run it, if it pulls towards one of the sheaves ( sides of the pulley) more than the other it may show that way by wearing the chalk off one side and not so much on the other.

after isntall I'd exppect some stretch. check again in a week or so of use. if battery is weak the alternator is working hard they do need to be a bit tighter than some other belts. The load varies with battery charge demands but it shoud be able to handle charging a dead battery.

any trace of oil will mess things up I usually use alcohol or acetone sparingly but clean it if it is contaminated. When you check your oil or brake fluid, be carful not to drip.

V belts can remove fingers. I once was working around loud machienry that was running and I caught a really experienced guy that leaned in right near a belt.
He came close to his hair getting in it and thanked me after.. He had just been unaware for a moment, , that can remove your scalp, break your neck and get very ugly very fast.

maybe you need to modify bracketry, but check with a straightedge first. you are already close to the body of tha alternator so you dont have the option to shift the pulley. I've seen people do things like take aslice off the alunimum of the actual alternator but only during mods, that shouldn't be the case if its all OEM stuff.

 

[Frank]

You can't put washers between the alt and bracket, since it mounts forward of the bracket. Is there any way to put washer shims on the brackets to move them rearward?

 

[DON]

If indeed the alt pulley is to far forward, I would check the pulley, make sure it’s pressed on all the way, maybe it can be pressed a little more? Then I think I would think about modifying the brackets. Maybe elongate the hole’s mounting to the block and there is plenty of meat on the adjustment side of the alt to take a little off.
If you have your old alternator, match it to the new one and see if they are the same

 

[hodaka100]

I would start by unbolting the alternator pulley and see if there are any options there. If not just gun it back on.
Cutting the alternator's pivot "tube" would be my next idea. I am not familiar with your stock setup but I'd assume you could make the tensioner bracket work. Possibly by bolting it to the other side of the alternator.

 

[DON]

You might could do that but it would involve making a spacer for the other side to keep it tight in the bracket. The other side of the adjustment block is too much

 

[Frank]

The double pulley is not necessary. The suggestion to reinstall the original 1 groove pulley will probably be the solution.

 

[Adriatic Machine]

This post is almost a year old and the original poster has not been back.

 

[DON]

I missed that

 

[philford]

ha ha I mised that date stamp too..
boy will she be suprised ! , what devoted helpers we are lol ;-)

 

[Frank]

This post is almost a year old and the original poster has not been back.

Guess she figured it out.

 

[Adriatic Machine]

Lol well, my hat is off to you guys for being quick to help a fellow Sixer.

 

[DON]

Sometimes it seems like it takes me that long to get some done!!