72 alt/crank pulleys alignment

grandfatherjim · Post by **grandfatherjim** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 6:01 pm

1700 miles into our summer vacation, just started back from farthest point today. Alternator belt shredded, found another at a FLAPS and bought a spare to boot. Installed and in under a mile the new one had come off.
Turns out alt. pulley is sitting rearward of crank pulley by half a belt width.
Clues? Hints?
Stranded in Moncton NB having our first WalMart parking lot sleepover. Man those other RVs are big.
At daybreak I'll pull the alt. My only idea is that its case may have cracked at the lower mounting bolt, but I can't see that tonight.
Thanks,
Jim

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 7:30 am

Had that problem with my Type1, had to shim the crank pulley 1/4". Is that possible with a type4? Or is something mis-aligned due to assembly?

Bleyseng · Post by **Bleyseng** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 7:48 am

If all the pieces are present the alt should line up with the crank pulley. The alt mount might be pulling out of the fan shrould or the upper mount is broken...any type 4 upper mount works if its broken..

Post by **Amskeptic** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 9:54 am

Bleyseng wrote:If all the pieces are present the alt should line up with the crank pulley. The alt mount might be pulling out of the fan shrould or the upper mount is broken...any type 4 upper mount works if its broken..

The mounting of the alternator is pretty firmly indexed. You may have a little room to slide the lower pivot bracket on the fan housing longitudinal to the engine axis by loosening the two 13mm nuts (bolts?), but you will have to get the alternator out of the way. The "carriage bolt" has a square shank that must fit into the square hole of the tin and the square hole of the aforementioned bracket

There is little alignment potential at the upper adjustment bracket, but have at it. Thing is . . . if this was an acute change in alignment, it suggests a trauma as you speculated, but if it was a chronic misalignment since last build, how did the belt last so long?
Colin

grandfatherjim · Post by **grandfatherjim** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 12:07 pm

Found the problem and back on the road. Apparently the last belt was skiÍny and old enough to survive the problem, which was that the alt. pulley was on backwards. Turned it around with the aid of an oil filter wrench.
Had to get yet another belt, as the previous new one has been "trained" to flip inside out, but now we're good.
Thanks for the suggestions. Very much appreciated. And I did get familiar with all the things mentioned....
Jim

Post by **Amskeptic** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 10:15 am

grandfatherjim wrote:Found the problem and back on the road. Apparently the last belt was skiÍny and old enough to survive the problem, which was that the alt. pulley was on backwards. Turned it around with the aid of an oil filter wrench.
Had to get yet another belt, as the previous new one has been "trained" to flip inside out, but now we're good.
Thanks for the suggestions. Very much appreciated. And I did get familiar with all the things mentioned....
Jim

Dare we ask how that remarkable state of affairs came to pass? Was it a professionally rebuilt alternator?
Colin

Itinerant Air-Cooled

Itinerant Air-Cooled

72 alt/crank pulleys alignment

72 alt/crank pulleys alignment