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1G Alternator tension bolt hitting power steering belt

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tudds2k

10+ Year Contributor
138
9
Aug 28, 2008
Long Island, New_York
Anyone have any ideas why the bolt would point up and come in contact with the power steering belt?

I replaced my timing belt and that tensioner arm has been moved but even with no tensioner the alternator has almost no movement with the belt on.
I have the fluidampr app crank pulley
 

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I want to try to help, but I dont have that setup anymore (saturn alternator). For clarity, what do you mean by: the alternator has almost no movement with the belt on? do you mean its pivot angle? What about with the belt off? does the alternator pivot freely? I am just trying to help guess at what might be wrong, sorry I cant be more helpful.

It seems like the slotted arm is already basically in contact with the power steering pump. Is there any chance something changed on that?

Was the fluidampr a new addition at the same time, or was that already on the setup, and you mentioned for reference?
 
The P/S belt looks odd, like it's inside out? Maybe just the way one brand makes them. Is the head of the alternator adjuster bold (the one interfering) all the way back in the slot at the end of the arm? (your photo doesn't show it). The fix would be easy enough by simply cutting off a little bolt length, though I always hesitate when the stock setup somehow needs modification. Did everything fit OK before the timing belt change (with fluidampr too?)
 
I honestly don't remember and I'm not at the car to look. Taking a closer look the adjustment bolt is under the hold bolt. Seems right. 1g and 2g adjusters different? Somebody out in a hardware store bolt.
 
I want to try to help, but I dont have that setup anymore (saturn alternator). For clarity, what do you mean by: the alternator has almost no movement with the belt on? do you mean its pivot angle? What about with the belt off? does the alternator pivot freely? I am just trying to help guess at what might be wrong, sorry I cant be more helpful.

It seems like the slotted arm is already basically in contact with the power steering pump. Is there any chance something changed on that?

Was the fluidampr a new addition at the same time, or was that already on the setup, and you mentioned for reference?
Sorry, when the belt is on it pivots less than half an inch. With the belt off it moves maybe 4 inches.
I drove maybe 50 miles with the fluidampr. I recently swapped all my turbo related stuff and this happened.
Likely the block the long bolt threads through is upside down.
It’s shaped like a house now, pointy side up.

the belt isn’t on upside down, a few people have said that on Facebook. It’s a top cog reinforced belt. The other side of the belt fits perfectly in the pullies.
 
I honestly don't remember and I'm not at the car to look. Taking a closer look the adjustment bolt is under the hold bolt. Seems right. 1g and 2g adjusters different? Somebody out in a hardware store bolt.

Good point here... Does the bolt you tighen/loosen to pivot the alternator forward and back have a recess/undercut under the head where it goes through the tensioner arm? I believe the factory bolt would have this recess, so if your adjusting bolt doesnt have that, it may be a non-stock bolt - in which case chopping the end off like Mech suggested isnt a bad solution.

Still curious why the problem is new if no parts are... :confused:
 

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I honestly don't remember and I'm not at the car to look. Taking a closer look the adjustment bolt is under the hold bolt. Seems right. 1g and 2g adjusters different? Somebody out in a hardware store bolt.
I did change the bolt that holds the little house block in but that was changed a while ago. I actually have a new tensioner bolt that I will swap in with a washer to keep it from jumping when tightening it
 
Yes, I doubt that bolt would affect it... is the new tensioner bolt an oem part? Can you compare the lengths?
It looks exactly the same but I don’t have them side by side.

I’m not sure if this has always been an issue but I recently started driving in very high rpms now that the car has been maintained. I used to shift at 4-5k rpm
 
There is a sort of illustration of the adjuster in the FSM under the Cooling section (since it also affects water pump). It does appear that the tension bolt passes under the lock bolt. I agree that that the tensioner bolt tries to walk out of its notch while turning it, and I use some extra help with my other hand to prevent this when tightening. That said, don't over tighten the belt, or you will get to do the timing belt all over again when the water pump seal fails.
 
I am not sure if the fluidampr is the same diameter as the stock damper. Did you change belts when you put it on? If the diameter was different at all, the tensioner would end up in a different location within its range of adjustment if you used the same belt... That might explain why it was never an issue before? that and a stretched belt possibly?

Good advice on the belt tension, they dont need to be crazy tight to work...
 
Found my new bolt. Sadly, it’s the same as the crusty one

I am going to stop by a local guy with a galant VR4 just to check on the position of everything
 

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In his case, this issue is caused by 2 things.
Originally the clearance between the tensioner bolt and the power steering belt is kinda tight.
And the Fluidampr's diameter for the alternator belt is slightly larger than the stock pulley. So which means the same as using slightly shorter alternator belt, the clearance gets tighter. This happend to me too. And "Plus", he is using a Dayco power steering belt or so. That belt is thicker than the stock style belt, so the clearance gets even tighter and contact each other.
If I were him, I would try to use one size longer alternator belt or simply shorten the bolt or replace the power steering belt with the stock style one.

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Keep us posted. It seems a bit odd... Good luck

In his case, this issue is caused by 2 things.
Originally the clearance between the tensioner bolt and the power steering belt is kinda tight.
And the Fluidampr's diameter for the alternator belt is slightly larger than the stock pulley. So which means the same as using a slightly shorter alternator belt, the clearance gets tighter. This happend to me too. And "Plus", he is using a Dayco power steering belt or so. That belt is thicker than the stock style belt, so the clearance gets even tighter and contact each other.
If I were him, I would try to use one size longer alternator belt or simply shorten the bolt and or replace the power steering belt with the stock style one.

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That is exactly what I was imagining... maybe get a couple different belts that are slightly longer and see if either ends up in a better spot? Thanks for the follow-up on that Hiroshi!
 
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That is exactly what I was imagining... maybe get a couple different belts that are slightly longer and see if either ends up in a better spot? Thanks for the follow-up on that Hiroshi!
I had the same issue before relocate the alternator to rear side that the alternator tensioner bolt was rubbing the power steering belt. IIRC, I think I ended up using a little bit longer alternator belt.
 
I got a longer belt and it didn’t move the bolt any farther away. I’m think I’m going to use a belt that puts the alternator somewhere in the middle of the tensioner and cut the bolt
 
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