I spent the day putting on my new GM alternator on the TR4
All went well except I was dumb enough to use 4 nylocs on the threaded stock
holding the alternator on. It was a little difficult getting the nuts where
I wanted them. I should have used the nylocs on the ends and regular nuts
with locwashers in the middle. The electrical is very easy thanks to Dan
Masters and with a few grindings I was able to get the pulleys all on the
same plane.
I did run into two problems Im still trying to resolve. First the tensioner
arm is not round enough to align the slot with the bolt hole. I will
probably have to grind it down a little rounder. Second and most
discouraging is that I was lucky enough to find a cheap pulley for the wide
belt but the belt is too short. I went to a couple parts stores to try and
match a belt that might work. The closest I found is from Pep Boys and is
just a hair skinnier than the stock belt. I will have to go back since the
two belts I picked up were both too long. The difference in thickness
allowed the belt to ride a little deeper in the pulleys. I know I shouldnt
allow the belt to bottom out. The ones I purchased as mentioned are a
little thinner. about 3/32". This seems fine in the water pump pulley and
perfect on the alternator but looks to bottom out on the crankshaft pulley
which is a lot wider than the others. Still the sides of the belt are tight
in the groove and there might be a slim chance that it isnt touching the
bottom.
How bad would it be to use the PepBoys belt? Where might one find a correct
belt of this size and length? Randall are you going to say McMasters?! =)
And finally if I needed to use the pep boys belt temporarily how long could
I go without having to really worry and what signs should I check. Is it
because the belt will wear faster or just not have enough friction to turn?
When I put the belt on the Crank pulley and try to pull one side it doesnt
budge so friction is okay.
Thanks for all the help.
David Lee
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