How do you tighten alternator belt? 1.6l

[woohoo2]

I have the 1.6 DOHC, north American market. Can someone to confirm that 1/2" deflection or 90* flip at the belts longest distance between pulleys is a sufficient way to test proper tension? I tightened the belt as much as I could and it seams a bit too lose. Also the belt squeals just a tad above idle.

I loosened the pivot bolt below the alternator and the bolt that holds the alternator to the bronze colored bracket. Then used a pry bar for tension and tightened the bolts back up. My problem is it just moves back 1/8" because of play in the bracket around the bolt that holds it to the intake manifold. The bolt with the rubber pieces. I think the hole in the bronze bracket for the bolt to go through to bolt it into the intake manifold is slightly larger than the bolt allowing this play. So when I add tension to the belt before tightening everything up the bracket moves 1/8" towards the rear before stopping then the alternator slides back on the bracket. Then when I release tension after tightening everything up the bracket moves forward 1/8" around the intake manifold bolt. It doesn't matter how tight I tighten these bolts and I never loosened the bolt that holds the bracket to the manifold---in fact I don't think it could be any tighter without risk of breaking.

I can only think of three possible solutions. Put so much tension on the belt that when it moves back forward the belt still has enough tension. However the largest pry bar I can fit in there doesn't give anywhere near enough tension. Even if I could fit a 10ft pry bar with two guys on it I'm not sure it would work because the belt can only stretch so much.

2nd solution. Pry the alternator towards the rear and the bracket forward. However the pry bars will be fighting each other and I'm not sure I can get enough tension on the belt. I'll try this once I can get somebody to give me a hand.

3rd. Pry the alternator against the bracket. This would easily work however I can't figure out a way to do this. I have a great selection of tools and we are having a ton of construction going on with lots of rebar and other "pry bars" yet I can't get anything to fit or work like this.

I just think there has to be a better way or I'm missing something. Thanks guys!

[Daniel]

Is it a new belt?
Is it of correct type/lenght?

[woohoo2]

Old belt, but it is in good shape.

I assume it is correct length since it was on the car and worked fine.

[Davinci_360]

I actually just had to do this. I had my timing belt replaced, and also had the serpentine belts replaced at the same time. Apparently the belts stretch out when they are new, and they started to squeal when I started it up, or at night when the lights were on.

I loosened the top alternator bolt, and after disconnecting a few wire harnesses from the throttle body, I was able to insert a pry bar (from the top) in-between the engine and the alternator, and pry towards the firewall to increase the tension. It's kinda nice if you have someone there to hold the tension with pry bar while you tighten the bolt back down, but very possible to do by yourself.

[woohoo2]

I actually just had to do this. I had my timing belt replaced, and also had the serpentine belts replaced at the same time. Apparently the belts stretch out when they are new, and they started to squeal when I started it up, or at night when the lights were on.

I loosened the top alternator bolt, and after disconnecting a few wire harnesses from the throttle body, I was able to insert a pry bar (from the top) in-between the engine and the alternator, and pry towards the firewall to increase the tension. It's kinda nice if you have someone there to hold the tension with pry bar while you tighten the bolt back down, but very possible to do by yourself.

I assume you didn't read my post.

Short version of my post: Problem I'm having is the bronze colored bracket (the one the top alternator bolt bolts to) has play around the bolt that bolts it into the intake manifold--the one with rubber dampeners around it. So I can have someone put all the tension they can manage with a 3.5ft pry bar but after I tighten the bolts and they let go of the pry bar the alternator moves forward 1/8" leaving just barley too much slack in the belt. My guess is the hole in the bracket for the bolt (the one that goes into the intake mani) is 1/8" larger than the bolt but I haven't bothered checking to confirm.

Did you notice if this happens at all with your car?

[woohoo2]

I took off the bolt that bolt the bracket to the intake manifold and found out why not everyone has this problem.

Here you can see how much bigger the bolt hole in the bracket is than the bolt (see where the bolt bolts into intake mani for size reference of the bolt):


Now to fix that these rubber dampeners fit between the bolt and bracket. However you can see where they are completely worn down on one side. Can't tell by the pic but both rubber pieces are worn completely on one side.


Now I know there is no way in hell I could find new rubber pieces. Maybe a pick a part type place but the two times I have been they only had a couple daewoos (no lanos or aveo) and they were the most stripped cars there. I'm going to try to rotate them so the worn part is not causing this problem and hope they don't move back or just wear down again.

[Daniel]

Obvious now. Glad you're near to fix it. "Must" be a cheap part at dealer. Look if pn 90280842 is what you need.

[woohoo2]

We don't have daewoo dealers here. Chevy is suppose to handle that stuff but in my experience if you can even get them to try to order you daewoo parts, they usually don't know how. It is always a huge hassle.

I turned them which is working for now. Does anyone know if the aveo uses these same pieces?

[Daniel]

This part should be used on other makes: http://opeloem.com/oem-parts/90280842.html .
Or look at automotive electrical repair shop.
Last chance would be to make the rubber part from some piece of hose and a shoe sole or some plumbing seals.

[Davinci_360]

A picture paints a thousand words.

It sounds like the real problem is the bushing/grommet around the bolt is defective, and you can't find a parts car that you could scavenge one from - which would be the cheapest and best solution. In your situation I would head over to a local hardware or auto parts store with the defective parts, and use them to find some similiar sized bushings and grommets. I imagine it wouldn't be too hard to rig something up that would work just fine, and it should only cost a few bucks for the bits and pieces. You'll probably spend a lot more time & money if you try to track down the part through a dealer, though.