I cant get my belt to stop howling. Its the alternator belt. I got a few rebuilt alternators recently and no matter how much I tighten it it doesnt seem to stop. My friends dad tried putting some washers on there but it didnt stop it much. He also put a piece on the bolt that holds the alternator on that looks like a drilled out pipe. (kinda sheath like)... He said the lower end of the belt looks like its shaking and its not aligned correctly. Do any of you guys had to add washers or anything like this? Could it be that the alternator A.Z gave me wasnt right for my car. The first time I replaced the alt. it didnt do this though. Im prolly gonna be buying another alt. on friday along with a belt. Even though I recently bought the belt I figure it may fix it....

Plz Help!

Nate

 

It's entirely possible that it's not the alternator making it shriek, but rather the smog pump or water pump.

"Belt shaking" indicates that it has a REALLY high load on it, something that's REALLY hard to turn. Loosen the belt and turn by hand each of the things that it runs over; you'll probably have little trouble identifying which thing is the culprit.

 

It only runs over the fan and crank if thats right? I dont have any operating pumps as far as I know. The smog pump isnt connected I know that much for sure.

 

anyone? How hard is it to remove the pulleys it runs over and check them out? Im tired of the squeeling....

Nate

 

anyone?>

 

If the smog pump is still installed on the engine and the belt still loops around the pulley it may be the smog pump seized or has bad bearings. The belt could also be on the wrong v on the crank pulley.

 

When you say the smog pump isn't connected, I'm assuming you mean the belt isn't over it, right? So that couldn't be the culprit. But if the belt is over it, it's true that smog pump bearings seize-up. Mine has. But moving on...

You said you have no working pumps. No water pump? I don't know how different your '83 is from my '87, but my alternator belt goes over both the water pump and the crank. But sticking to the alternator as being the suspect...

I think it would be impossible to even accidently install the alternator belt on the wrong groove on the crank pulley, given the size and style of the alternator belt. So that's not it either.

No, you shouldn't have to "washer" or shim anything when you replace your alternator. You didn't the first time, did you? And you said that worked fine. So...

Your alternator is from AZ. Ah, now we're getting somewhere, lol. Return it and replace it with a Delco.

I went through 3 AZ alternators within a year. Finally I gave up and found a Delco retailer in my area. Problem solved! Mine didn't squeal or shake, they just didn't last or make voltage.

For yours, they probably don't have the pulley on correctly or something strange like that. But I'd bet it's definitely a quality control problem.

I've gone through many auto parts store's products, and none performed like the original ACDelcos. I've returned to everything Delco on my car. It's like new!

 

I dunno what a water pump is. I know it goes over 3 spots and im almost positive it should all be lined up right. When it got warmer it wasnt squeeking maybe I put too much belt **** on it???Ill try a new belt on friday.

Nate

 

Ok, you say it goes over three spots, so that 3rd spot is your water pump. It's the part with the pulley that's centered right over the crank pulley. Your belt goes around the crank, up and around the water pump, then over and around your alternator, where it gets tightened.

On person thought your belt might be on too tight, but early squealing that goes away when it's warmed-up could mean the belt is too loose. Are you sure it's tight enough?

But if you're not working with a new belt, then yes, try a new one before you make any major decisions. If the belt dressing made a difference, it's likely your belt isn't very good anymore.

And if it was a new belt, then it shouldn't have squealed. But since it's saturated with dressing now, you might as well replace it anyway. But that would take you back to the alternator or its pulley being the problem. So if the new belt doesn't solve the squealing, I'd at least exchange the alternator and try another one. One thing AZ is good about, it's exchanging their alternators--but then, they're used to that, lol.

 

To isolate which belt is the problem you might get belt conditioner in Autozone and spray a little on the belt. One belt in a time. If the squeel goes away - that's the one. If not it's something else.

 

well im sure its soaked by now. I mine as well clean the pulleys off too. Im gonna get a new belt today. Check the bolts, and try see if I can feel if anything is loose. If not im gonna get a better alt. and see if it does it. If not im gonna get some help with it. see if anything is warped.