So I ripped out my AC a while ago since it was useless and in the way. I have an 87 305 so V-belts made it easy. However, my new alternator and power steering pump are both being killed and I don't get why.

Alternator: The one I bought the car with blew in the middle of nowhere. I got towed to a shop and bought one and put it in (always travel with tools!) It worked fine until now, 5 years and maybe 5000 miles later. The bearing is shot, it squeals like a banshee and you can see the wobble in the pulley...sometimes. Sometimes it pops back in and is silent and straight as an arrow. I'm wondering if it's because it has an extra groove in the pulley. My belt has 5 ribs, the alt pulley has 6 grooves. Is this the wrong alt and the misaligned belt is ruining it prematurely? I want to get a new one, but I see there are with AC and without AC alts. The alt belt doesn't even go to the AC, so why does it matter? What's the difference?


Power Steering: Also blew a leak in the middle of nowhere. Shop put a new pulley on, but just used some sealer on the pump. When I got home I replaced the pump, but reused the pulley (had a shop swap it on). Now this pulley is so bent it's a miracle the belt stays on when it's running. It too has an extra groove for the belt that used to turn the AC which is now gone. Is the lack of the other belt killing this pulley, and possibly the PS pump? Should I get the non AC pulley with only one groove? It seems that's all that's available anyway.

 

is the pulley really bent or is it the shaft on the PS pump?

Double or single groove should not matter as long as the pulleys are aligned and you do not have excessive tension on the belts. Mis-aligment or excessive belt tension would quickly damage the bearings in the alternator.

also if you have a serpentine belt on the alternator, water pump & crank, then these pulleys MUST all have the same number of grooves. Your photos looks like you have a narrow belt or the alternator pulley is incorrect.

Once you sort this out make sure the belts are not over-tensioned... you want no more than 1/2" of "slack" at the longest span on each belt. A true Serpentine system relies on the belt tensioner. you will have to do this yourself.

if the alternator brackets does have slots this is another issue since you cannot adjust the tension.

same with the PS bracket, does it have slots?

 

The PS pump isn't leaking, so I assume it's just the pulley. I'll take the belt off and check it more closely to be sure, but I figure if it was the shaft wobbling that bad it would be leaking everywhere.

The crank and water pump both have 5 grooves for that belt. The alternator has 6. it seems to be best aligned where I have it now, but I have to imagine if there's an extra groove, it's the wrong alt (or at least wrong pulley). And again, it's relatively new and failing already. Could be bad luck but...

 

Oh yes they're both adjustable. 1/2" isn't very much, I cranked as hard as I could on both and I still feel like there's more than that. Though what is your definition of slack? As in when I press on the belt in the middle of said span, the distance I can deflect it from its resting position? I mean it's tighter than the serpentine belts in my 03 Impala!

 

As in when I press on the belt in the middle of said span, the distance I can deflect it from its resting position?


CORRECT. but the longest span on each belt.. not all the spans.

it sounds to me like your belts are too tight... did you replace the belts with the correct part #? if the belts are too loose they will slip and eventually glaze but they will not damage bearings... better too loose than too tight.

If your belts are howling and the alternator bearing are shot after 5000 miles, then they are too tight & or mis-alinged.

To check the belt tension, with your thumb push in on the belt midway between the pulleys and measure the deflection with a ruler. The drivebelt deflection should be about 5/8-inch. If the tension is more or less than this, it must be adjusted to bring the tension into specification.

 

Who replaced the original alternator & pulley?

My rule of thumb is when replacing an accessory is to re-use the original pulley or make sure the remanufactured unit has the same pulley.

since you have to exchange your old part as a core you can always compare the old with the new at the parts counter... if the pulleys don't match you make the parts guy swap them. Don't ever assume the parts will be the same because the alternator could have been used on another car...

 

Hmm perhaps they were too tight. Though I'm still not convinced that wrong or misaligned parts aren't to blame as well. When the alternator blew, I was towed to a parts store in the middle of nowhere, TX. They gave me the part and I put it in. I wasn't wise enough to question the extra groove.

I asked the local store and since they had no pics or details, he ordered me two alts for this afternoon, just to check them out. Cool guy. Though neither mentioned with out without AC like Rockauto does. Still curious what the difference is...

 

So I got the right alternator and put that in. 5 grooves, so far so good. I also got a PS pulley in from rockauto. Dorman 300122. Without AC, single groove, supposed direct fit. I yanked the old double groove one off (it was bent...BAD; shaft is ok) and compared. The new one is smaller in outer diameter of the pulley. It does, however, have the same dimensions as every other pulley on the net for this car. In fact they all are the same part, so wtf. I'm very hesitant to put it on. Someone reassure me this is the right part.