ARCHIVE BASICS: Stop ruining your alt adjusting block and bolt (1 Viewer)

[Bambusiero]

Cool tool!
Thanks for that tip.
Always wished I could measure it somehow.
My fingers get out of calibration.

FYI. There's 2 versions. Also called KRIKIT tool. $15 - $20 or so.
pn 91107 30-160 lbs - seems best for our use?
pn 91132 100-320 lbs

 

[NLXTACY]

So you'd get bonus points and my undying gratitude if you'd add one little detail. As a two owner guy and one who changes belts before they fail you'd think I could remember this important detail but could you put a little circular arrow on the adjuster bolt indicating which way tightens and which loosens the belts?

I'm sure people will chime in that its obvious but every time I do this I have to experiment with a few dozen revolutions before I discover I'm tightening the belts and start going the other way, it seems. Thanks in advance. I'm going to print your diagram and tape it into my FSM.....

Done and uploaded new pic to first post.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Pure awesomeness. A tip of the hat across the miles (and the years!). I have a similar diagram for a common issue on the VW Vanagon's flat 4 engine. When trouble shooting it on the road, it is easy to forget the firing order, the crank rotation direction, and the distributor rotation. This is because the engine is mounted in the rear, and it is mounted backwards (tranny is forward). So, many of us owners have a diagram on the underside of the engine cover. Your diagram is down on the kitchen counter for morning when it will be inserted into the FSM....

PS - as a side note, we live up in N. Idaho but were on vacation in LA over Christmas. 10 days ago I was in Woodland Hills, CA to pick up some wheels and tires I bought on Craigslist - probably 5 miles from you. Just installed them tonight. Small world.

 

[NLXTACY]

@IdahoDoug ha! I would have said you were a jerk for not traveling the two miles to come see me since I drive all the way to have lunch with you in CDL

...but I was sick for 9 days straight and you were better off not swinging by

 

[TossYoda]

If there were 7.3 Joey's we'd actually be designing and production running our own 2020 80 series look alike from off the shelf parts and some original designs only better. It would be a "kit 80".
Joey IS a teacher, a guru, and a really good one. May he live forever and get rich.
Late in life I just decided to get into wrenching having not really done it before and 80's and Mud is the reason why.
This is tough for me, no base of knowledge, it's hard to see into this alternator area and I have large hands that are hard to even get down past the radiator to the lock nut. Also, I forget from the last time I did it which bolt does what and they're hard to see. So this diagram will get printed and will be in my notebook. Thanks Joey, I'll go buy something from De Witts Finis now.

 

[Broski]

I was trying to explain how to adjust the 1FZ alternator belts tension to a customer over the phone and apparently my description wasn’t enough so instead I opened up Illustrator and drew it up for them...and now you.

It’s an easy process but I realize it’s easy once you’ve done it a few (or hundreds of) times. It all comes down to knowing what bolts to touch and how much. This should help.

I know I know, this is super crazy basic but it’s amazing how often this gets messed up and why adjusting blocks and bolts get trashed so easily.

View attachment 2172578

Very well done & good looking out for others.

 

[surfpig]

It begs the question, if they can't figure out this simple task correctly should they really be holding a wrench?

this is easy to mess up. I’ve seen all levels.

Often as not, it’s probably some lackey at the jiffy lube messing it up.

 

[landtank]

It begs the question, if they can't figure out this simple task correctly should they really be holding a wrench?

There was point where I would be right there with you. But I now have a 25 yo son who grew up on video games and sports. I put his mechanical skills at the same level as mine when I was 8. Of course I was butchering the hardware on my bicycle at that time.

Not his fault and now that there is a monetary incentive for him to start "working" on his cars he's doing the best he can. He does have someone he can call but for those who don't it can be frustrating when things don't go right.

The charts that Joey is putting together are really going to help a lot of people get into repairing their trucks and enjoying the satisfaction of doing it themselves.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Hah! Yes if you had made me sick for my Christmas vacation, I'd have had to go postal. BTW, that was a kick butt drive as the nav routed us up Topanga, then to Mulholland. I was with my 18yo son so I got to demonstrate some at limit drifts where we could see several curves in a row with nobody coming (Subaru, not the 80!). . Up in Woodland Hills, we were astonished at the tiny roads way up in tight canyons with ridge dropoffs, etc. You live in a pretty cool area. The seller's home was near the top and the back of his house looked directly north toward you across a pristine valley.

 

[Broski]

Hah! Yes if you had made me sick for my Christmas vacation, I'd have had to go postal. BTW, that was a kick butt drive as the nav routed us up Topanga, then to Mulholland. I was with my 18yo son so I got to demonstrate some at limit drifts where we could see several curves in a row with nobody coming (Subaru, not the 80!). . Up in Woodland Hills, we were astonished at the tiny roads way up in tight canyons with ridge dropoffs, etc. You live in a pretty cool area. The seller's home was near the top and the back of his house looked directly north toward you across a pristine valley.

I grew up in Topanga and started Driving the Canyon roads at the age of 13 by the time I was in High school I could drive the Canyon full lock drifts in my 1965 mustang even out ran the cops in the rain one night. Of course there were a lot less people on the road back then. Reflecting back I feel lucky I did not kill my self of someone else. There were a few spin-outs along the way. Back then North Hill was called Canoga Park and most of the area was Orange groves. I know I am dating myself it was the mid 70s
PS Back then when you got to the top of the Canyon you could not see the other side of the Valley because of the smog whether we like it or not smog control is working.

 

[patrickk]

Easy job they said... 25 minutes they said... Hours later and at a point where I'd punch a nun in the mouth just because... Once again I come to mud on bended knee. I need help replacing my alternator belts.

I snipped a picture from the internet because it got too dark to take my own picture. (I realize that this alternator is using a custom bracket and might not be OEM, but the picture works for what I'm seeing under my hood.)

I loosened #1, then #2, and then adjusted #3. The lock bolt and pivot bolt are loose, and after loosening up the adjusting bolt damn near all the way there's no tension on the adjusting bolt. The alternator would NOT budge, at all. Not until I loosened the orange circle bolt. Just a tad and I finally got some movement out of my alternator along the pivot bolt. The problem is, it's still way too damn tight and not enough movement to get my new belts on. They are new OEM from wits-end and part numbers match.

Then how did I get the old ones off you ask? I cut them off out of frustration and set them on fire in the drive-way... seemed like a good idea at the time.

I only need a little more movement, but before I make a mistake I can't come back from, I'm asking ya'll for help. Should I take the orange circle bolt the rest of the way out? Maybe it'll give me the movement I need? But I'm afraid that I wont be able to get it back in once the tension of the new belts is on the alternator.

At the end of the day, it's damn near like you're working blind, which I'm ok with, but there's gotta be something simple I'm missing, right?

 

[NLXTACY]

Ignoring what is going on in your pic...

You can always remove the fan clutch/fan and just set aside so that the water pump pulley is loose. Put the belts on and work the pulley back in.

 

[NLXTACY]

Now going back to your pic, that looks like the Photoman alt bracket and upgraded alternator. Its a little different setup.

 

[patrickk]

Now with an actual picture. The orange circle is the bit I HAD to loosen in order to get any movement out of the alternator. The "issue" is that I can't get anymore movement out of the alternator unless I remove the orange bolt. Is this going to be a huge headache to put back in?

Or do you suggest that I follow your previous suggestion of: "You can always remove the fan clutch/fan and just set aside so that the water pump pulley is loose. Put the belts on and work the pulley back in."

On a side note, I know the PO rebuilt the engine and replaced a lot of parts... Is this an OEM alternator/setup?

I really do appreciate the time taken out of your day to respond to my amateurish mechanical skills...

 

[mingles]

As @NLXTACY indicated, your truck does not have the stock bracket.

Stock bracket looks like the pic below.

 

[patrickk]

That's the clarification I was looking for. Thanks! I thought I was going crazy...

 

[IdahoDoug]

Patrick,

I'm sure you're a competent wrench from your post and may have this knowledge but I'll post in case its helpful. I've helped a few people over the years with too tight belts and used this once on my boat's belts. The suggestion to loosen the fan's 4 bolts may help (though the time to loosen them was when they were held in place by the belts you cut off and made a bonfire with - heh). IIRC, all you have to do is loosen them and then you may be able to get the fan cockeyed a bit and give you the MM you sometimes need to get the belts on. An easier route might be to use turning the engine by hand to push the belts on one at a time. Here, you put a long wrench on the crank bolt and have an assistant turn the engine while you use hand force to jam the belt such that rotating it causes it to climb onto the pulley. Repeat to get it on the rear pulley so the 2nd belt can also be put on. Don't try bumping with the starter with any bits near the pulley you're not OK parting with forever. I've done this but only under the right circumstance and clearances, usually pushing with a wood dowel. Good luck!

 

[IdahoDoug]

Also, NLXTACY - I just taped your diagram in my FSM yesterday. Thanks, man!

 

[patrickk]

Loosening up the fan clutch a little was just what I needed. Beers are on me...

 

[mingles]

...Beers are on me...

Be over in about 30 minutes...