How does the alternator belt route ?

belts squeal for only 2 reason
it's bad. the belt.
or the accessorym it drives is Seized.

i guess you never head of a 5buck stethoscope
and listen to the accessory bearings, ah, alternator front and rear
i hear, front crying for help. easy as child play.
sold everywhere cars parts are sold.

there is no need to guess, , answer use tools.
this was true in 1920 and now, belts then and now all can squeal.
in the old days we had many belts and could drop them
then comes, SERP belts. one for all.
we dont have 1.3 swifts here, so cant see belt routing.

http://www.fixkick.com/tools/steth1.jpg

just replace the belt -- I am sure it snapped due to old age.

c...

Try putting the belt on the alternator then slide it under the idler pulley last.

Any bearing mounted pulley can "freeze" if a bearing wears out. The most common result it it can burn up a belt which will break with the engine running. When it snaps it MIGHT damage anything it hits - usually with no bad results. ANY bad pulley (or pulley driven part such as the alternator) needs to be replaced before a new belt is installed or the new belt will be damaged from the friction. To replace the serpentine belt - there should be a belt routing decal on the underside of the hood or on the shroud covering the radiator.

BMW 318/325/M3/525/535/M5 1989-1993 Repair Information



Fig. 1: Setting the engine to tdc for cylinder 1 engine



Fig. 2: Releasing the tension on the spring for the timing belt roller engine



Fig. 3: Checking the alignment of the timing marks before installing the timing belt engine




Fig. 4: Timing belt arrangement engine

BMW recommends that the timing belt be changed every second Inspection ii, or every 4 years on cars that have low mileage. Most of the rest of the industry has timing belt changing intervals ranging from 40,000 miles to 60,000 miles. It is better to change the belt at a lower mileage than at a higher number.
The timing belt must be replaced every time the belt tensioner is loosened. Do not reinstall a used belt. Reusing a timing belt, even one with low mileage, is not worth the chance of having a belt break and damaging the engine.

Good luck.

You could have the wrong size or the serpentine belt was routed wrong. Double check the routing and the length of the belt, the other thing to that is know to happen is the belt tension pulley has gone bad and needs to be replaced. Recap, check the routing of the belt, belt length, tension pulley for any damage. Good luck and hope this helps.

loosen the alternator and push the alternator to-wards the engine,put your new belt on ,fitting around the 3 pulleys once fitted look and see that the belt is in line.If your happy the belt is lined put a small bar between the engine and alternator and force the alternator out towards the front this should tension your belt tighten bolts on alternator.;at the longest point between two pullys in the middle of the belt move belt up and down with fingers if tension is right it should not move more than about 150ml,hope this helps you.adrian

hey tony , i tried to highlight for the distinction between the 2 belts , red for alt , and blue for p/s . hope you can follow my drawing .



J5

Just did mine today.....Jack up the front as high as possible, remove front passenger wheel, put jackstands under car so it doesn't come down on you, remove the plastic inside fender well by taking out the 2 bolts and 3 plastic toggles, you need to remove the alternator belt to get to the power steering belt so loosen the center nut on the idler pulley/tensioner and then loosen the idler using the bottom nut/bolt to take the tension off the belt, remove the alternator belt first drawing a picture of how the belt is routed on all the pulleys for reassembly. Now loosen the 2 face nuts/bolts on the power steering belt idler pulley/tensioner and then use the nut/bolt on it's bottom to take the tesion off the belt and then remove the belt. Reinstall the belt and reverse everything to get it back together. Put on a new alternator belt on while your at it.

Hey there MSM,

• Get a 14mm or 9/16" socket and a long handled ratchet or breaker bar.
• Get the belt around all the pulleys except the A/C compressor or Alternator. The routing diagram is on one of the radiator supports.
  
• The tensioner pulley is near the Alternator toward the center of the engine. It's on a spring loaded arm. Get your socket on the center nut of this pulley.
• Slowly pull the ratchet toward the center of the engine. The pulley will pivot on the arm allowing you to get the belt on the final pulley.
  
• Slowly release the tension.
  
• You're done

Mike