Struggling with alternator belt refitting

Hi,

I have been trying to refit the alternator belt to the TD4 today and just cannot get it to go on. I even tried the old belt, but still cannot refit it.

I know that sounds daft given I took it off.

I just want to check that my method of refitting is correct. Having fitted the belt to all pulleys apart from the alternator drive wheel I then proceed to open the tensioner right up with a 24mm ring spanner. What I want to know is whether the belt should easily fit or are they still a struggle to get on even with the tensioner opened fully?

If there is a nack to refitting the belts then I would be most grateful if you could share it.

Many thanks

maybe try closing the tensioner?

Hopefully somebody will come up with the answer. I'll be doing mine next week and don't want to have the same problem.

I think it say's in the Hayes manual to turn the tensioner anti clockwise to re-fit. I'll look in the book now.

EDIT Just looked in the book and it say's to turn the tensioner fully anti clockwise to refit then slowly release the tensioner.

3.5 efi said:

maybe try closing the tensioner?

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Sorry, I don't quite follow? I am definately pulling the ring spanner if the correct direction, but there does not seem to be enough adjustability to enable me to get the belt on.

Just a thought. Have you got the right belt ??? there are two belts, one is smaller the the other.

Grayo said:

Just a thought. Have you got the right belt ??? there are two belts, one is smaller the the other.

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The air con belt is smaller, but I assume you don't mean that as it is much smaller. Are you saying there are 2 alternator belts of similar size?

Given I cannot even put the original belt back on would suggest I am doing something wrong.

Keen to hear from anyone who has recently done this recently and how you managed it

some cars than can be tight to get on even with the tensioner fully open

flanagaj, where do you live ? if your close to me i can pop round and have a look

I did mine some time ago - if I remember I couldn't get enough leverage on a ring spanner - add a bar to it

Should go on reasonably easily, are you sure its going round the pulleys correctly, easy to get it a little muddled up....done mine a year ago so cant remember exactly, but no real issues, practice on a bloody merc a class, then you'll breeze it!!

flanagaj said:

The air con belt is smaller, but I assume you don't mean that as it is much smaller. Are you saying there are 2 alternator belts of similar size?

Given I cannot even put the original belt back on would suggest I am doing something wrong.

Keen to hear from anyone who has recently done this recently and how you managed it

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Aircon belt, yes that was what I was thinking. As far as I know there is only 1 alternator belt.

Reading a response jogged a memory - I seem to remember putting the belt on and getting the routing wrong - it wouldn't fit - have a good look to see if you have got it wrong.

hi sounds like the routing may be wrong should go like this
assuming its the right model

That is how I have it routed. As you turn the tensioner anti clockwise pulley T moves towards WP and CS. I am going to knock up a device so that I can keep the tension off and give me 2 hands to try and prise the belt back on.

Having managed to improve a solution which gave me both hands, turns out the local motor factors have supplied me with a random belt that does not fit a TD4. The old belt looks like it was changed when we had a new alternator last year, so I have just reused that one. Trying to put the belt on whilst also holding a spanner under tension is not the way to go with this job. I also had a small square piece of 18mm mdf which I put between the ring spanner when connected to the tension pulley bolt and the chassis. This ensured the ring spanner would stay in the same plane when being pulled and would also not slip off the nut.

Get a piece of paper before you take it of draw a bunch of dots were all pulleys are then draw belt orientation sounds simple but really helps is the belt running correct eg teeth on teeth pulleys and back of belt on tensioner etc

SJF said:

Get a piece of paper before you take it of draw a bunch of dots were all pulleys are then draw belt orientation sounds simple but really helps is the belt running correct eg teeth on teeth pulleys and back of belt on tensioner etc

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He say's he has it on the correct way above. And there are no teeth on this belt just groves which sit into the groves on the pulleys.

This is not a timing belt, so orientation is not the issue. I just think they have sold me the wrong belt. Trying to compare them for length is hard work though.

I struggled for 10-minutes doing the one on my wife's TD4 and was convinced that I was doing something wrong then suddenly it went on perfectly. I recall that I just wasn't backing the tensioner off enough, it wasn't lack of leverage (used a normal combination-spanner) just that I wasn't pushing it back far enough.
Check the repalcement belt for length (do it with a soft tape-measure or piece of string if you can't put them on top of one another) but as you say you can't re-fit the original one it sounds like it is just technique.