Degosaithe

Hey guys, im back with another problem.. my alternator belt is wearing down big time (got chunk of the top ripped off yet it aint snapping yet) so i went down to Kragen and bought a new one.. ITs the "Nascar performance" Matchmaker 11AV0800... I wanted to post here and make sure this is a right belt before i run into a problem when replacing it..

also is there a certain special procedure to replacing this belt or do i just do what i think i should--- take off the belts ahead of it, put a new belt in and replace the old ones in their positions?

Thanks ahead of time

LaRazaUnida

to replace the belt you just unbolt the alt to the arm that allows it to go up and down. Take off the belt put on the new one, then push up the alt and arm then re-tighten. Straight forward very very easy.

Degosaithe

What do you do with the other three belts that are in front of the alternator belt? it seems like there is no space between them for me to squeeze the alt belt through.. btw its an 87 GXL...

Goofy

Replace all four at once. That's what I did. The others probably need it anyway.

Degosaithe

Yeah, i took off the four.. but to my surprise the other 3 have already been replaced by previous owner... now WTF, if you gonna replace one might as well replace other 3 right? So i now im just replacing the alternator one... other ones look almost brand new while the alt was chippin off from bottom and top...

mikaz

Reminds me of the night I bought my RX-7... about 20 minutes away from the guy's house that I bought it from, and the Alternator belt broke on the side of the highway... great start, I thought. Lucky there happened to be a spare in the back. So if I can change the belt on the side of the highway with very little tools, and in the dark, it should be a breeze for you.

It's allready been explained, loosen off the other belts ahead of it, change it, blah blah BUT one thing to look out for is the linkage rod that goes down towards the bottom of the engine, from the throttle body. Make sure the peice of metal on the back of the alternator bolt (left side) is back in place when you tighten the alternator back up, so that the bunch of wires in that area don't catch on that linkage. Otherwise, you may end up with the throttle sticking wide open. :P

Degosaithe

Oh.. Didnt look for that... ill be sure to check it rite now.. Thanks for your help guys.. i realise how much of a fool i was to ask a stupid and easy to fix question.. but experience brings knowledge... so now i know how to fix yet another thing on an engine that i have had only 2 months experience with ..

Thanks again

Jager

iTrader: (10)

I have to remove the clutch fan, remove the other belts before I replace all of my alternator belts.

Maybe he doesn't have a E-Fan?

SwiftTone

Once my alternator belt broke 20 Miles away from home. I was watching my voltage through my SAFC2, and it seemed pretty stable, wasn't dropping as fast as I would expect. So I drove it home in the dark and rain. Suprised that I actually made it. Wal-Mart batteries aren't junk afterall.

AUGieDogie

iTrader: (4)

I used to always carry a spare alt belt. Those damn things would break on me all the time. I never get them tensioned right after warm up. I could change it really quickly with just a few tools and a mag light.
Since i have switched to a dual pully this is never a problem. I havnt broke a single one.

1SWEET7

iTrader: (1)

Yeah changing the alt belt is pretty straight forward. Jager I didn't have to take off my fan or shroud to get the belts off. Just worked them through it. Should replace all belts when doing it though. Mine was old and cracked when I did mine and haven't had a problem since.

Madrx7racer

gotta make sure you're doing it right........... I suggest you download these, if you haven't already;
http://www.rx7city.com/89-91manual.htm
http://www.rx7city.com/88manual.htm

NZConvertible

You don't have to remove the fan to change the belts. They easily thread through the blades.

I hope you were watching the temp gauge too, because the water pump wasn't turning either...

Jager

iTrader: (10)

I suppose I was just making it harder on myself.

Rx_Pete

heh and we all seem to suffer from the alt belt problem had to change one at 3am on the side of the road with no torch took like 20 minutes, the manual also says something like you should change your belts when you service your car every 5000kms or like 3000miles??

arghx

iTrader: (3)

i had no trouble changing my belts, and didn't need to take off the fan or anything

TitosToy

*edit* nevamind, i jumped the gun before reading the whole thread. i did remove the fan to make things easier - also replaced all of them at the same time too...