Help putting tension on the Vbelt
 

Hi I am trying to put my vbelt back on and I have few questions. How much play should be in the belt? Do I just tug on the alternator until it's tight and then torque it down?

Re: Help putting tension on the Vbelt
 

Yeah, make sure it has at least a half inch of deflection in either direction. Don't make it guitar string tight. Tighten it down till you can push on it with a finger and have it move about one half inch. Not too loose, not too tight. Then lock it down.

Re: Help putting tension on the Vbelt
 

Ty. Just curious how to remove the fan so I can actually remove the entire belt?

Re: Help putting tension on the Vbelt
 

i generally tighten them to about 1/4 inch past when the belt slack ends when you appy pressure to the belt..

Re: Help putting tension on the Vbelt
 

If you wanna take the fan off you should have 3 or 4 nuts between the pump pulley and fan to remove it. They should be a 1/2" nut.

Re: Help putting tension on the Vbelt
 

You don't have to remove the fan to get the belt off. Slip the belt over one of the fan blades then turn the fan, and then slip the belt over another blade, and turn the fan again. Keep it up til the belt is off.

Re: Help putting tension on the Vbelt
 

Yup no need to remove the fan. Or if you know the new belt will be the correct fit I just cut the old ones off saves a lil bit of time.

Re: Help putting tension on the Vbelt
 

I'm not sure why you need to remove the fan in order to remove the belt - you can thread the belt around the blades of the fan and slip it off - I must be missing something here.
There is a rule of thumb on belt deflection based on the length of the belt, but I just tighten until the belts don't squeal because I have an air pump, which means that the belt has to be very tight in order to not squeal.
The fan is attached to the water pump pulley with 4 short threaded studs and nuts (usually with lock washers). If you do remove the fan you might want to replace those studs and nuts/washers since they tend to seize up and not want to turn after years of being in place.