AGHHHH Why Do My Belts Keep Breaking!!!

[nate_o23]

Today my 86 burb broke its third alternator belt in a month. Tension was good but for some reason the belt keep breaking. There is also some squealing when the belt is on and the pulley gets hot. the alt is new and everything looks like its lined up right but its hard to tell for certain. Is there some kind of spacer behind the alt mount that I might be missing? I cant keep changing belts this is driving me nuts!! Please help! Thanks

[CleviteKid]

I fought the same battle you are in a few years ago, and indeed alignment of the generator with the crank and water pump pulleys is critical. If you have a long straight edge (a yardstick, maybe) that you can put on the face of the crank pulley, you will find out if the alternator is lined up or not.

I needed to shim the alternator forward with several washers to get it at the right distance and tilted into the same plane as the other pulleys.

Another thing I learned is that the alternator belt needs to be TIGHT :eek: . If it slips just a little it glazes and then it is on the road to overheating and breaking. The bearings in the alternator are amazingly stout for resisting belt tension, so get a long pry bar and get that belt tight - tighter - tightest.

Also, buy the good belts. I went thru a few $5 belts before I learned that the $15 belts are really worth the money.