1996 850 Alternator belt riding outside of pulley

T64me · Post by **T64me** » 28 Dec 2014, 15:57

I just installed a new alternator from AutoZone in my 96 850. It is riding about 1/4 inch off the track that is should. It rides up on the outside ridge of the pulley. It appears that the pulley on the new alternator is spaced the same distance from the body of the alternator.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to why it would be doing this?

Post by **FLXC90** » 28 Dec 2014, 17:35

Did you compare the old and new alternators? The length of the entire unit may be different. Can you post a photo?

T64me · Post by **T64me** » 28 Dec 2014, 18:05

Let's see if this works. It's a video I uploaded to Dropbox:

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/h4pzcc1drx69 ... _aJtUdP7xa

Post by **shaker_chi** » 28 Dec 2014, 18:23

Have you measured the distance between the original and the new one? What brand is the new one? I'm guessing it's Autozone's house brand, if it is, I strongly swapping it out for a Bosch. Also, you may be able to remove the pulley from the original and swap into the replacement.

Post by **tryingbe** » 28 Dec 2014, 19:46

Sorry to say, but it seems the alternator have the wrong pulley on. You'll have to take it back to autozone to get an exchange.

T64me · Post by **T64me** » 28 Dec 2014, 21:11

I think I may have found my issue... I looked at the original alternator again and noticed this bushing that is pressed into it:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vgv96sk6zazll ... 0.jpg?dl=0

Of course I can't see if the bushing is on the new alternator as it is installed on the car. Now I have to pull the alternator and start all over again... Lesson learned, again, that you need to really look closely at replacement parts BEFORE you install them.

Post by **FLXC90** » 28 Dec 2014, 21:29

At least you found it before anything got damaged. Get in touch with the AZ store to ensure they don't ship out your core until you can show them the mismatch.

T64me · Post by **T64me** » 29 Dec 2014, 07:50

That is the other lesson learned. Never give up the core until the new unit is in the car working properly. At least I did that in this case.

Post by **cn90** » 29 Dec 2014, 08:54

You are lucky, sometimes the serpentine belt jumps the pulley and get tangled behind the crank pulley ---> into timing belt compartment ---> engine trashed.

So, when it comes to the integrity of the serpentine belt system, always buy the correct belt, correct tensioner, correct alternator (compare new vs old before installing).

PS: You are correct, always look at "new" part and compare with "old" before installation. It will save hours of frustration. The quality of rebuild alternators these days is bad.