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It's a little tight to get to the PS belt tensioner adjustment, but not that bad. It is MUCH easier if you have the engine fan taken off (4 bolts). I mean, MUCH easier. Either that or the turbo hoses. Either way you'll save yourself a lot of trouble. It's locked by a 13mm (or 12, can't remember offhand) on the front sidee, and the adjuster faces the right side of the car and can be accessed a couple of ways. Use extensions or whatever you need to get in there, but it really isn't that hard.
You can reach up from below, but that's not that easy because you have to go over the PS pulley to get there.
My philosophy on belts is to run them as LOOSE as possible without sacrificing their job which is to drive the accessory. That means, if the alternator will run well without squealing or losing it's capacity because of a sliding belt, then it's good enough. I tension the AC belt on 700s pretty tight, but the compressor bearings are more likely to handle the increased pressure. Also the belt is much heavier duty, and is meant to drive a heavier accessory. The PS belt is also the water pump belt, so it has to be tensioned appropriately, but not overtightened. That's not a good belt to be slipping, but if you overdo it, the water pump bearings will get ratty faster than normal.
The alternator belt should deflect maybe 1/2 inch in the middle. But again, enough to drive the alternator under full electronic load in temperature extremes when belts often slip.
I retighten belts after a few days of driving (for me 200 miles or so). If you retighten once, you should be able to get away without doing it again.
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Chris Herbst, near Chicago, IL. 93 940, 91 240, 90 240, 88 740, 87 240
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