Altenator

[chasharman]

I have just done something silly. About two weeks ago I lost the charge on my battery, checked the fan belts and they were a little slack. I tightened them and decided to order new ones from Milners. They arrived and instead of waiting for a nice sunny day to do the job I decided to change the belts at 9pm on a cold night, on the street, with only a street lamp for light. When i went to tighten everything up again, I was so cold and p****d off that I must have forgoten to tighten the bottom pinch bolt on the altenator.
This morning after arriving at work the engine made a funny noise and the timing belt light came on. After calming down and plucking up he courage to pop the hood. I found the altenator collapsed with the clamp bolt sheared, the one beside the adjusting push bolt. The bottom bolt must hsve worked itself free and put too much strain on the clamp bolt.

Just thought you guys could benifit from my stupidity..... ALWAYS remember to tighten the bottom pinch bolt after adjusting altenator/fan belts.

[NiftyNev]

Had a similar thing happen to me. I had not touched the alternator at all and just discovered one day while doing a timing belt change that something was not right. Everything still worked and no noises at all. The bottom pivot bolt was half way out which allowed the alternator to move around slightly which caused the lock bolt to shear off. This must have been like this since the day I bought it. So yes always check this bolt is tightened after adjustment.

Nev