Installing the alternator belt (or replacing the old belt with a new one) is simplest operation on any car, after a certain mileage, when the old belt wears out or breaks. However, many novice drivers are not yet able to do this on their own and turn to a car service center for this. However, it should be borne in mind that the belt may break along the way, and yet it is advisable for any driver to carry a spare belt with him (especially in long trip) and be able to correctly replace and tension the belt yourself. This will be described in detail in this article.

If the belt is still intact, but charging from some other device has disappeared, or the relay-regulator has failed (how to check the regulator), then you can still get home even if faulty relay regulator and not to discharge the battery, but how to do this on the road and with what help, .

If the belt breaks and there is no spare one, you should turn off the headlights and other consumers and get to the nearest store as quickly as possible (to buy a new belt) on energy battery. However, it is better not to let the belt get to such a state that it may break and replace it in time.

In addition, even a intact but worn belt should be tightened more tightly to prevent it from slipping, and excessive belt tension will quickly cause the generator to fail. Therefore, you should change the belt on time and tension it correctly, but more on this below.

Installing the alternator belt of domestic cars .

to install new belt generator, regardless of whether you still have the old belt, or it has torn and fallen off, you still need to unscrew nut 4 (see Figure 3 just below). This nut 4 fixes the position of the generator relative to the tension bar 3. And when nut 4 is released, shifting the generator to the left will weaken the tension of the generator belt, and when shifting the generator to the right, the belt tension will increase.

Checking the tension of the generator belt.

Having unscrewed nut 4, we move the generator to the left along the tension bar, thereby loosening the tension of the old belt and removing it from the drive pulleys. Next, we put a new belt on the pulleys (on the crankshaft drive pulley and on the driven generator pulley) and move the generator to the right of the engine (for this you can use a suitable lever - a pry bar, but on more recent machines there is a special bolt for moving the generator and tensioning the belt - it is shown in the video under the article) tension the belt and tighten the nut 4.

After this, you should check the belt tension and if the tension is too strong, then by releasing nut 4, we shift the generator a few millimeters to the left (you can put marks on bar 3), and if the tension is insufficient, then we shift the generator to the right, increasing the tension.

Accurately checking the tension of any belt (both timing belt and alternator belt) is very important, since taut belt the generator rotor bearings will be overloaded and they will quickly fail. And if the generator belt is not tensioned enough, it will periodically slip (with an increase in the number of electrical consumers - that is, the load on the generator) and the belt will quickly wear out, and problems with charging the battery may arise.

Precise control of the tension of any belt is carried out using a special device, described in detail in. But not every driver or repairman, especially a beginner, has such a device. This means we use more affordable way checking the belt tension, namely using a spring scale (bismen) which is designed for a weight of at least 10 kilograms and which will be used as a dynamometer (a device that measures tension or stretching).

To use the scales, we hook their hook to the belt (it is useful to put a piece of rubber tube on the hook) and begin to tension the belt until the scales show a force of 10 kgf (or 98 N on an imported dynamometer).

In this case, the belt deflection, shown by the letter A in the figure above, or shown by the yellow arrows in the photo on the left, should be within 10 - 15 mm.

After adjusting the belt tension, it is useful to turn the engine crankshaft a few revolutions and double-check the belt tension again.

Installing the alternator belt on some foreign cars.

Installing or replacing the alternator belt on some modern imported cars, a more difficult task for beginners, since in some designs modern engines, the alternator belt is located under another belt, for example under the drive belt (pump), or under the pump drive belt - see photo on the left.

And of course, in order to be able to replace a worn alternator belt, you must first remove the outer belt, and after that we change the alternator drive belt. Next, install the outer pump drive belt or. Usually two belts are changed at once, since their service life is approximately the same.

Naturally, after replacing both belts, you should also check correct tension on both belts. This, of course, takes more time, but you have to pay something for the comfort of foreign cars. With our older cars everything is much simpler, they are easy to maintain and repair, but the comfort is also worse (for example, there are no hydraulics).

After replacing the belt, you should take into account that after a few hundred miles it will stretch a little and should be rechecked and tightened again. If this is done in time, the belt resource will be much longer.

That seems to be all, and as can be seen from what is described above, installing an alternator belt or replacing an alternator belt is not such a difficult operation even for beginners, good luck to everyone.

The alternator belt on classic cars, such as the VAZ 2106, runs for quite a long time and can travel more than 80,000 km without replacement, which has been tested on personal experience. But at a certain time it will still have to be changed, since the material from which it is made is far from eternal and will crack and wear out over time. Below is a list of the necessary keys, both for replacing and for tensioning the alternator belt on a VAZ 2106.

• Open-end wrench 17
• Open-end or socket wrench 19

Now let's look at both of these procedures in more detail.

How to replace the alternator belt

In order to perform this procedure, it is necessary to unscrew the upper bolt of the generator, which acts as a tensioner.

There is no need to unscrew it completely, just make a couple of turns of the nut to loosen the tension. Next, you need to crawl under the car and loosen the fastening nut from the bottom; you can first spray it with penetrating lubricant:

Once the lower fastening is loosened, you can begin further actions. Now we take our hand top nut generator and try to move it to right side, thereby reducing the tension to a minimum.

Now take a look at the photo below. It is in this situation top mount generator relative to the tensioner, the belt is quite easily removed from the pulleys:

We make sure that the belt is sufficiently loosened and remove it from the pump pulley (water pump) of the VAZ 2106:

Now it can be easily removed from the remaining pulleys and after that you can immediately install a new one in the reverse order.

How to tighten or loosen the alternator belt on a VAZ 2106

Tensioning is quite simple. It is necessary to follow some steps that were described above, namely: loosen the upper and lower nuts securing the generator. Then we make adjustments: either tighten or loosen the belt. Again, this is all done using the tensioner top plate. If you need to tighten it more, then you need to move the generator itself to the left, and if, on the contrary, loosen it, then accordingly - to the right.

After completing this procedure, tighten both nuts to the required torque and check how correctly everything was done. We start the engine and turn on all electrical appliances:

If, when turning on powerful consumers of electricity, the belt begins to whistle, this indicates that it needs to be tightened a little more. If, on the contrary, you hear the hum of the generator bearing, then most likely the belt is too tight and needs to be loosened.

Hello, dear car enthusiasts! Civilization and services have spoiled us. And finding a car service center today is not difficult. However, any self-respecting driver needs to have the skills to repair common breakdowns in order not to be left, as they say, in the open...

If you are on the way, far from settlements If the alternator belt breaks, there is no need to wait for help. You need to get a set of tools and figure out the problem yourself.

In such a situation, only a spare alternator belt can help, which must be in any car, even a used one. Even an old belt is enough to get you home or to the nearest service station.

In search of a way out of a difficult situation when the alternator belt breaks and there is no spare one at hand, experienced drivers offer a variety of different ways. One of the most common items that are suitable for making a temporary generator belt is women's nylon stockings.

On auto forums you can find options for making a transmission from a leather trouser belt, rope, or rubber strip. If the engine is left without a belt, and there is no replacement for it, then it is better to ask for help from another driver who is moving in the same direction and can tow you to the nearest auto store or service center.

The alternator belt has broken - possible causes of failure

Replacing a broken belt with a new one, of course, will immediately allow you to operate the car. However, you should not hope that the problem will not arise again. Before installing the alternator belt, you should understand the reasons for the damage to the old one in order to eliminate the possibility of a recurrence of the malfunction.

The following reasons can lead to a rupture of the generator drive belt:

• natural wear of the belt due to operation beyond the established resource;
• using a defective belt;
• malfunction of pulleys, shafts, ;
• insufficient or excessive.

– this is far from an eternal detail. It must be replaced without waiting for a rupture, when the service life specified by the manufacturer has been exhausted. Sometimes low-quality belts significantly reduce the service life between replacements, but most often belts break due to malfunctions or incorrect settings of the transmission system itself.

The most simple circuit– these are two pulleys on shafts connected by a belt and a tensioning device. Even the slightest deviation of the pulley from the plane in which the belt operates leads to excessive heating and destruction of any part of the belt, which ultimately leads to its rupture.

Leads to the same consequences incorrect adjustment tension. If the tension is insufficient, when the generator belt slips without having a strong enough adhesion to the working surface of the pulley, it overheats, loses elasticity and breaks. In case of excessive tension, the reinforcing fibers gradually stretch and break.

How to install the alternator belt with your own hands?

If you have the opportunity to use the services of professionals, it will naturally be better if the alternator belt is installed in a service workshop. Specialists will be able to immediately diagnose and determine the cause of the breakdown and carry out high-quality repairs.

Absence nearby service center is not a reason to panic, because most car enthusiasts know how to change the alternator belt. Having completed the replacement procedure once on their own, many drivers refuse the services of car mechanics and make the replacement themselves in the future.

To do this, you need to have a standard set of auto tools and a new alternator belt.

Install the belt as follows:

• the protective covers are removed (if any), the battery is disconnected;
• the tension device is unscrewed and loosened;
• a new belt is put on, exactly according to the belt passage pattern;
• The belt is tensioned and covered with covers.

In specialized literature and on thematic websites you can find a lot of advice on how to install an alternator belt on an engine of a particular model. Do not neglect the manufacturer’s recommendations, especially regarding belt tension adjustment and operating rules.

Every driver has encountered the unpleasant moment of a belt breaking in the engine. Let's consider the possible points of replacement, what is needed for this and what the consequences are if you fail to replace the belt in time.

The content of the article:

The transmission belt is not an unimportant part in a car engine, since it transmits revolutions from one working mechanism to another mechanism. An example of such a mechanism could be a generator, power steering, most often they remember the belt, which is located in the gas distribution mechanism, otherwise called the timing belt.

The belt is often made from a special rubber-fabric composition. This is done so that it is elastic during operation, and strong due to the fibers. But not everything is eternal in our lives, which is why such mechanisms also tend to break down. If the belt breaks in any of the mechanisms, it is very noticeable, the car either stalls immediately or the traction disappears.

Alternator belt, how to change

Let's take the alternator belt first; even a novice car enthusiast can replace it, and this is the best moment to study the structure of the motor and try yourself as a mechanic. Before you start removing it, you need to make sure that it has definitely become unusable; the main signs are a characteristic whistle under load or when starting a cold one. In some cars, an indicator may indicate that the alternator belt has failed, but this is often thought out in foreign cars.

If the alternator belt is loose and you tighten it, then this will not last long, after a while the situation will repeat, so it is recommended to replace it with a new one as soon as possible. And so, the replacement of the belt itself begins with the fact that the tension should be loosened. To do this, unscrew the tensioner bolt nut. Often it is located near the generator and allows the generator to move freely in the direction of the belt. After the belt has loosened, remove it and replace it with a new belt, tighten it, but don’t do it too much either, since it will wear out much faster than it should.

I recommend making a mark in advance near the alternator tensioner, in which position it was originally, this will make it easier to determine and tension the belt to the desired position. To understand where the wear was, you can compare the new and old belt from the inside. This completes the replacement of the alternator belt.

How to change the power steering belt

In some models, the power steering and alternator belts are connected to one pulley, and it is inconvenient to change the first belt if it is interfered with by the alternator. If you are not so lucky, if you still find yourself in such a situation, then first we will remove the alternator belt, the procedure is described a little higher in this article. Then, in the same way, release the tension bolt on the power steering pump, loosen the belt, and remove it.

In such a situation, it is better to look at both belts, since both of them can fail you at the most inopportune moment. long journey. Now we install a new one for the power steering, tighten it to the pre-made mark, and do the same with the alternator belt. After such a replacement, it’s worth starting the engine and giving it a little load to listen to whether the power steering and alternator belts are whistling.

For safety reasons, as in any other case, it is advisable to carry out everything cold engine, since you will directly work with parts that quickly heat up from engine operation.

Changing the timing belt

The timing belt, or more precisely the timing belt, is considered the most important connecting link of the engine and needs to be monitored most often, since the consequences of its breakage can be very, very sad. We will try to tell and show why this is so. Often, the car manual strictly recommends changing it after a certain mileage, but not all car enthusiasts adhere to this rule, or even better, when they do not understand what they are talking about at all. Finding it under the hood is not difficult. Like other belts, it is made of rubber material, toothed from nutria, but unlike others, it is longer, since it wraps around several pulleys.

It cannot be said that it covers only the camshaft and crankshaft, it also passes along auxiliary units, but this depends on the make of the car. Alas, such universal work does not lead to good results, wear occurs much faster. Often a belt breaks simply because the driver neglected to replace it in time. Replacing the belt itself is not difficult process, but you can’t do it in 5 minutes either. Before proceeding with the replacement, preparatory work should be done.

Buy a belt in advance exactly for your make and model of car, they often say to fit your size, each belt has dimensions, these are width and length full turn. Then you need to put the crankshaft in the so-called position top dead the point where the first cylinder is at the very top. You can set it by turning the crankshaft starting handle, or by turning the old belt, in in rare cases It is possible to turn it manually, without aids.

We put markings on the belt, a mark on the crankshaft and the pulley; as soon as they match, you can safely replace the old timing belt with a new one. When replacing the timing belt, it will not be superfluous to also look at the seals of the crankshaft, camshaft, tension roller and water pump. Since they can also affect belt wear.

Price of a new belt and labor

The cost of the belt will depend primarily on the make of your car and the destination, for example, for a generator domestic car can cost 3-4 $, for a hydraulic booster somewhere around the same 3-4 $, but the timing belt will always be more expensive, since it is the main one in the engine, it will cost about 7 $.

Replacing a timing belt will cost from 3,500 rubles, a generator, air conditioning or power steering belt will cost from 350 rubles. The price does not include the price of the belt itself.

Majority modern cars have very high engine torque. This is especially visible in gasoline engines. Therefore, any break in such a belt will lead to engine failure in a split second.

Some car manufacturers provide for possible cases of timing belt breakage at any time, so in such engines they use special protective mechanisms; they protect the engine from getting mechanical damage when the belt breaks. From personal practice, I can say that in engines Opel car with a volume of 1.8 liters, when the belt breaks, the valves immediately bend, so they have experienced drivers are not in great demand, but with a volume of 2.0 liters they already have protection against such damage.

Thus, you can draw your own conclusions, even without knowing what and how it works. It is better to change the timing belt on time than to repair the engine floor later. As a result, I would like to say that everything must be done on time, otherwise the consequences will take both twice as long and twice as much money for repairs.

Video about replacing the timing belt:

For supply electrical systems car energy, each car has two power sources - a battery direct current and three-phase generator alternating current, equipped with a powerful rectifier bridge. But for the latter to start producing current, it must be made to spin. This is done with the engine running using crankshaft and a belt. Often the latter requires replacement.

Belt drive: advantages and disadvantages

The generator belt drive belongs to transmissions called flexible coupling. The drive includes two pulleys - the drive one is mounted on the end of the crankshaft, the driven one is mounted on the generator shaft, as well as a belt thrown over them. The transmission of torque is carried out due to friction forces.

Alternator Belt Types

Because various brands Since passenger cars have different types of engines, they use three types of alternator belts:

• wedge (in cross-section they have the shape of a trapezoid, are capable of transmitting significant forces, and can withstand large overloads);
• poly-wedge (wide, with longitudinal grooves, have reverse flexibility and are used to transmit rotation to several devices);
• gear (on inside have transverse grooves and are endowed with the ability to accurately maintain the gear ratio).

Separate belt drive powerful 3-phase generator modern passenger car is a poly-V belt consisting of many longitudinal V-shaped teeth located on the inside of a flat endless base. The main condition for stable operation of the generator belt is the mandatory presence tensioner. It can be a tension roller or the generator itself.

Polycline Belting has both advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages

• low weight and small thickness allow the belt to be used in engine drives with high speeds;
• increased reverse flexibility allows you to simultaneously transmit rotation to the hydraulic booster, water pump, generator, and air conditioning compressor;
• has increased resistance to cracking;
• protects the generator from shock and peak loads during engine starting and stopping;
• protects the generator from overload due to the belt slipping in the pulleys;
• stable transmission of torque with a significant distance between the crankshaft and generator pulleys;
• simplicity of design;
• smooth and silent operation;
• no type of lubrication required;
• low cost combined with for a long time services.

Flaws

• the ends of the shafts with pulleys and support bearings are under the influence of considerable forces arising from strong tension;
• when heavy loads occur, severe wear of the side surfaces is observed due to slipping;
• service life depends on correct tension;
• the mechanism cannot operate normally if oil gets on it, so protection from any type of lubricant is required.

Design and material of the alternator belt

The V-belt consists of 5 layers

The product must have the following characteristics:

• high strength under significant load fluctuations;
• good wear resistance;
• maximum coefficient of adhesion to the working surfaces of the pulleys;
• be flexible but tough.

The poly V-belt consists of the following layers

The generator drive is made in the form of an endless flat belt, on inner surface which has wedge-shaped longitudinal ribs. This design allows you to combine the elasticity of a flat surface with increased adhesion force. V-belt. The base is a cord reinforced layer of synthetic cords covered with rubberized fabric made of high-strength rubber. This design is practically not subject to stretching.

When to change the alternator belt

Modern technologies make it possible to make a generator belt so durable that it can operate without failure for a long time - several tens of thousands of miles. Many manufacturers set standards for mandatory replacement alternator belt 80–100 thousand kilometers. But control over the state of this important element generator drive must be. Simple practice: visual inspection to identify cracks and fraying of edges when a persistent whistle appears. Premature damage is caused by burrs and misalignment on the pulleys, as well as incorrect tension. A break will be indicated by two indicator lights. The first is about the lack of battery charging. The second is about a sharp increase in coolant temperature (for example, on a classic, the water pump and generator operate from one consumable).

What to do if it is torn

Broken alternator belt

If the belt breaks on the road and there is no spare, the situation will be quite serious. It is especially difficult at night. You can only move in tow with the engine turned off, which is very dangerous. If during the day, then you can drive a short distance on the battery, turning off all unnecessary sources of current consumption: lights, radio, stove, navigator and other devices. In a hopeless situation, you can try to use available means:

• cut the torn one in half lengthwise, fold the halves together and make a circle of the required length, wrap both halves with strong twine;
• a waist belt, the ends of which are fastened with wire;
• women's tights, tie the ends in a tight knot;
• strong rope, wrap the ends with strong twine;
• tourniquet from car camera, wrap the ends with twine or wire.

How to choose the right one

If the belt begins to break down from long-term operation or severe wear - it must be replaced immediately. Main criterion- length that can be found from the catalog, knowing Catalogue number details of this car brand and its equipment. For example, the length for the VAZ 2110–2112 brand is different models different:

• for 8 and 16 valve engines, including Priora, with minimal configuration- length is 742 mm;
• for 16 valve engine with hydraulic booster - 1115 mm;
• for models equipped with air conditioning - 1125 mm.

Marking is applied to the outside of the belt

The length can be determined from the markings that are applied to the outer surface. Recommended to buy original product the manufacturer whose products are used to complete the car on the assembly line.

Alternator Serpentine Belt Manufacturers

GATES alternator serpentine belt

American GATES Company and its products are the most famous among all manufacturers of ribbed belts. GATES spare parts are supplied to assembly lines passenger cars and trucks Italy, France, Germany, Sweden, Japan, Korea, USA and other countries. Her belts are high quality, durable, but quite expensive. This brand is most often counterfeited by unscrupulous manufacturers of low-quality consumables.

German Continenta company l is also well known for the quality of its products.

German Bosch company has an excellent reputation in the world for many products, including ribbed belts.

American DAYCO company occupies 2nd place in the belt market and supplies its products to assembly lines automobile concerns Italy, France, Germany and other countries. Original products DAYCO enjoys consumer trust not only among motorists European countries, but also in the USA, Asia, Africa.

PJSC "BalakovoRezinoTekhnika" - Russian manufacturer original rubber products for VAZ, GAZ and KamAZ conveyors. Its products for generators are readily purchased by owners of LADA, Volga, Gazelle and other domestic brands.

Do-it-yourself alternator belt replacement

An experienced driver always carries spare part the right size and type. It's easy to change it if you have it in stock. necessary tool and minimal plumbing skills.

Video: Replacing the belt and roller on Renault Megane 2

Procedure (replacement is made by engine not running And removed terminal battery) is as follows:

• provide access to the belt, which may require removal front wheel, engine splash guard, and for some brands - crankcase protection; injection engine it is necessary to remove the crankshaft position sensor;
• loosen the belt tension by loosening the bolt (or nut) of the tension roller or the generator itself;
• record in memory the location of the belt if it operates several devices at the same time;
• you need to remove the old belt from the very top pulley, then compare it with the new one - they should be identical (there should be no discrepancy in profile and length);
• find out the cause of the belt damage and eliminate it;
• To put the new belt in place, you need to start with the crankshaft pulley, then throw it on the generator and lastly on the water pump; then you need to adjust the degree of tension (when pressing with a finger with a force of 10 kg, the sag should not exceed 10 mm);
• replace the battery terminal, start the engine and turn on the headlights, heater, air conditioner and other powerful current consumers (there should be no whistling, knocking, or noise; the headlights should shine evenly at any speed);
• Replace the parts that were removed initially.

Video: Checking and replacing engine assembly belts

Signs of an incorrect replacement

If the belt is overtightened, the load on the generator shaft bearings will increase and it will begin to slow down the shaft. The force to rotate the generator will increase, the load on crankshaft becomes larger, fuel consumption will increase.

If it is not fully tensioned, it will begin to slip and the generator will begin to rotate at lower speeds. Under heavy load, the spare part begins to whistle due to slipping. Getting rid of the whistle is easy - you just need to tighten the belt.

If it rotates on misaligned or bent pulleys, vibration occurs due to the beating of the pulley. She can also be called faulty bearings V tension roller or generator. A low-quality cheap belt can also vibrate when it begins to stick to the surface of the pulley. If the vibration is not eliminated, the consumable will break very quickly.

Video: Cold noise and belt vibration

Replacing the alternator belt yourself is not a difficult task, doable even for a novice car enthusiast. If everything is done in a timely manner, slowly, and carefully, there should be no harmful consequences for the car.