When I bought my '96 850 it had a new bosch alternator. Everything was working okay. When I replaced the serpentine belt with a new one I discovered that the alternator pulley was misaligned.

The newer serpentine belts are made of a different compound that is less forgiving of misaligned pulleys and consequently the new belt is pretty chewed up. There is only about half the width of the belt left.

Before I wade into this and spend $90 on a new belt I want to find out why the alternator is not lined up properly. I checked with the local auto parts store and they confirm that the bosch alternator is the correct one. The pulley was swapped over from the original alternator so it's correct also.

I've looked over all the info on changing the alternator and there doesn't seem to be any way to screw it up like this.

Any body have an idea on what went wrong when the alternator was changed? Is there a method to adjust the alignment of the pulley? I've never read or heard of this anywhere else.

Any help is appreciated

Thanks.

 

Picture?

 

On it's way.

Thanks

 

Here's a photo.

The top pulley is the power steering pump, the middle is the alternator, and the bottom is the A/C.

The left side of the belt is unscathed and still a straight edge. The right side of the belt is not straight due to the misalignment chewing the belt up. Chunks of rubber flying everywhere, a real mess.

Any ideas? Does the pulley on the alternator look like it's the correct one, and put on the right way as opposed to being put on backwards?

 

There's something under your pulley that doesn't belong there. Is that an extra shim?

 

I wondered about that but had no other photos for reference.

Does the pulley on other 850 alternators not look like that?

Is it possible to shim a pulley like that? I've never heard or seen it done. (Not saying it couldn't happen though.)

I'm starting to think I'm going to have to remove the belt and the pulley to see what's going on. Arrrgh! this is why I work on my vehicles myself. That, and because I'm cheap.

Thanks