Depending on the vehicle configuration, there may be several options for installing and laying auxiliary drive belts.
The stable operation of the engine largely depends on the condition of the drive belts of the auxiliary units.
Check the condition of the drive belts in the following order:
- raise the front of the car and put it on stands;
- remove the protective pallet of the engine compartment and the protective casing from under the right wing;
- highlighting with a portable lamp, inspect the belts for cracks, delaminations, swelling and excessive wear. While inspecting, turn the crankshaft pulley bolt with a suitable wrench or socket. On the pulleys of the units there should be no cracks, burrs, distortions and corrosion. Scuffs on the side surface of the belt indicate misalignment of the axes of the pulleys.
If any damage is found, the belt must be replaced.
Belt tension is checked with a special device. Its reading for the alternator drive belt should be (101±6) units and for the power steering pump drive belt (106±6) units.
In the absence of the mentioned device, you can check the tension of the belt by pressing on it with your thumb and determining the degree of its deflection with a ruler. rule «thumb» states that if the distance between the centers of the pulleys is from 180 to 280 mm, then the deflection should be 6 mm; if the distance between the centers of the pulleys is 300-400 mm, then the deflection should be 13 mm.
Replacing a belt with a tension roller:
Pic. 2.30. Auxiliary drive with idler pulley: 1 - crankshaft pulley; 2 - tension roller; 3 - generator pulley; 4 - tension roller adjusting device; 5 – a belt of a drive of the pump of the power steering; above - generator drive diagram
- loosen the bolt securing the idler pulley bracket to the engine (pic. 2.30);
- loosen the lock nut and unscrew the adjusting bolt of the tension roller so that the belt can be removed from the pulleys;
- install a new belt, carefully laying it in the pulley streams;
- adjust belt tension as above.
Pic. 2.31. Auxiliary drive with spring loaded roller: 1 - crankshaft pulley; 2 - spring-loaded roller; 3 – a pulley of the pump of the compressor of the conditioner; 4 – a pulley of the pump of the power steering
If a spring-loaded roller is used to tension the belt (pic. 2.31), then to loosen the belt, use a suitable wrench to turn the pulley clockwise and remove the belt from the pulleys.