How do I know how much tension to put on my new alternator belt? (95 Legacy OBW) It would be way easy to overtighten it.

Tighten it so that "moderate" pressure will deflect it about an inch. If it squeals and screems on cold mornings, tighten it a bit more...

How do I know how much tension to put on my new alternator belt? (95 Legacy OBW) It would be way easy to overtighten it.

 

Best way to minimise bearing wear.

 

While you're tighting the belts, you should be able to twist the bolt halfway easily (not hard/too much force), if you can't that means its too tight, if you are able to twist it more than halfway its too loose.

 

That what I do with my EJ22.

Cheers

AP

 

NB - if it squeals in the cold startup but goes away during warm up is a sign of worn bearing.

I had to put it back together last night, so I tightened it so it deflected about 3/4". It occasionally had a light squeel, so I tightened it a tiny bit more. Squeel gone. Thanks for the input.

The "deflection" method is affected by the distance between pulleys. I know on my 97 OB, the distance between any of the pulleys is not that great. 1/2" deflection with moderate pressure on the belt was closer to correct for me. I still had to tighten a hint after that to get rid of a little start up squeal. It seems quite tight to me, but still was not as tight as the mechanic had done it to after my engine work a few years back.

 

Commuter

I think the Haynes manual recommends that a firm push with the thumb deflect a drivebelt about a quarter inch. Of course, a firm push for one person might not be the same amount of force for another, so as you can see there is definitely a grey area for drivebelt tension. I've gone with the Haynes method and have had no problems.

I use the Setright method.

 

Usually I'll turn all the lights on, blower on high, rear defrost on, illuminate the rear stop lamps, then I'll blip the throttle a little. I'll tighten maybe just a quarter turn past the point where the sqealing stops.

 

A new belt will stretch a bit to where you might have to re-adjust after 3 days, then a third time after several weeks.