General: Flapping belt

[ltec]

Originally Posted by minstrelblue

They replaced the whole alternator. It was the original and 12 years old so I thought it was best. But to be honest they didn't offer to swap the pulley so for peace of mind I swapped it for a new one.. it's cured the belt issue and I checked the old pulley against the new one and felt how the old one had locked up where the new one you can reverse the pulley if you twist it . Hope this helps. He said the only things that cause this issue is a locked pulley or a tensioner .in my case it was the pulley.

I think it was a lot of money wasted. A new pulley should be about £30. If he fitted a genuine alternator it would have been quite expensive and i wouldn't fit an aftermarket alternator on any car as as they can give trouble.
I'm glad you got it fixed but I disagree with throwing a good alternator away for no reason when it was a £30 part.
Keep your old alternator.

[minstrelblue]

That was changed when I had the cambelt changed . I was told it was a prudent move to change it with the new belt so I did. The cambelt and water pump was done 3 yrs ago and the serpentine belt and tensioner 2 yrs ago. So with the seized pulley alternator gone and renewed I have some peace of mind that I've done all I can to limit the chance of a catastrophic belt fail. Fingers crossed.the alternator was a Bosch one and I have a suspicion it was a reconditioned one as the fitters were very cagey and seemed in a rush to get it tucked in the engine bay and was a bit miffed when I wanted to inspect it. I asked about my old one and was told it was necessary to part exchange them. I don't know how they do business but I suspect it wasn't a factory fresh one, not being a mechanic I'm afraid I like many others I'm susceptible to being bull****ted.

[minstrelblue]

This is a very good video that shows exactly what was the cause
https://youtu.be/9beaAjKLBnY