Belt doesn’t seem to be aligned?

[AZtopdownZ3]

Hi everyone! New here and first post. I recently purchased a 2001 Z3 Roadster and I replaced both tensioner pulleys but now for some reason the idler pulley sits out a bit further than where the belt goes over the alternator. I double checked everything and can’t figure out for the life of me why this is. The idler pulley is locked in snug (including the small notch on the outside). This also has caused a loud and rapid tapping noise while running which I’m sure is because the belt is a bit off centered due to the idler. I can’t remember if the idler pulley didn’t sit flush or not before I replaced the 2 tensioners. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Althulas]

From you picture the pulley does not look to be sitting square. Did you remove the alternator? Just thinking if there were spacers with the bolts or something but something looks out. Might be worth seeing if there are any YouTube vids replacing those pulleys and belts and have another look tomorrow.

 

[AZtopdownZ3]

From you picture the pulley does not look to be sitting square. Did you remove the alternator? Just thinking if there were spacers with the bolts or something but something looks out. Might be worth seeing if there are any YouTube vids replacing those pulleys and belts and have another look tomorrow.

yeah, I think the best route to go is take everything back off and make sure it was all installed properly. I did take the alternator off to replace the oil filter housing gasket but I had this issue before I ever did so I’m not sure. Hopefully I can figure it out today and I’ll return to let you know if I found the issue. Thx for your reply

 

[t-tony]

Unlikely to be the alternator running out of line. Much more likely to be the idler or tensioner. I would also take it all off and start again. First take the belt off the pulleys and place a straight edge (ruler) across the face of the pulleys and it should show if it's out of line quite easily. Desert, or is it Mountain time, means you're 6 or is it 7 hours behind us so you might not get a reply till tomorrow.

Tony.

 

[AZtopdownZ3]

Unlikely to be the alternator running out of line. Much more likely to be the idler or tensioner. I would also take it all off and start again. First take the belt off the pulleys and place a straight edge (ruler) across the face of the pulleys and it should show if it's out of line quite easily. Desert, or is it Mountain time, means you're 6 or is it 7 hours behind us so you might not get a reply till tomorrow.

Tony.

great tip with the ruler. I will go out to the garage right now to work on it and report this evening. Thanks!

 

[AZtopdownZ3]

So I took the fan and belt off so I could get a better look and everything seems fine. Hopefully this picture shows my issue better. All of the other pulleys are lined up perfectly with one another… the alternator pulley is the only one off and it’s a centimeter or two closer towards the engine which I’m 99% sure is causing the issue but I’m just not sure how it wouldn’t be aligned perfectly with everything else.. hmmm…

 

[t-tony]

The only thing which could throw the Alt. off line is if the Oil filter housing isn't located correctly again unlikely. What I would do next, if you still have it, is refit the old tensioner and see if the belt runs true with that.

Tony.

 

[ExMX5owner]

Your actual pully seems to be a lot closer to the alternator body than mine, obviosly that would cause it..Is it posible the alternator is not original..or the pully has moved on the shaft, maybe way off with that, but yours does look a lot different from mine..

 

[AZtopdownZ3]

Your actual pully seems to be a lot closer to the alternator body than mine, obviosly that would cause it..Is it posible the alternator is not original..or the pully has moved on the shaft, maybe way off with that, but yours does look a lot different from mine..

View attachment 252517

hmm that is weird, my alternator pulley does seem to be close to the alternator than yours. I think mine is OEM, it doesn’t look like it’s been replaced so I’m not sure the answer to that. I just bought it about a month ago but it was all aligned properly and the belt worked properly before I replaced the tensioners.

 

[ExMX5owner]

hmm that is weird, my alternator pulley does seem to be close to the alternator than yours. I think mine is OEM, it doesn’t look like it’s been replaced so I’m not sure the answer to that. I just bought it about a month ago but it was all aligned properly and the belt worked properly before I replaced the tensioners.

Just a thought, I noticed it straight away. as to if alternator / tensioner setups vary significantly over models as close as ours are , is something I am unsure of. Mines late 99 2.0 52TU. Good luck with it, I'll be curious to see what the issue is... Maybe there is a mis-match somewhere is my TCW.