Help! - Alternator Tension Pulley Bearing removal

As a follow up to my smoke from the engine compartment thread, I'm under the car, cut the AC belt and it is fairly obvious that the AC belt tension pulley bearing is bad. My question is how to properly remove it? I removed the nut and washer and the thing isn't coming off. I've used a small pry bar to try and pop it forward but it isn't moving. I don't want to bend or break anything. Anyone have any suggestions on how they removed it? Does the support bracket need to come out with it?

 

Error on my part. Its the alternator side not the AC. Anyway, here's the update. I worked the pulley back and forth some more with a small pry bar and it popped off. In the photo you can see the burn marks from where the belt was melted from the friction of rubbing on the seized pulley. Next I need to pop out the bearing and replace it.
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Bearing went on fairly easily but the belt is another story. After fabricating a tool out of a coat hanger, I was finally able to loop the belt around the water pump pulley, however after about an hour of futzing around attempting to get the belt around the tensioner, I gave up for the day. I have the tensioner pulley as loose at it can go and I still can't get the belt around it. Maybe the wrong sized belt? The original one appeared slightly larger but I thought the minimal difference could have been from stretching.

 

Anyone know how I can re-label this thread? AC tension bearing is incorrect and should be Alternator Tension Pulley bearing.


In any case, I have been struggling to get the belt over the newly installed pulley/bearing assembly. I notice that the belt that I was sent is 2mm smaller than the one that I took off. I don't know if that is enough to make a difference but I was having trouble getting the belt on.

Unfortunately this is where it took a wrong turn. In an attempt to loosen the pulley assembly as much as possible, I inadvertently snapped the adjustment screw in half. This now required me to pull the pulley assembly off and order a new adjustment screw. Both of my local dealers are out of stock so I ordered from Ricambi who, in turn needs to order from Ferrari in NJ. Not a big expense, less than $10 including the shipping, but it postpones completing the job and getting my car back on the road by another week.

Just an FYI for anyone who has not replaced the alternator belt before, the adjustment screw needs to be turned to the RIGHT to loosen the pulley, not the left (Rather counter intuitive for those of us used to loosening to the left) and when it starts to get snug make sure that you stop or you will end up with a broker screw.

 

The belt came from GT Car Parts and they insist that the 1250 belt that they sent me is the correct size. The 1252 must have been put on the last time it was replaced and whoever did the job went with a slightly larger belt to make it easier. Just goes to show that I should have pulled the number off the old part first.

 

As far as I can tell, once the pulley is on, I will have no access to the top #16 nut to re-tighten. Are you able to get a wrench in there with the pulley and the belt on?

 

Ok, new adjustment screw has come in and I'm back under the car fighting this belt. Does the alternator need to be removed? If I just remove the bottom alternator bolt with the spring on it will it pivot inward to allow the belt to slip on? Is this spring bolt going to give me problems?

Any other way to get this belt on without removing anything else?

I've rebuilt automatic transmissions that were less hassel than this simple belt. I can't wait for one of the hard repair jobs!

 

ok. After what has been about 8 hours and 2 weeks of waiting for parts, the new tensioner bearing, pulley and belt are back on the car. Removing the alternator did not seem like a good option to me. The lower bolt came off ok but the upper bolt was going to be another knuckle busting swear fest that I was not about to endure.

I was able to push up on the pulley and maneuver the pulley bolt enough back and forth to angle it and slowly work the belt up and the pulley on.

In the end after 8 hours, I'm not sure if the money saved and satisfaction of doing the job was worth the time spent. I'm a Ferrari novice but fairly competent with automotive work. To do it all over again on what should be a simple job I don't know if it was worth my time. Next time I'm sure I could do it faster (and I wouldn't bust the adjusting screw in the process) but for the time I just spent, it probably would have been more effective to have brought it to a competent shop and had it back in a few hours.

One last question for the brain trust. I don't have any kind of belt tension gauge. Is there a good rule of thumb or visual clue as to the proper tension for the belt? I'm not looking to do this all over again anytime soon.