It feels like I barely have room for my hands in the space and if I do get my hands in there my fingers are crammed up and I can't twist the bolt. Also I can't see so I haven't been able to align the bolt into place in the alternator. Any tips?

Also am taking the suggestion of installing a 100 amp alternator and it just barely (with some rough shoving over the grooves) had enough room to slip the serpentine belt on. Was that appropriate? Or was I supposed to get a longer belt?

 

Hello,

The square piece on the bottom of the bolt you pictured is supposed to be belted through the other ear in the alternator, which can be tricky to do, otherwise there won't be any tension, and that is why the tensioning sits so low that you can barely reach it.

The pulley is bigger on that alternator, hence why the belt felt tighter, but as long as you managed to get it on with no issues, there is no need to look for a different one, just make sure not to make it too tight.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

 

Yeah - getting the bolt through the square piece to the other part is really hard and the thing I'm having trouble with. I can barely fit my hand in there (with it being crushed and bruised), but having a tough time slotting it through the block, the bracket gape, and then the ear of the alternator. Any suggestions?

 

I remember it posing some challenge, but not nearly as much as what you have.. Did you compare the old and new alternator in terms of mounting spots to see if they are the same? That could be a source of issues you have.

Other thing you can do is get yourself a telescoping mirror like this and see how the holes line up.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

 

Thanks. The biggest issue is just that I can't get my hand in the space too well. I have to jam it in to finger tighten. How did you do it?

 

I don't have any easy advice for you, I don't remember it being as big of an issue, either you are doing something wrong, or the alternator mounting points don't fit quite right. Use a mirror to see where you are at, you can also try bolting the block to the alternator first, maybe...?

Hope this helps and best of luck!

 

Did you get this done... I have been watching the hurricane for several days and did not see this post.. I have a few pictures that may help if you still need it.. I would just mark up the pictures and send them - but at my age all these different photo editing software packages are not all that familiar. We have some rain now but if you are still in a bind let me know and I will try to help Since Lexanna is a '95, we should have very similar setups..

 

Just thought of it, you need to take the belt off before you can insert the bolt, and only then put the belt back on, that will give you a lot more swing.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

 

No, not yet. I'd really appreciate the pictures. I am installing the 100 amp alternator from a 2000 Lexus RX300 so maybe that's causing the less space (but I think you and Arsenii had both mentioned you both did the 100 amp too).

My biggest issue is really that I can't comfortably fit my hand in between the space to finger tighten the tensioning bolt. I got an electric ratchet so hoping that will make it a lot easier.

 

Thanks. Yeah I think I did that (have the belt off). Still tough - can't quite fit my hand in there (really gets all cut up and bruised and I still can't really finger tighten). Got an electric ratchet so hopefully that will work.

 

Here are the pics.... some are dups but the last one(?) with the edit lines shows the tensioner bolt (green) the lock down bolt (?) and a bolt that I never even touched. (Orange arrow (going the wrong way)) It looks like you have yours set up differently.. On my pics the block (with red paint Not edited) sits on the horizontal plane and the tensioner bolt is ABOVE it. The lock down bolt must be a little loose so you can adjust the belt. Once the belt is set , then tighten the one with red edit.. I showed the socket wrench on two to show how I got to the nuts..
This all sounds good to me... but I know what I am trying to say... Let me know if you want more info.. I thought the pictures would show the file number for reference but did not.

The lock down bolt (red edit) goes thru part of the bracket and then threads into the alternator Once tight it holds it in place

 

Thanks. I think tip was pretty helpful. However, getting the belt back on after the bolts were lightly tightened was quite challenging. Had to force over the grooves of the belt.

 

Thanks, I actually tried it again today just adhoc and it turned out not as difficult as the first time. Took about 5 minutes to get the bolt and block you had circled in red on.

Final verdict (just recapping), started it with the pivot bolt tightened on, and serpentine belt off.

Ziptied through the hole where the tensioning bolt goes (because first time I attempted I kept dropping it when I attempted to use one hand to position it, and the other to finger tighten). With the zip tie I could lower it into position easily (my positioning hand itself was too big), and then I felt my way around until I could touch the bolt to the alternator. Finger tightened it enough to not come loose, used a paper clip to undo the zip ties (but you could also cut them if you wanted), and tightened on the tensioning bolt.

Getting the serpentine belt back on took a little muscle though (had to force the grooves of the belt over).