I noticed that when I grab the Fan to try to turn the engine, the belt doesn't' move and the fan pulley just spins.. I suspect the belt is loose and needs to be tightened, but not exactly sure how to do this. Anyone have have a tip?
Is it a generator or alternator? If a generator tighten belt till there is 1.5" of travel or .75 each direction. If an alternator tighten to where plucking the belt gives a "C" sharp.
You need to loosen not only the adjuster pinch bolt on the top front ear of the generator but the lower two bolts holding the generator to it's bracket . Don't forget to re tighten them all ! . It doesn't need to be very tight .
FWIW, you should be able to turn the generator's fan by hand with difficulty ~ if the belt is new and clean enough it might well squeak when you do so . Too tight will cause generator bearing failure, another thing you can fix at home . pushing with your thumb in the center or the longest run of the belt bewtween pulleys should yield a 1/2" deflection . Remember : the age of the belt has much to do with how much it flexes as does having the same size pulley sheaves on all three pulleys, not a given thing after 50 + years .
