I'm replacing all 4 belts on the front of the engine.
I thought I'd also do the alternator bushes while I'm at it, however I was stupid and didn't make a note of which way the bushes went in. After looking at a couple of YouTube videos, I think the thicker 'sleeve' of each bush should be on the inside of the bracket (see first photo) but if someone can confirm that be good.
Main issue is with tensioning the alternator belt. The tensioner above the alternator hits the fan pulley (see second photo). Additionally, when I adjust the 10mm tensioning bolt, it seems like the bolt is moving without actually adjusting the tension.

Any idea what I've done wrong?




Correct placement on the rubber bushes. Looking at the pic of the tensioner, until you screw the bolt in far enough that the head of the bolt rests on the bent over tab, it will not start pulling the alternator tight. Also, the large I think 13 mm nut needs to be a slight bit loose when you're tightening it up. I need to have a look but the orientation of the bracket looks OK?? Not sure why it's hitting the pulley. Did you put new rubber bushings in the bottom?
Here's a pic from interweb - looks same as your adjuster, but your screw is too loose obviously...


Also, depending on the belt length, if belts are too short it could cause the issue with adjuster hitting the pulley, but even in the interweb pic above it looks pretty close to hitting the pulley.
And you're not the only one who's had this problem!

Interesting, I was thinking that maybe the alternator had to go back a few mm, but maybe once I tension the belts, the adjuster will simply move away from the pulley.
(Don't know how I missed the fact that it went adjust until the adjuster bolt head hits the tab.)

I did replace the two rubber bushings at the bottom of the alternator, although in the end I had to remove one and put the old bushing back in, as it was physically impossible to get the alternator to fit between them (as the new ones are slightly thicker).

That last photo you posted is interesting, I wonder if their belt was just too loose or if they've made some mistake that I have too. If not, it seems like bad design on Volvo's part - it should be a fail-safe system to some degree, you'd hope.
@carnut222 after doing the adjustment rod up and adjusting the belt to the correct tension, and the adjuster has moved away from the pulley. So maybe that's all I needed to do. However the adjuster rod/bolt is now only ~1.5mm away from the pulley. Do you think that's too small a gap?
240;c-141418 wrote@carnut222 after doing the adjustment rod up and adjusting the belt to the correct tension, and the adjuster has moved away from the pulley. So maybe that's all I needed to do. However the adjuster rod/bolt is now only ~1.5mm away from the pulley. Do you think that's too small a gap?
It seems like a pretty small clearance, but looking at those other pics from the web I guess it’s fairly normal? I’ll have to have a look at my 3x 240s out in the shed once it warms up - too cold this morning! :)
If you do get a chance to check yours today that'd be great. I'm thinking it must just be how its designed (although if I tighten the belt any more than I have it at the moment, the bolt 'rotates' more and becomes less than 0.5mm from the pulley!).
OK, I did a quick look at my 87 and my 91. On the 87 (first pic) the belts seem to be a bit longer, so the square threaded block sits farther outboard so away from the pulley.


On the 91, the square block sits farther inboard, so it's actually behind the water pump pulley, but there's about 2 mm clearance in the fore/aft direction. Not much but enough I guess. The nut to tighten the adjuster sits fairly close to the pulley too, but it's outboard and below a bit. Second pic. 3rd pic shows belt size on the 91. Hope that helps! If your lower bushes are not in good condition, then the whole alternator can skew a bit which would make things worse. Also, make sure there's no washer between your upper bracket mounting and the block mating surface. I assume your upper bracket is the one that has a large tube with a round flat "washer" welded to the back side of it, and the bolt goes through from the long side of the tube into the block. There may be a washer on the front side, but you shouldn't have anything between the bracket and the block mating surface. Also, the bracket should be perpendicular to the block - if it's bent forward at all it will reduce clearance to the pulley obviously. Hope that helps a bit.



Thanks.
Are the lower bushes on your cars oriented the same way as mine? All I can think of is if I reversed the rear lower bush so its lines on the outside of the bracket, and put some washers between the front bushing and the alternator, it would push the whole alternator towards the rear of the vehicle by about 4 mm and, by extension, the belt adjuster. (Sorry if I haven't explained that very well!)
240;c-141430 wroteThanks.
Are the lower bushes on your cars oriented the same way as mine? All I can think of is if I reversed the rear lower bush so its lines on the outside of the bracket, and put some washers between the front bushing and the alternator, it would push the whole alternator towards the rear of the vehicle by about 4 mm and, by extension, the belt adjuster. (Sorry if I haven't explained that very well!)
I'll have to have another look at the lower bushes. How does the belt alignment look on yours? Are the belts in good alignment or does the alternator pulley look like it's pushing the belts a bit askew/forward relative to the water pump and crank pulley? Will go have a look at the lower bushes now and report back. May be hard to see anything though! :)
Relative to the water pump pulley I think the alternator pulley is sitting slightly further forward, but it's hard to tell, and there's not really a common point I can measure against.
Here's another one for you - my 93. Didn't think I could get a pic of it as I have stuff on the bonnet, but got from underneath.

OK, here's the lower bush pics. Note the 93 has a washer behind the front bushing. The others have no washers. The 93 did have a replacement engine fitted FWIW. The 87 had a bad oil leak from the front seals, now replaced. Embarrassing but it's only a paddock basher! ;)





Oh, and here's a 1981 bushing bracket. The alternator and upper adjuster are different on this though.

Interesting, your 93 definitely has more clearance than mine.
There was actually a washer with my lower alternator bushes, but I couldn't fit it in as the new bush was thicker.
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