Bongo Fury

I replaced all the belts in the summer - got the alternator/aircon belts through shop. I have just tightened the alternator belts for the third time. As you know it is very easy and can be done in minutes. 99% of the noise has gone but turing the lights/headlights on starts this annoying twittering like noise. I am assuming it's the alternator belts as the noise comes in when the load on the alternator is increased (twin battery type). The belts were of the toothed type but as you know our pullies are V type. I suspect that the belts are slowly being shaped to accommodate the pully's. My concern is will the belts ultimately cope - belts beaking or comming adrift in themselves are a reality but its the consequence that worries me. Has anyone who fitted these belts had simiar issues?

are you sure its them not the a/c belt

You should not need to adjust the belts as often as that, it would be worthwhile checking the profile of the belts and the pulleys, the fact that when you tighten the belt you get the noise I would have a wee inspection of the alt/jockey bearings and water pump.

there are 2 spacers inside the alternator bottom mounting pivot, they are top hat shaped,they have to be fitted correctly, if they are fitted wrong or even left out the alternator can sit out of line by about 5mm, worth a check maybe.

Sorry to say I bought alternator & a/c belts from the shop a while back & they became squeaky after only a few months so I ordered some from Mazda & so far they have been fine after being on there for a few years. However I am thinking that a lot of these issues are due to lack of regular use so the pulleys can become slightly rusty.

If you squirt a small amount of WD40 on to the belt edge in contact with the pulley whilst the engine is running this will silence the belt

winchman wrote:If you squirt a small amount of WD40 on to the belt edge in contact with the pulley whilst the engine is running this will silence the belt

For a short while. It relieves the symptoms not the cause.

Alacrity wrote:

winchman wrote:If you squirt a small amount of WD40 on to the belt edge in contact with the pulley whilst the engine is running this will silence the belt

For a short while. It relieves the symptoms not the cause.

The idea is it tells you for certain which one is noisy

A squirt of water from a squeezie bottle or an old Mr Muscle trigger spray will do the job and avoids getting oil in places where you don't want it.

amgoing to clean the belts in situ -- see if that helps as they have had a bit of wd40

Just out of curiosity the belts you sourced from Mazda were they toothed or V?

Vee I think from memory - they were correct I know that! I just ordered on chassis no