Alternator issues

[DJmk5]

Hey guys,

I had posted this in with my intro post but I guess nobody really checks the newbies corner, haha.

Last week when I left for work I noticed an odd smell and noise coming from the car. Opened up the hood to find my alternator pulley had exploded and made a mess of my engine bay, haha. The smell was the rubber belt burning and throwing rubber around.
I lurked the forum and found out this isn't exactly an uncommon issue on the model and went ahead and ordered a new belt and pulley, along with the 33 spline socket tool to get the job done, from online.





Jump forward to yesterday and the parts turned up but I had to go into hospital for some minor surgery which was gonna have me out of action for the week, so I booked a mobile mechanic for today to come swap the old pulley out for me and fit the belt.
New mechanic has advised me that it's more than likely the alternator was damaged internally once the pulley started to go and I'd be up for a new alternator as well as a new idle pulley since there's a fair bit of belt residue on the one in the car. Fun afternoon, right?

Just after some advice, should I be buying a new alternator completely or go ahead with replacing just the pulley, belt, and tensioner?

Cheers


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[asa572]

The clutch pulleys on the alternators go all the time.
Just replace the pulley, tensioner pulley and belt, the alternator will probably be fine.
He's probably just trying to make some extra bucks from you.

[DJmk5]

Alternator issues

The clutch pulleys on the alternators go all the time.
Just replace the pulley, tensioner pulley and belt, the alternator will probably be fine.
He's probably just trying to make some extra bucks from you.

Thanks for the advice mate, will do!


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[Umai Naa!!]

Yeah, I'd take a punt on it too.

[jets]

I had a slight noise on start up [2.0 TDI] back in January from the alternator pulley. Like you, I ordered the 33 tooth spline bit & new pulley & before I could get round to changing it [just had major surgery] the noise has stopped. Looks like I should keep a very close eye on it before it causes the damage you have experienced.
Here's my posting.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/f15/our-mk5-golf-now-10-years-old-111465.html

[DJmk5]

I had a slight noise on start up [2.0 TDI] back in January from the alternator pulley. Like you, I ordered the 33 tooth spline bit & new pulley & before I could get round to changing it [just had major surgery] the noise has stopped. Looks like I should keep a very close eye on it before it causes the damage you have experienced.
Here's my posting.
http://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/...ld-111465.html

Good to hear yours fixed itself up for the time being! Mine was the same as yours a couple of months ago, just on startup and went away after a week or so. I thought nothing of it at the time, just cold mornings I guess. Came back about 4 days before this happened, haha. So keep an eye/ear out and maybe change it before it gets to that point!


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[Ryeman]

I would think if the old pulley was 'working' prior to failure you could expect some damage to the splines which, I would think, bring on another failure due to a return to 'working' immediately.
I would be taking a very close look at the splines before making any decision unless you're into gambling.

[jets]

I would think if the old pulley was 'working' prior to failure you could expect some damage to the splines

The splines are in the pulley that is thrown in the bin. The only reason for the splines is you can hold the assembly[with the special tool] while you remove & install the centre screw.

[jets]

Mine was the same as yours a couple of months ago,

How many klms on your car?

[DJmk5]

How many klms on your car?

154,000km ticked over a few days before she went bust, I bought the car at 148k and noticed the noise the first time around at what I guess would have been ~150k


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[Ryeman]

The splines are in the pulley that is thrown in the bin. The only reason for the splines is you can hold the assembly[with the special tool] while you remove & install the centre screw.

Ok, so the pulley has both male and female splines?.

[DJmk5]

Ok, so the pulley has both male and female splines?.

Jets can correct me if I'm wrong, but to the best of my knowledge there are two female splines as part of the pulley assembly. The 33 tooth one is used to stop the alternator from spinning while undoing the inner bolt that holds the pulley itself in place.
Like so:



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[asa572]

The pulley itself screws onto the alternator shaft.
The 33 tooth bit screws the pulley off while the double square bit holds the shaft or vise versa.

[DJmk5]

The pulley itself screws onto the alternator shaft.
The 33 tooth bit screws the pulley off while the double square bit holds the shaft or vise versa.

Thanks for clarifying!
Will be tackling this first thing in the morning and will let you guys know how I get on.


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[DJmk5]

Just got her all buttoned up and went for a test drive, all is well and no more noises! Fault lights have disappeared too.
Once I got the right tools in hand it was a quick and easy job, took all of 5 minutes to swap out pulley and refit the new belt. Little longer to take off wheel and inner guard too.
I was working under the impression that the centre bolt was a T50 Torx bit at first and kept having troubles with it slipping, upon closer inspection it was a size 10 spline bit, had no issues once that was in there.
Good to have the ole girl back on the road!


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