Alternator belt replacement

[Didier]

...and I bet it was a lot easier, cheaper and quicker to replace than the Guzzi. My wife had a 15 year old mini when she was a student 30 years ago and her alternator belt broke shortly after she moved into student digs. I replaced it for her and that was the start of a beautiful relationship that is still ongoing today (the wife, not the mini).

Usually a broken alternator belt doesn't cause any damage, but leaves you running on battery for a while. If you're lucky you can make it home or somewhere safe, but in the middle of nowhere, don't count on it.

Like you said not a big job 20 minutes for the BMW.

 

[Smartleynz]

Like you said not a big job 20 minutes for the BMW.

Thanks for the reply, I agree why would you take the chance, well, I'm at 52000 and my mechanic is fixing aeroplanes in Palma and it looks like I will put another 2-3000k on it before it can be done, I change oils and filter but everything else is done by the mech. Thanks again.

 

[Kevin.NZ]

I have a Breva 1100 and changed the belt at 60,000Kms, there was only half of it left, I was very lucky it didn't snap

 

[V700Steve]

Interesting, has anyone gone passed the 50k mark and not done the job? If so what happened? Thanks

I've changed them at 27K mi and seen them last to 54K mi, every one is different.
They end up shredding strands off, then fail.

 

[John L]

This is mine at 47,000km, no reason it wouldn't have gone twice as long.

 

[PaulDavies]

If anyone is interested, my favourite German Machanic (Guzzi Schrauber on YouTube) has recorded a video showing belt replacement on the 1400 (well 3 videos actually as it's quite an involved job). I realise most of us don't speak the lingo (me included), but it gives some idea of the magnitude of the job.

There was a suggestion from another site that carefully cutting the cover (the one that cannot be removed without virtually dropping the engine to gain access to the belt) allowed access and could be joined back together afterwards - no pictures, just sayin

Video 1 here


Video 2 here


Video 3 here

 

[Didier]

If anyone is interested, my favourite German Machanic (Guzzi Schrauber on YouTube) has recorded a video showing belt replacement on the 1400 (well 3 videos actually as it's quite an involved job). I realise most of us don't speak the lingo (me included), but it gives some idea of the magnitude of the job.

There was a suggestion from another site that carefully cutting the cover (the one that cannot be removed without virtually dropping the engine to gain access to the belt) allowed access and could be joined back together afterwards - no pictures, just sayin

Video 1 here


Video 2 here


Video 3 here

This must be a thousand $ job at the dealer.

 

[PaulDavies]

This must be a thousand $ job at the dealer.

Totally - I wonder how many bolts he had left on the floor after he'd put it all back together

 

[Smartleynz]

I had mine replaced at 52000k by Guzzi mechanic. $500.00 NZ, no one in NZ had done one on a1400 so was experimental, took them longer than they expected. The belt that came out looked as good as the new one that went in. Gave me piece of mind on South Island trip, so after traveling 800 k to get the belt done, two new tires, changing oils, plugs, polishing and being ready 2 days prior to departure, spark plug lead broke down when I stopped for a farewell beer at my club, missing, backfiring, farting, no power or revs over 3000 and heading of to Burt Munro. Luckily our new local Guzzi agent in Hawera had 2 plug leads sitting in stock, so I limped it into them and 30 mins later got a speed camera ticket for 126 but made it to the ferry on time. Bike went flawlessly for 4800ks, what a great machine they are!!!!!!

 

[FrankZ]

I just replaced my belt. John L mentioned in post #15 in this thread that his mechanic did his without removing the cover from the bike. I can confirm this can be done, as that's how I did mine. I didn't use cable ties on the cover, just left it there and managed to fish the belts in and out from the right side of the bike. It took me between 6 and 7 hours, in 3 sessions, over 2 days. Biggest problem was the Allen head adjustment bolt (the one that threads into a boss on the alternator) rounded out when trying to loosen it. That's how my first session ended. The second session was this morning, which was the removal of the rounded bolt. I managed to grab it with a medium set of vise-grip pliers, and broke it loose. After a trip to my local Home Depot (amazing, they had an exact replacement in stock), I did the final session and completed the job.

My bike had 31000 miles on it, and the maintenance schedule is probably about spot on in recommending replacement at this point. A small chunk of belt was missing from one of the grooves, and small cracks were visible in the entire belt.

Here's a step by step:
My bike's a 2016 Eldorado, no secondary air, hybrid throttle by wire (cables from grip to transducer under fuel tank), your procedure may be different.
1. Disconnect the battery. Remove gas cap trim plate, disconnect wires on top of tank, remove plastic fairings at front of tank, remove bolt at rear of tank, slide tank rearward and lift. I placed a 2 x 4 board under the tank to keep it off the valve covers. Other than the wires I mentioned, I left all other hoses and wires connected.
2. Remove center fairing piece (above horns), remove and disconnect horns, unbolt oil cooler, cut wire tie securing fan wire to frame, lift cooler off mounting pins and allow it to hang, no need to disconnect hoses.
3. Unbolt the throttle transducer from the frame, disconnect the left connector, and position the transducer rearward, under the fuel tank. No need to disconnect the cables or the other connector.
4. Remove and disconnect ignition coil, left side, in front of cylinder. Wire-tie securing primary wires to coil bracket will need to be cut.
5. A somewhat triangular shaped plastic doohickey (my best term to describe it) on the right side of the frame, in front of the cylinder, needs to be removed. This piece has wiring and a brake hose wire-tied to it. Cut the wire-ties (I think there were 6 altogether), remove the Allen head button-head bolts, and muscle the plastic piece out of the frame. It's flexible enough to carefully pull out without damaging it. I recommend using wire-ties on the 4 sets of wires that are secured to the top of this plastic part, before cutting the original 4 wire-ties, to keep them grouped as original, for reassembly. I used a long wire-tie from around the handlebar to hold this mess of wiring up out of the way, to make access easier. At this point, you should be able to see the boss on the alternator, in which the bolt that I rounded out threads into. Spray this boss with penetrating lube. Using a long punch or bar, give the boss a few good whacks with a heavy hammer. It probably would be a good idea to let it sit overnight at this point, to allow the penetrant to work it's way in, and give it a few more whacks the next day.
6. Use a jack with a small board to jack up the engine slightly, under the oil pan. Remove the silent block mount on the front of the engine, 6 bolts, 2 pieces. Note how the rubber mount is positioned on the engine, for reassembly.
7.There is a connecting rod which goes from the upper part of the frame to the bracket on the front of the engine. Remove the Allen head bolt that secures the lower end of the connecting rod to the metal bracket on the front of the engine. From the top side, in front of the fuel tank, you need to remove the Allen-head bolt securing the upper part of the connecting rod to the frame. I used a flex-head, 3/8" drive ratchet with a 10mm Allen socket to do this. After you remove the bolt, you need to remove a metal sleeve that goes through the bearings in the connecting rod. Once you remove the sleeve, the connecting rod will drop, so be sure you have a hold of it when doing this. I had to move the connecting rod around for a bit to jar the sleeve loose for removal.
8. Remove metal mount bracket form engine. 4 bolts, bracket will just be repositioned upward out of your way during the rest of the procedure, can't be removed from bike without major disassembly.
9. Remove 6 Allen-head bolts securing belt cover to engine. You'll have to move the mount bracket (removed in step 8) around to access all of the bolts. Remove the rubber plug with the Guzzi logo from the belt cover.
10. Loosen the locknut and adjuster screw on the right side of the engine. Loosen the adjuster screw that's behind the cover. You'll have to shift the belt cover off to the left as far as you can to access this bolt.
11. On the left side, loosen the alternator mounting bolt and nut. The nut is a 15 mm, can easily be accessed with a box/open end wrench from the left side. I inserted an 8mm Allen socket into the bolt head by pulling the belt cover back slightly, and held it with my fingers while using the wrench to loosen the nut. Be careful not to drop the Allen socket inside the cover, could be rather difficult to remove.
12. The belt should now be loose. Working from the right side, remove the belt from the alternator pulley, using a hooked tool (commonly used to remove cotter pins and stubborn radiator hoses), pull the belt from the pulley and out the right side of the housing. Pushing the belt downward, use your finger through the hole in front of the cover to work the belt off the lower pulley and up around the shaft, between the inside of the cover. Pull the belt out from the upper right of the cover. Using a flashlight, inspect for debris on the pulleys through the gap behind the cover. Turn both pulleys (top with your finger, bottom with a socket and ratchet) for a complete inspection. I had to use a small flat blade screwdriver to clean the lower pulley.
13. Install the new belt through the right upper side, push it downward, use your finger through the hole to work it onto the lower pulley, use the hook tool to place it on the alternator pulley. Be sure to inspect with a flashlight for proper belt positioning on the pulleys. Run the outer adjustment bolt in until you can get between 1/4" and 1/2" of belt deflection, using moderate finger pressure. Tighten alternator mounting bolt/nut and remaining adjuster bolt. Turn the crankshaft using a socket and ratchet until the belt makes at least two full revolutions. Reinspect for proper belt/pulley alignment, check tension, readjust if necessary, rotate crankshaft, recheck.

Reverse all of the steps to complete the job. I used anti-seize compound on the upper connecting rod bolt and sleeve, as well as the adjuster bolt that I rounded out, in hopes of making future repairs easier. The belt adjustment procedure isn't exact, but should be fairly close to proper tension. Should you have a whining noise afterward, you'd probably better take it back apart and loosen the tension.

Hopefully, I didn't miss any steps in this post. It's a long procedure just to change a belt, but it can be done without removing the exhaust, disconnecting lines and having fluid pouring out, or removing the lower frame assembly. Just make sure to keep all bolts organized, take your time doing the work, and you should be successful.

 

[John L]

I just replaced my belt. John L mentioned in post #15 in this thread that his mechanic did his without removing the cover from the bike. I can confirm this can be done, as that's how I did mine. I didn't use cable ties on the cover, just left it there and managed to fish the belts in and out from the right side of the bike. It took me between 6 and 7 hours, in 3 sessions, over 2 days. Biggest problem was the Allen head adjustment bolt (the one that threads into a boss on the alternator) rounded out when trying to loosen it. That's how my first session ended. The second session was this morning, which was the removal of the rounded bolt. I managed to grab it with a medium set of vise-grip pliers, and broke it loose. After a trip to my local Home Depot (amazing, they had an exact replacement in stock), I did the final session and completed the job.

Brilliant write up FrankZ, well done and thanks for taking the time to do it. I'm just over 85,000kms so starting to think about replacing the second one, this will give me the confidence to tackle it myself, my mechanic has long since moved on to greener pastures paying better wages. Also good to know there are no special tools required as I think from memory one was mentioned in the workshop manual.

 

[Chet Van Aken]

I did it last summer, no shortcuts. If you are Ok with a wrench you can do it in a weekend. When you remove the frame bolts make sure the engine is supported first or they will come in and out hard and you will hurt the threads (don't ask how I know). You have to take a lot of stuff off the front to get to that mount but it is not too bad. The belt looked as good as the new one and its easy to tension using the 90 degree technique, just don't get it too tight. I used a wheel chock and strapped the front down for support.

 

[Moto-Uno]

I had the dubious pleasure of replacing the alternator on my 2018 Eldorado . I think it took
me 8 to 10 hours . The above mentioned short cuts would have been nice to know at the time .
But , having to drop the motor , exhaust system , etc . to change an alternator , holy crap that
was one serious way to waste a weekend . The top motor mount bolt through the rubber isolator
was very seized from the aluminum sleeve being heavily corroded, that added quite a bit of
time to the job . All the fasteners are well snugged up with a layer of anti-seize . Some power tools
would have saved some time . Peter

 

[PaulDavies]

I just replaced my belt. John L mentioned in post #15 in this thread that his mechanic did his without removing the cover from the bike. I can confirm this can be done, as that's how I did mine. I didn't use cable ties on the cover, just left it there and managed to fish the belts in and out from the right side of the bike. It took me between 6 and 7 hours, in 3 sessions, over 2 days. Biggest problem was the Allen head adjustment bolt (the one that threads into a boss on the alternator) rounded out when trying to loosen it. That's how my first session ended. The second session was this morning, which was the removal of the rounded bolt. I managed to grab it with a medium set of vise-grip pliers, and broke it loose. After a trip to my local Home Depot (amazing, they had an exact replacement in stock), I did the final session and completed the job.

My bike had 31000 miles on it, and the maintenance schedule is probably about spot on in recommending replacement at this point. A small chunk of belt was missing from one of the grooves, and small cracks were visible in the entire belt.

Here's a step by step:
My bike's a 2016 Eldorado, no secondary air, hybrid throttle by wire (cables from grip to transducer under fuel tank), your procedure may be different.
1. Disconnect the battery. Remove gas cap trim plate, disconnect wires on top of tank, remove plastic fairings at front of tank, remove bolt at rear of tank, slide tank rearward and lift. I placed a 2 x 4 board under the tank to keep it off the valve covers. Other than the wires I mentioned, I left all other hoses and wires connected.
2. Remove center fairing piece (above horns), remove and disconnect horns, unbolt oil cooler, cut wire tie securing fan wire to frame, lift cooler off mounting pins and allow it to hang, no need to disconnect hoses.
3. Unbolt the throttle transducer from the frame, disconnect the left connector, and position the transducer rearward, under the fuel tank. No need to disconnect the cables or the other connector.
4. Remove and disconnect ignition coil, left side, in front of cylinder. Wire-tie securing primary wires to coil bracket will need to be cut.
5. A somewhat triangular shaped plastic doohickey (my best term to describe it) on the right side of the frame, in front of the cylinder, needs to be removed. This piece has wiring and a brake hose wire-tied to it. Cut the wire-ties (I think there were 6 altogether), remove the Allen head button-head bolts, and muscle the plastic piece out of the frame. It's flexible enough to carefully pull out without damaging it. I recommend using wire-ties on the 4 sets of wires that are secured to the top of this plastic part, before cutting the original 4 wire-ties, to keep them grouped as original, for reassembly. I used a long wire-tie from around the handlebar to hold this mess of wiring up out of the way, to make access easier. At this point, you should be able to see the boss on the alternator, in which the bolt that I rounded out threads into. Spray this boss with penetrating lube. Using a long punch or bar, give the boss a few good whacks with a heavy hammer. It probably would be a good idea to let it sit overnight at this point, to allow the penetrant to work it's way in, and give it a few more whacks the next day.
6. Use a jack with a small board to jack up the engine slightly, under the oil pan. Remove the silent block mount on the front of the engine, 6 bolts, 2 pieces. Note how the rubber mount is positioned on the engine, for reassembly.
7.There is a connecting rod which goes from the upper part of the frame to the bracket on the front of the engine. Remove the Allen head bolt that secures the lower end of the connecting rod to the metal bracket on the front of the engine. From the top side, in front of the fuel tank, you need to remove the Allen-head bolt securing the upper part of the connecting rod to the frame. I used a flex-head, 3/8" drive ratchet with a 10mm Allen socket to do this. After you remove the bolt, you need to remove a metal sleeve that goes through the bearings in the connecting rod. Once you remove the sleeve, the connecting rod will drop, so be sure you have a hold of it when doing this. I had to move the connecting rod around for a bit to jar the sleeve loose for removal.
8. Remove metal mount bracket form engine. 4 bolts, bracket will just be repositioned upward out of your way during the rest of the procedure, can't be removed from bike without major disassembly.
9. Remove 6 Allen-head bolts securing belt cover to engine. You'll have to move the mount bracket (removed in step 8) around to access all of the bolts. Remove the rubber plug with the Guzzi logo from the belt cover.
10. Loosen the locknut and adjuster screw on the right side of the engine. Loosen the adjuster screw that's behind the cover. You'll have to shift the belt cover off to the left as far as you can to access this bolt.
11. On the left side, loosen the alternator mounting bolt and nut. The nut is a 15 mm, can easily be accessed with a box/open end wrench from the left side. I inserted an 8mm Allen socket into the bolt head by pulling the belt cover back slightly, and held it with my fingers while using the wrench to loosen the nut. Be careful not to drop the Allen socket inside the cover, could be rather difficult to remove.
12. The belt should now be loose. Working from the right side, remove the belt from the alternator pulley, using a hooked tool (commonly used to remove cotter pins and stubborn radiator hoses), pull the belt from the pulley and out the right side of the housing. Pushing the belt downward, use your finger through the hole in front of the cover to work the belt off the lower pulley and up around the shaft, between the inside of the cover. Pull the belt out from the upper right of the cover. Using a flashlight, inspect for debris on the pulleys through the gap behind the cover. Turn both pulleys (top with your finger, bottom with a socket and ratchet) for a complete inspection. I had to use a small flat blade screwdriver to clean the lower pulley.
13. Install the new belt through the right upper side, push it downward, use your finger through the hole to work it onto the lower pulley, use the hook tool to place it on the alternator pulley. Be sure to inspect with a flashlight for proper belt positioning on the pulleys. Run the outer adjustment bolt in until you can get between 1/4" and 1/2" of belt deflection, using moderate finger pressure. Tighten alternator mounting bolt/nut and remaining adjuster bolt. Turn the crankshaft using a socket and ratchet until the belt makes at least two full revolutions. Reinspect for proper belt/pulley alignment, check tension, readjust if necessary, rotate crankshaft, recheck.

Reverse all of the steps to complete the job. I used anti-seize compound on the upper connecting rod bolt and sleeve, as well as the adjuster bolt that I rounded out, in hopes of making future repairs easier. The belt adjustment procedure isn't exact, but should be fairly close to proper tension. Should you have a whining noise afterward, you'd probably better take it back apart and loosen the tension.

Hopefully, I didn't miss any steps in this post. It's a long procedure just to change a belt, but it can be done without removing the exhaust, disconnecting lines and having fluid pouring out, or removing the lower frame assembly. Just make sure to keep all bolts organized, take your time doing the work, and you should be successful.

still sounds like quite a job - John L got quite a bargin on his 'paid for' first belt replacement - 2 hours labour wasn't it John ?

 

[FrankZ]

still sounds like quite a job - John L got quite a bargin on his 'paid for' first belt replacement - 2 hours labour wasn't it John ?

It is! Very gratifying, though, when it all goes back together, looks the same as before you started, works well, and no leftover bolts (excepting the one that I junked). John L's mechanic doing it in 2 hours should earn him some kind of world record. Smartleynz stated in post #29 that he payed $500 NZ. According to Google, that equates to about $325 USD. That's a great bargain, as well, in my opinion. Definitely not a job for somebody that's uncomfortable doing mechanical work.

 

[John L]

still sounds like quite a job - John L got quite a bargin on his 'paid for' first belt replacement - 2 hours labour wasn't it John ?

He charged me for 3 hours labour which included the belt a couple of other small jobs which may have taken half to three quarters of an hour, so probably around 2 to 2.5 hours, definitely way less than I was expecting.

 

[Moto-Uno]

You owe that guy an endless supply of his beverage of choice . Peter

 

[Mike Tryon]

Interesting, has anyone gone passed the 50k mark and not done the job? If so what happened? Thanks

Yes I am at 48K Miles ( thats 77248.512 KM) have not changed the belt no issues. Yet....

 

[Moto-Uno]

Yet ? Had a chance to look at it ? Peter

 

[scottmastrocinque]

Yes I am at 48K Miles ( thats 77248.512 KM) have not changed the belt no issues. Yet....

You do understand that the factory replacement interval is specified as required at 50k km, right?

To go further than this is to invite sudden belt failure which is never a pretty thing.

Your logic is as flawed as saying “I changed the oil 15k miles ago and it’s still between the min and max marks on the dipstick…”

Maintenance by crisis, is that your grand plan?

You are flirting with disaster.