alt pulley smashed, new alternator? (with pics)

[strutt]

Hi

Was driving home from bristol volksfest today, and had a bit of a moment.
Suddenly i could smell burning, pulled over and found that my fan belt was melting!
as it turns out the alternator pulley has worn away at the alternator and smashed itself to pieces.

So looking at the pics, will i need a new alternator as the windings have been caught and wheres the best place to buy one?
im running a leisure battery so whats the best size? currently got a large 75A one from machine 7.

Also why would this happen? I havent had any issues before and the van ran fine on friday. I did tighten the belt earlier in the week, but only removed 1 shim.

as usuall help appreciated! I have 2 weeks to get it sorted so also planning to change the alt (if i have to) in situ.

 

[Ginger's VW]

There has been a lot of this recently, it's likely just poor quality parts. I had one that had cracked but didn't notice until I removed the belt to tighten and it fell apart.

You'll need a new alt if only to replace the 'spokes' that have been ground away by the pulley.

Unless you've got a mass of ICE you'll be fine with a 55A alt, I'd recommend a Bosch one and make sure you get a better quality top pulley.

55A Top quality alt - http://www.coolairvw.co.uk/Item/Shop_by_Vehicle~Baywindow_Bus_Products~Bay_Bus_Electrical_Products~Bay_Bus_Ignition-C-_Starting_and_Charging_Products~Bay_Bus_Charging_Products~Bay_Bus_Alternators_and_Dynamos/043903023CXTQ/T1_-P-_T2_1600cc_Alternator_TQ.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good quality Top Pulley - http://www.coolairvw.co.uk/Item/NA/AC903113F4/Flat_4_12V_Dynamo_Pulley_or_Alternator_Pulley.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[strutt]

Cheers for that,
I have ordered new parts although opted for the £105 alternator, one day ill learn my lesson. :roll:
the shattered pulley had 'made in germany', although looking around on vzi lots of other people have had similar issues.
Looks like i was unfortunate, so any tips on changing alternator?
i dont have the room to remove the engine, so going to try and do it in situ

 

[Ginger's VW]

You'll need to remove the alt strap, unscrew the backing plate, and loosen the fan housing. You may also need to loosen the bolts on the 'banana' tubes of the right hand side and the rubber boots to the inlet manifold. The should then be able to manoeuvre the alt and fan out.

Whip the fan off, attach it to the new alt and reverse the procedure.

 

[dubdubz]

did you get an uprated alternator? Are the windings screwed or just marked? as you could buy/obtain a front piece of the alternator???

I'd be interested to know as the bearings on mine are shot and I need to get a new one anyway.........

 

[strutt]

I just purchased a 55A one from heritage, its not the bosch one as that was another £150. seems all the suppliers sell the same units from china :?

the windings have been caught but not totally cut through, i dont fancy risking it not working. plus the centre of the pulley is stuck on the shaft with a rather wedged woodruff key.

 

[BJ1]

Not enough shims on the outside of the pulley means that it may not have been properly tightened when you did the tension adjustment. Nothing to do with poor quality parts. How many shims do you have in total (inside + outside)?? Did you make sure that the outer dished washer was properly seated with the shims compressed behind it?