ZX Alternator Belt Change

citroenzx · Post by **citroenzx** » 01 Jun 2005, 19:56

Hello all,
How do you slacken off the alternator belt on a zx 1.4i with power steering (alt at back of engine)?? the haynes manual says to slacken off the upper and lower bolts then adjust the tensioning bolt, but can i find the correct ones! can i hell!
Cheers [:D]

citroenzx · Post by **citroenzx** » 02 Jun 2005, 02:48

come on 1 of the 34 people who have read this so far must know the answer [:)]. i need to get this done tomorrow

Marlon65 · Post by **Marlon65** » 02 Jun 2005, 10:18

Just loosen any bolt & nut you can find close to the alternator and it should work

. Kidding aside, I'm just curious, why do you want to slacken it anyway? My 10-yr-old 1.4ZX manual at 236k never had any problem of sort. Sometimes there are tricks in disassembling it. Like for example the manual lever of my window glass. There is no bolt or screw to remove that plastic lever. To remove it, you have to apply a jerking motion or a sudden strong force toward yourself. Maybe if you apply that principle, you might find the solution. Good luck.

citroenzx · Post by **citroenzx** » 02 Jun 2005, 14:50

I'm slackening it because i need to change it, the old one has cracks in it. I can only seem to make it tighter though! [:(]

Post by **RichardW** » 02 Jun 2005, 15:01

Not seen one, so can't comment directly. Presumably it uses the alternator to set the belt tension, and doesn't rely on a separate tensioner running on the belt? Normally in this set up there are 2 mounting bolts on the alternator, one of which is the pivot, and the other slotted to allow the alt to rotate. Slack off (normal RH thread) both of these bolts and the alternator should tip, and the belt go slack. On some cars (BX Diesel case in point) there is an additional bolt to help set the tension. This acts in line with belt to allow you to set the position of the alternator without needing 4 hands. It may be that this operates the wrong way round - I think on the BX you have the screw the bolt in to release the tension, which seems to be the wrong way around. If the belt's getting tighter, then turn the bolt the other way!

citroenzx · Post by **citroenzx** » 02 Jun 2005, 15:18

apparently the alt is "self tensioning"? according mr haynes manual... there are 3 bolts on the top side of it, 1 of which goes the entire length of the alt, so i presume that this is the pivot bolt. From loosening them i can only tip the alt to increse the tension not to release it.

Oscar Too · Post by **Oscar Too** » 02 Jun 2005, 16:30

Is it a reverse thread??? I mean, if you are trying to loosen it but are tightening it, try turning it the other direction. I know my BX alt belt tensioner is a left hand thread.
O

citroenzx · Post by **citroenzx** » 02 Jun 2005, 17:41

ok i'll give it a razzle

pete@co.uk · Post by **pete@co.uk** » 05 Jun 2005, 02:45

hi zx
well ive just changed the alternator belt on my xantia as mine was cracking up just like yours i dont know if the zx is the same but it sounds like it there are 3 torx head bolts one in the centre of the tensioner pully one just underneath the pully if you run your hand down from the pully in a straight line you,ll find the bolt then right at the bottom is the tensioner bolt the best access to this is underneath the car you might have to partly remove the plastic cover from inside the wheelarch you do this by unscrewing 2 bolts one at the front the other is bolted to the subframe then just pull it down that gives you enough room to do the job i did,nt have to remove the wheel as all i did was put the car on the high suspension setting that gave me enough room to do the job.
pete...................