P5 - alternator belt broke and i need help
 

i know there is the tension bolt on the top (right?) and 2 other bolts holding the alternator on...

my questions are: what exactly do i need to do to change this belt? i have an idea but i'd rather hear it from someone else in their own terms instead of what this online manual shows me (cuz it shows not a lot)....

do i need to be under the car to do the job? or no? (i have no jack stand).

i have the belt, i have the wrenches and sockets... i just need to get the belt on.

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/attac...chmentid=91926

tells how to install udp, but also how to remove the belts. do the reverse to put them on

do i need to be under the car? it's that bottom bolt on the alternator that confuses me... seems the only way to get to it is from underneath... it also seems that there are things in the way from the bottom though...


(dont have the car here or i'd go and look).

wait, i'm going from the wheel well, not under the car... right?

You shouldn't need to be under the car. You can reach up from inside the wheel well.

no, it's all under and above the car. you wont have to take the wheel off since you are not going to be removing the crank pulley.

EDIT: it is easier to remove and put on the belt(s) with the wheel off however

to loosen the bolt on the back/bottom of the alternator you have to be under the car because the bolt head (where the socket goes) faces the drivers side. unless you arm/wrist contorts in a completely unnatural way, you will have a REALLY hard time accessing it from the wheel well. you dont even have to take the wheel off other than the fact that it makes it easier to remove and put on the belts.

it's the exact bolt i'm worried about... will it be tough to reach even from underneath? do i need to remove anything to reach it or no?

it's not really hard to reach. the pain in the as bolt is the bolt to loose the alt belt. it's almost impossible to access it from above b/c of all the hosing and stuff and from underneath it's pretty high up so it is hard to see it to get the socket on it. you have to get the right angle to see it

had any luck blitz?

tons of luck..... bad luck.

the alternator was bad, needed that replaced and i paid the shop 300 bucks to do it.... my rear caliper was frozen and the rotor shredded so i paid for the parts and 80 bucks for them to fix a single brake! oh, then they asked if they could change the battery... FOR ONE HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS!!!! i drew the line there and did it myself.

i really need to learn how to work on this POS car.

yikes. sorry to hear that. the auto store puts the batteries in for free. how'd the caliper get frozen?

Trust me, every car has these kinds of problems. Make sure you dont over tighten the alternator belt, you dont want to damage the water pump, thats what happened to my car.

how tight is too tight? mine is on pretty tight, like only 5 threads left, but i have a udp so the pulley and belt are smaller. if i twist it, it will go to 90* if i twist pretty hard, and it has like 1/4 deflection w/ a hard push. i think it's good on mine. but if the mechanic put his on, they should know what to do