curtie94

Hi i was replacing my alternator and the bottom thru bolt is siezed. I have removed all things like Power Steering, cruise. But I can not for the life of me get the alternator belt off. I have loosened and even removed the adjusting bolt and loosened the nut that goes on the bottom through bolt but still I can't get it off. What am I doing wrong? Does anyone have a way to fix this?

I cant relieve the tension on the belt.

1991 Honda Accord LX

Is it possible to remove the top alternator bolt then tilt the alternator to the front then pull the alternator off of the bottom bolt?

bdmlilburn

so you removed every bolt but the bottom through bolt? place a block of wood on top of the alternator to protect it and hit it with anything blunt/heavy. it should slide down. i have had a few instances where these things get stuck like this

a swift kick has also been useful to me when removing seized parts but never had to go this far with anything as small as the alternator

curtie94

So your just saying to jar the alternator free? Hit the TOP of the alternator down? Will that loosen the belt as well? Thanks I really need to know by tomorrow because it is the last day I have.

Thanks I'll try it.

accordmatt

try PB Blaster let it loosen itself before u hit it. but yes a nice lil tap should break loose if PB doesnt work

curtie94

Alright thanks you say to PB Blast the bottom through bolt?

curtie94

If that bolt is siezed will it cause the adjustment screw not to work?

bdmlilburn

no it is the top through bolt that that the alternator gets stuck in. it is a really tight fit which is why it can be hard to brake free. make sure the top bolt is installed but loose so that the alternator does not just fall when it breaks free.

i would be very careful spraying anything around the alternator. dont get anything inside it. if you cannot do it without the pb take a grocery bag and wrap the alternator to protect it from the spray. though it should break free just fine without the pb blaster with the proper amount of force. then you just have to shimmy it out of the mount by wiggling it up and down

curtie94

Ok but i'm stuck on the bottom through bolt will this method still work. I the top bolt comes out like butter.

curtie94

I can move the top of the alternator I just can't get the belt tension off and the bottom through bolt doesn't budge.

bdmlilburn

ah then cover the alternator with a grocery bag and spray the bolt. the car my smoke a bit when you run it again. dont worry. its just the pb blaster evaporating off the hot engine/exhaust. you loosen the bottom through bolt with a 12mm socket-its a through bolt with a 12mm nut on it. loosen the nut and the alternator should move down. can't remember if its from the drivers side or the passenger side though.

keep the top bolt in just not tightened so that the alternator does not fall

10psiLsEf2

impact gun..

ive came across a few alternator through bolts that wouldnt budge. so i brought out my snap on 1/2 inch gun.

curtie94

The way the bottom through bolt is is it has as a 12mm nut and that is it. I have gotten the nut off but still can't remove it. The instructions I have said to loosen the adjusting bolt then remove the nut. The next step was to remove the belt. But I couldn't get the belt loose. The nut is on the divers side and on the passenger side of the alternator it is just a flat end. It is seized and there is no room.

curtie94

The bolt doesn't have a head it is just a nut.

bdmlilburn

take a hammer or anything and knock the bolt out by hitting it where you took the nut off. there is nothing else holding it in. the alternator should not move down without much effort. try hitting on the top with a block of wood

curtie94

We did try to knock it out with a screwdriver and a lead hammer but it started to bend the bolt.

Does this bolt control the belt tension?

bdmlilburn

the bolt bent? i dont even see how this could have happened. once the nut is removed there is nothing holding the bolt in. a picture would help very much.

regardless a bent bolt will need replacing

curtie94

The bolt is seized in there. We couldn't hit it square because of where it is. Would it be easier to jack up the engine a little bit to hit the bolt? It makes no sense to me either, nothing holds it in, but the nut. The power steering has the same mechanism and I got it right out. I have the whole mechanism off of the alternator and I can't get the belt to loose any tension and the bolt is stuck.

I don't know why it isn't coming out.

curtie94

Has anyone ever have this problem? The bottom through bolt which should just slide out is seized. I can't even loosen the belt the was it is. Please Help.

curtie94

Is there anyway to get a pair of vise grips on the bolt and spin it just to loosen it?

I really need to have good way to remove the alternator by tomorrow. It is the last day I have and if I can't I am going to put it all back together and bring it to a mechanic, but everything went smooth until that one freaking bolt. Please Help Me!

bdmlilburn

post #420 smoke.....smoke.....are you smokin yet?

i dont think spinning it will work if knocking it loose did not work though it is worth a try. have you tried hitting on the alternator from the top with a rubber hammer or a block of wood and hammer. you removed everything that holds the tension so the alternator will move even when the bolt is still there. you removed the long 10mm bolt from the front/bottom of the alternator correct?

if you are crunched on time try to get a chisel on the bolt and see if you can chisel it free. perhaps a previous owner used some kind of epoxy to keep it from moving. again some photos could help us help you better. wd-40 or any kind of engine cleaner or degreaser or pb blaster/liquid wrench can be used on the area after the alternator is safely wrapped to protect it

curtie94

Ya everything is removed but the belt is still on. I think i am going to try to remove the driverside engine mount and raise the engine to get a better angle at the bolt. I will also try to hit the top with a hammer and see if it knocks it loose. I'll write back to tell you how it went.

curtie94

I gave up so i am having a mechanic do it for me tomorrow. Thanks for everyone's help

TheMuffinMan

iTrader: (1)

If it's seized and you tried soaking it with PB Blaster and hitting it with a torch and tried using a cheater bar then you need to go to air tools. You may want to consider replacing that hardware with some non-junked up stuff to prevent it from happening in the future.

curtie94

Well the bottom through bolt is the one that is stuck and it just has a nut on the end it is then supposed to just come out, but it doesn't move and it is in a really tight spot not allowing me to get a torch in there. The belt doesn't even loosen with the tensioner mechanism out.

TheMuffinMan

iTrader: (1)

Correct, the belt won't loosen because you need to swing the alternator downwards on that adjustment bolt. The tensioner just helps pull it tight, the bottom bolt can swing a bit to put some tension on the belt without it loose/removed you won't get the alt out.