Alternator Idler pulley

[mikehkang]

Originally Posted by tonycarreon

my one word of warning - one bolt i thought must be completely removed, however it was only meant to be loosened. by removing it, the install was a lot harder than it should have been. also, it is very easy to break some of the housing bracket with too much force when trying to pry the alternator out.

Thanks for the visit Tony.

one bolt i thought must be completely removed, however it was only meant to be loosened.

Do you mean the idler pulley bolt? The most, if not all, DIY instructions state 3 turns to loosen then tap to remove the alternator. If the idler pulley bolt is what you are referring to, I can't see how I can NOT remove the bolt as I need to remove the pulley to reinstall along with the new alternator.

also, it is very easy to break some of the housing bracket with too much force when trying to pry the alternator out.

I am a newbie at car repair. Can you elaborate which ones in particular I need to watch out for?

My concern at the moment is WHY my idler bolt came out by turning it CCW.
Watching the videos online, it looks to me the belt is spinning clockwise. Assuming the belt's CW path is true, it makes sense that the bolt should/would have been LEFT-HANDED so that the bolt does not loosen with friction.
Do you have any insight?

Thank you Tony.