2002 Protege 5- Alternator belt broke... need help

[buttthrax]

You gotta jack the car up and take off the passenger side front wheel then go in underneath to get to the bolt that allows the alternator to pivot. And yeah you gotta remove the PS/AC belt. The PS pump pivots to tension that one.

I had to do this about 2.5 months ago only mine snapped on the interstate. It was a huge pain in the ass for me.

 

[Sveivo]

That'd be 30.00 CDN right? Gates or Gatorbacks were both around 50.00 US most places I've seen. I suppose there could be other cheaper ones. 100.00 just seems wild to me just to put belts on. I'd like a gig doin that all day. Hell, I'd even do it for a less than that too....providing tipping being allowed. LOL.

Mazda belts are like $27 and $18, assuming you change both belts. I got charged a BS misc fee of $11. Rest is labor. Hope that helps.

I got a really good deal on motor mount install, but this seems high. Go figure.

 

[Sveivo]

You gotta jack the car up and take off the passenger side front wheel then go in underneath to get to the bolt that allows the alternator to pivot. And yeah you gotta remove the PS/AC belt. The PS pump pivots to tension that one.

I had to do this about 2.5 months ago only mine snapped on the interstate. It was a huge pain in the ass for me.

That's why I did my belts before they were totally fuxored. I didn't want that stuff to snap.

 

[80sGuy]

This is in reference to a 2000 Protege 1.6 Auto w/o having to start another thread.

I finally got my alternator belt & P/S A/C belt changed today, and yes for the first time at 116,168 miles (eek2)! My belts (especially the alternator) have lost over 65% its ribbed grooves...still not bad for its lifespan. I tried doing it myself - after a good 2 and half hours or so with bruises all over my arms (because I REFUSED TO GET UNDER THE CAR with the support of only a small a jack) and I gave up!
Before that...
...while trying to loosen the pivot screw from the bottom of the alternator, I loosen the other (perpendicular) screw, adjust the tension screw and couldn't figure why the alternator and the belt was still so stiff. Then I found out the socket from the tool that I was using had split therefore creating a soft friction turn. I actually thought it was loosen, but not, it was the damn broken socket! I couldn't believe my eyes (never buy those $10 mechanic's tool set from PepBoys)! So I quickly put everything back together as this is GOING NOWHERE; this includes the front passenger wheel, plastic cover by wheel well, a couple of electrical elements on the engine bay for easy work access, unjack and lower the car, etc. A frickin' nightmare!
I called my mechanic and rushed down there (you know how happy Friday afternoon traffic is) just shy of before closing at 6PM.

Total cost breakdown:
$15.41 - Mazda OEM Alternator Belt - Mfg by Gates (B6BF-18-381-9U)
$9.68 - Mazda OEM P/S A/C belt - Made in Japan (BPE7-15-909)
$16.00 - Oil Change (Oil & Filter) decided to do this while I'm there.
$30.00 - Labor for the belts
$71.09 total (no taxes)

No squeaking and quiet as a mouse - I'm just crossing my fingers.
The Protege runs a bit tighter, the a/c unit didn't intermittently vibrate as hard as it did before and the power windows roll up a bit faster (it was hesitating before).
The problem was I didn't have the right tools and I didn't have a ramp or can get access under the vehicle, otherwise it would of been a fun and inexpensive DIY experience. So just to let you guys know: it's not an easy job if you don't have access underneath the vehicle, or hoist the vehicle up.
...oh, if you're using cheap tools, you can fuggedaboudit!

 

[Wayned]

Belts

Man am I glad this forum is here I have had my Protege 5 for a year and love it and I am glad that I can come here and basically find out anything I wanna know about them I have to replace my belts because it snapped yesterday I am just glad to see that it won't cost an arm and a leg to fix

 

[80sGuy]

Strangely, this was almost unheard of - even by mechanics...
Make sure your belts are not too tight, otherwise your car will perform strangely (engine rev too high and loss of horsepower). That's what happened to my car when my mechanic replaced and tighten the new belts a tad too much...also, not to mention the stress can damage the pulleys.
Couple days later, I insist on having my belts loosen and my mechanic almost refused because he disagreed with me. I told him I am the one behind the wheel and felt different ever since the belt replacement. Needles to say, he loosen it a bit (just to the point where it won't squeal) and my car performed much lighter and peppier - even with the a/c on!
There's an Acura NS-X motorsport racing site out there and they also acknowleged a similar issue (actually the same issue)
Here's an excerpt:

...The reason- Heavy loads produce heat, heat melts the rubber and causes the OE balancer to fail. The DAL Motorsports cup engine had a balancer fail because the alternator belt was tightened too much. It will also eat up more horsepower. The tighter you go the more heat you will produce. This is even more common with the supercharged NSXs everyone knows that when the belt isnt tight the SC slips and wont make as much boost. I tend to only tighten the belt until it stops making noise, and if supercharged I tighten the belt while on the dyno, until I stop seeing a rise in boost. I then feel how tight that is for the next adjustment without a dyno. If you are doing this without the dyno, lean towards too loose rather then too tight....

 

[pat_neumerz]

Anyone know the size of the bolt on the alternator? Mine snapped in half when I was tightening the alternator belt.

 

[tweety2300]

Autozone or advanced can tell you

 

[808MP5]

Anyone know the size of the bolt on the alternator? Mine snapped in half when I was tightening the alternator belt.

I also would like to know without calling autozone or taking a trip down there.

 

[tweety2300]

In the time it took to wait for a reply or even post this you could have called them... Just sayin

 

[808MP5]

So do you know the size because I'm still askinG.

*edit
So I took your advice and called autozone(even though we don't have one here in Hawaii) and got the answer I was expecting. They DON'T know. It's a dealer specific item. They don't have it plus was unable to tell me the size. But I'm sure if someone knew what size it is I could pick it up at any local hardware store.

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

Maybe message Jason at onlinemazdaparts.com? He got me specifics on some Mazda hardware a ways back.

 

[808MP5]

Maybe message Jason at onlinemazdaparts.com? He got me specifics on some Mazda hardware a ways back.

Good advice. Jason at onlinemazdaparts.com wasn't able to find the exact size within the catalog. But he does have them in stock. He physically looked at it and said it is an M8 bolt about 44-50mm in length and appears to be 1.25 thread pitch. I'm going to shoot him an email to get the exact part number.


*edit
Mazda protege, protege5, MP3, mazdaspeed 2.0l alternator tensioner bolt
Part# 997950880
Just incase someone needs to order one I know I do. Broke mine awhile back but was just long enough to be used but with much effort to get it to thread properly.

 

[tweety2300]

My bad I thought you were talking about the belt not bolt...I had to replace the one on the ac I'm sure they're the same ill try to find the paper for the exact size

 

[stinkycheezmonk]

So I have a fun story/question related to this. While trying to swap out my alternator belt, the locking bolt (lower one) broke. Or rather, the head broke off because the shaft was seized in the alternator housing > The belt is old, cracking, and squeals like an angry banshee all the time now. I can't change tension or replace the belt, and I'm worried about it breaking now. It LOOKS like I have to pull the engine to either drill that out (NIGHTMARE) or get the bracket off (?). Its been awhile since I've been under there, so I don't remember exactly how that's situated. Anyone dealt with this before?

Edit: It is bolt "B" in the "drive belt adjustment" pic here: http://www.mazdas247.com/members/evilmonkeyMSP/Drive Belts.pdf

 

[tweety2300]

Just pull the whole alt bracket off with the alternator and drill it out

 

[Ward83]

For sizing the bolt, both Lowes and Home Depot have thread gauges in the aisle with all the bolts and fasteners. Bring the broken bolt to the hardware store, see which thread gauge it threads into, and then you'll know what size threads you need. Then it's just a matter of finding one with the correct length. You'll want to get a grade 8 bolt.

 

[stinkycheezmonk]

Just pull the whole alt bracket off with the alternator and drill it out

One of the bolts is between the bottom of the alternator and the block. I can't see any way to get that loose with it in the way. Unfortunately, I can't manage to get either of the other two either, since somehow they're upwards at an angle, preventing me from getting any kind of leverage on the frickin' wrench. (eyeballs) I would really like to drive this car off a cliff.

 

[tweety2300]

Have you considered a bolt extractor?