Alternator belt tensioner on Kalina: installation and replacement

Regardless of the vehicle, the generator unit is considered one of the main components of the electrical network. Since it is this that allows you to power energy consumers when moving, as well as renew the battery charge. Domestic cars are no exception, in particular, we will talk about Lada Kalinas. How to change the belt of a Kalina 8 cl generator, what size should the belt be, how can it be adjusted? Find answers to these questions below.

Adjustment methods

Currently, there are three main methods of tensioning the alternator belt in cars:

1. Using a special arc-shaped strip. In this case, the generator has two mounting points. One of them is an axis around which it can move within small limits. The other is the nut on the adjustment bar. If you release it, you can move the pulley to the required distance. This method is now considered obsolete. It is mainly used on VAZ classics.
2. The generator is moved by rotating the adjusting bolt. This system has become widespread in cars of the tenth family.
3. Using a tensioner. This is a special movable roller that rests on the belt between the generator and crankshaft pulleys. It is equipped with a screw mechanism. By rotating it, you can adjust the pressing force. This is exactly the kind of alternator belt tensioner on the Lada Kalina.

Replacement cost

The cost of changing a belt on a Lada Kalina car depends on the type of engine, range of units and is:

• for a motor without a tensioner - from 300 rubles;
• engines with a tensioner without air conditioning - from 150 to 350 rubles;
• motors with tensioner and air conditioning - from 220 to 400 rubles;
• for unit 21127 - about 600 rubles.

Replacing the roller will require an additional 250 rubles. The total amount required by the car owner to purchase spare parts, in the maximum version, will not exceed 850 rubles.

Advantages of a tensioner

Why weren't designers happy with the previous adjustment methods? Why did they add an extra video? It's not just about convenience. The tensioner significantly increases the service life of the generator. Without a roller, the entire load falls on its bearings. If the belt is tensioned normally, then there is nothing to worry about. In this case, the generator will last many thousands of kilometers. However, very often car owners overtighten the belt, and this is bad.

The load on the bearings increases many times over, so they quickly fail. In itself, this is not so scary and expensive, although repairing a generator is quite labor-intensive. But the car owner does not always recognize the breakdown in time. The bearings gradually “break”, the rotor moves and begins to cling to the stator winding. The result is the need to purchase a new generator. Of course, the Kalina generator belt tensioner pulley can also fail, which happens quite regularly, but that’s only 400 rubles, not twelve thousand.

Belt selection, catalog number, price

Each belt in a car has its own service life and resource, and therefore requires periodic replacement. So, which alternator belt should be installed on an 8-valve Lada Kalina and how is this done?

Original number and belt size:

• Knowing the original catalog number. You can easily find a suitable belt using it, without knowing either the size or the teeth.
• By size and type of teeth (number of ribs = 6, size = 1018 mm). The belt marking for Lada Kalina with 8 valves is 6PK1018.Gates 6pk108 is an ideal price/quality ratio. This is the right size for this car. The teeth of the generator belt in Kalina do not run along the base of the court, but along it, having 6 strips that are installed on the corresponding pulleys.

Gates 6p108 - ideal value for money

This is the size that fits this car. The Kalina's alternator belt teeth do not run across the bottom edge of the belt, but along it, with six belts that need to be installed on the corresponding pulleys.

Please note that replacing the alternator belt also involves the tensioner, which wears out along with it. It also needs to be replaced during the replacement process.

When choosing a belt and roller, the rider faces a difficult task: original or analogue. Both are good. But what if you don't have a strap when shopping in a store?

Alternator belt items for Kalina

• The original article number of the alternator belt on the 8-valve Lada Kalina is 1118-1041020. The average cost in the Russian Federation is 750 rubles. An analogue of the original alternator belt 1118-1041020 - 6PK1018.
• The original generator belt pulley costs about the same, about 750 rubles, and has a catalog number - 2123-1041056. A complete set of spare parts for replacing the alternator belt on an 8-valve Kalina will cost owners 1,500 rubles. Old pulley 2123-1041056 and new alternator belt tensioner pulley.

Analogue of the original alternator belt 1118-1041020 - 6PK1018

Old pulley and new generator belt tensioner pulley 2123-1041056

Table of alternator belt analogues for the 8-valve Lada Kalina

All such stripes turned out to be quite good and won the trust of drivers.

Table of alternator belt roller analogues for the 8-valve Lada Kalina

Design

The main element of the tensioner is the pressure roller. It is made of plastic, and a sealed bearing is pressed inside. The roller is mounted on its own bracket, which, with the help of a threaded rod, can move in a vertical plane. This ensures the required moment of pressure on the belt. To prevent the bracket from moving spontaneously when the car is moving due to engine vibration, the pin is tightened on top with a locknut. The entire structure is placed on the generator bracket. There are two holes in it for attaching the Kalina generator belt tensioner.

Most common faults

During operation, the surface of the roller is constantly in contact with the generator belt. In addition, it is in continuous rotation, which places additional demands on the reliability of its bearings. The tensioner bracket is also subject to heavy load. Hence the main problems:

• Bearing wear. It simply runs out of service life or becomes unusable due to dust and dirt getting on it.
• Damage to the work surface. As already mentioned, the roller itself is made of plastic. Despite its high wear resistance, it often cannot withstand loads. This manifests itself in the form of scratches and chips, which quickly render the alternator belt unusable.
• Misalignment. This means that the belt and tensioner are at a certain angle to each other. Alignment can be disrupted in both the horizontal and vertical planes (due to the curvature of the bracket). This always causes rapid wear of the belt and the roller itself.

Often the cause of the malfunction is the driver himself. When trying to make adjustments, he forgets or does not loosen the locknut enough. As a result, the hexagon of the stud breaks off, and the Kalina generator belt tensioner fails.

Symptoms of a problem

Damage to the tensioner is usually easy to diagnose. It is often noticeable visually. Running the car for a short time without an alternator belt helps to identify the problem. This often allows the damage to be localized. You should think about replacing the Kalina generator belt tensioner in the following cases:

• Presence of traces of rust and corrosion on the roller axis.
• A characteristic whistle when the engine is running.
• Short service life of the alternator belt.
• Curvature of the roller relative to the belt.

If the cause of the malfunction is precisely established, you can proceed to its elimination.

Functions of the alternator belt in a car

In what cases is the tensioner roller replaced, how to replace the brushes, how to tension and adjust the belt in a car with and without air conditioning? First of all, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the purpose of the belt. Every modern car has a generator, and if it breaks down, full operation of the vehicle will be impossible. The purpose of the belt is to transmit rotation from the crankshaft to the generator unit itself.

After the rotation is transmitted to the device, electricity is generated in the on-board network, which allows you to power all devices and equipment. That is why the performance of the strap is very important, since if it breaks, the generator device will not be able to function.

Replacing the tensioner

The device consists of several elements, each of which is removable. Therefore, the need to replace the Lada-Kalina alternator belt tensioner assembly does not arise so often. As a rule, it is associated with mechanical damage to the bracket and stud.

Replacement work must begin with preparing the tool. No special variety is required; keys 8, 13 and 19 are sufficient. Replacement is carried out in the following sequence:

1. Use a 19mm wrench to loosen the tensioner locknut.
2. Using a 8 key, rotate the pin clockwise. Here you need to be careful and not put in much effort. If rotation is difficult, it is better to loosen the locknut a little more.
3. The pin is released until the roller no longer acts on the belt.
4. By unscrewing two 13mm bolts, you can completely remove the tensioner.

Here you need to pay attention to one point. Bushings are inserted into the tensioner mounting holes. When removed, they often fall out and get lost, and they may not be present on the new tensioner. Bushings are necessarily included in the kit, but not everyone knows about their existence, so they don’t check it when purchasing. Installation of the Kalina generator belt tensioner is carried out in the reverse order. The pin is tightened with a force of 0.18 kgf/m.

Troubleshooting

When checking the functionality of a node, it is recommended to adhere to the following sequence of actions:

1. The first step is to make a visual inspection of the belt and roller. To do this, you need to open the hood of the car, start its engine and observe the operation of the unit. At the same time, pay attention to the presence of vibration of the belt and the roller itself.
2. The second point is to check the tension of the generator belt. All you need to do is grab the belt with your hand (the car engine must be stopped) and turn it ninety degrees in a clockwise direction. If you managed to do this, then everything is fine. If the rotation angle is greater or less than 90 degrees, adjustment will be required.
3. The third stage involves gaining access to the video and checking it. In order to gain access to the product, you must remove the belt. Before you do this, you need to remember its original position. The belt can be removed freely only after the roller adjusting nut has been loosened.
4. Now is the time to check the performance of the video. Twist it, while making sure that there is no jamming when scrolling; rotation should be free. In addition, it is worth carefully inspecting the outer plastic side of the roller (on which the belt runs). The surface of a serviceable device must be smooth, without deep grooves or other damage to the coating that prevent the belt from rotating or contribute to its wear. If signs of damage are present, the belt tensioning part must be replaced.

Forced tuning

Unfortunately, since 2011, designers have abolished the tensioner on Kalina. They were guided primarily by considerations of economy, but they did this without any modification to the generator. In practice, cases of its premature failure immediately became more frequent. Therefore, owners began to install the tensioner on their cars themselves.

It's not very difficult to do this. True, you will have to purchase not only the tensioner itself, but also the generator bracket. The only problem is removing the standard belt. It is very difficult to remove because it is very tight at the factory. You can simply cut it, as you will have to buy a new one. The fact is that the Kalina generator belt without a tensioner has a size of 820 mm, but 880 will be needed.

How to change it yourself?

The complexity of replacing the alternator belt on Kalina does not depend on the number of valves or additional units on the engine.

Replacement on 8 valve engines without tensioner

Replacing the belt on such an engine is the simplest; the only tools you need are a 13 mm wrench and a short flat-blade screwdriver. Since the tension in such a drive scheme is quite strong, when changing it is necessary to use only a Gates 6PK823SF or Dayco 825 six-V belt with the additional marking POLY-V. The remaining straps are too rigid, quickly collapse and damage the bearing on the generator shaft.

Stages of work

To complete the task you need to do the following:

1. Unscrew the lower mounting bolt of the generator 2-3 turns.
2. Unscrew the nut of the upper fastening, use a screwdriver to push out the bolt and remove it completely.
3. Lower the generator down. The eye of the mechanism must pass through the gap between the radiator and the TV body.
4. Remove the old belt and replace it with a new one. If the strap does not fit easily onto the pulleys, you can carefully tighten it using a screwdriver.
5. Raise the generator up, ensuring the belt is tensioned.
6. Insert the upper mounting point bolt and tighten the nut.
7. Tighten the lower mounting point bolt.
8. Check the operation of the belt.

The repair process on such an engine is clearly shown in the video filmed by the author Ilgiz Magafurov.

Replacement on 8 valve engines with tensioner

Here, the procedure for installing a new alternator belt is very different from that presented above.

Required Tools

To replace the alternator belt yourself, you will need at least the following tools:

Stages of work

To adjust the degree of belt tension on Kalina engines, a mechanical tensioner is used, in contrast to the timing drive, which uses a hydraulic tensioner. When changing an element, it is recommended to carry out preventive maintenance of the roller by adding fresh lubricant.

To complete the work you need to do the following:

1. Loosen the roller bolt. The thread on it is reversed.
2. Use a screwdriver to pry up the plastic plug on the roller and carefully remove it.
3. Unscrew the fixing nut on the tensioner rod a few turns.
4. Loosen the belt tension by rotating the rod nut clockwise. The nut must be unscrewed until the rod begins to move freely in the seat.
5. Unscrew the side bolt securing the rod end, located next to the tension roller.
6. Remove the tensioner and set it aside.
7. Proceed to dismantle the strap. The procedure must begin with the generator pulley, while overcoming the slight resistance of the belt.
8. Remove the element from the crankshaft pulley and remove it completely.
9. Unscrew the roller bolt and remove it.
10. Using a needle, carefully pry up and remove the protective caps on the bearing. Wash the bearing with white spirit or gasoline.
11. Refill with fresh grease and install protective rubber caps.
12. Assemble all the parts and mount the roller in place. When assembling, you must remember that the bushing is in the bearing on the side of the bracket.
13. Change the belt by installing it in the reverse order - from the crankshaft pulley to the generator pulley.
14. Install the tensioner and begin tightening the belt by turning the nut counterclockwise. The nut must be tightened until the resistance increases. A well-tensioned strap should be slightly pressed when pressed by hand.
15. Tighten the nut securing the tensioner rod.
16. Check the operation of the mechanism; if a whistle occurs, tighten the strap.