Hi All! I have a question about my alternator belt on my 84' Fiero. I bought a cheap belt at autozone and i had to re-tighten it after one day. It was ok for another couple of days, and then i had to re-tighten it again because it was squealing on startup. I just put a new stereo in and it started squealing like crazy and finally broke. My question is: Do i need to buy a better quality belt, or am i overdriving my alternator, or both? What is the original output of the alternator? I see that autozone sells a 94 amp alternator for my car and was thinking about getting it. Any input from anybody would be helpful.

Bob

I would suggest going with a Gates belt. The cheaper ones just haven't done it for me.

On my 84, 87SE, 88Coupe--then 3.4, the Dayco's and cheaper belts have caused problems.

The stock alternator in all of my cars have seemed to do the job. Tighten your belt to less than a quarter inch slack, and expect to do it again in a week or so.

Rats! I will learn to READ the post. Have you checked to see if your tensioner is functioning?

[This message has been edited by Larry (edited 03-31-2003).]

Thanks for the info on the belt...
Tensioner? what tensioner? I thought the only way to tension the belt on the 84' was to loosen the alt bolt and pry it back and then tighten the bolt again? Am i overlooking something?

Sigh, It has been a long time since I have seen that '84. Guess I was just going on my '88 when it was a four, an assumed all fours had tensioners with the serpentine belt. Don't really know, but it looks like you may be in the same boat as us six cylinder guys--tighten once, tighten twice, and hope.

I do know/remember (even on the '84) that the cheap belts didn't cut it.

Luck!

I've had bad experiences with the cheap kelly autozone belts. My GF's fiero ate one about every 2 weeks. After switching over to Goodyear, the belt hasn't needed replacement since.

Thanks guys! I got a belt from NAPA (Gates) and its been fine since. Guess i learned a lesson there....