EcoTec V6 repairs

[Sojourner]

Greetings All,

Just wondering if anyone has changed the belt on an Ecotec V6 engine? Can it be done in the driveway with an ordinary spanner set or do you need to measure the tension on the belt with a specific tool?

I suspect the Alternator has gone in mine, the battery light has come on and the headlights are running dim and the windows are slower rolling up and so on. I assumed it to be the battery and replaced it, yet it made no difference whatsoever - am getting it over to an auto electrician to get the alternator checked to see if its the problem and if so am considering fitting it myself. I noticed the belt has cracking across the ridges of the belt, which is likely normal, but thought if the Alternator is off then it might be worth changing the entire belt at the same time? So again just wondering if anyone has given it a go and if anyone has any tips on what the electric problem might be? I tried all the plugs and everything seems to be connected ok, if it were the brushes in the alternator I would expect it to be intermittent, but its constant, so not really sure of what it can be outside of that.

[tipper]

if the v6 alternator has the same design as the vs v8 alternator it could be the brushes, i had one and there is a black box on the back of the alternator with two graphite "rods" i suppose you could call them. they are under spring pressure when installed and they wear down over time. if they are worn and too short they barely make contact with the important bits in the alternator, so therefore no/low charging. good news if it is that it can be changed with one phillips head screwdriver, no need to remove the alternator.

however if it is a different design/different problem it could still mean removing the alternator. changing the belt at the same time isnt a bad idea, when was it last changed? if you have the manual it should tell you how often the belt should be changed (ie after how many thousand kays), which could givbe you an idea how far away from/how long ago it should have been changed.

also keep in mind quite often it is recommended to change the tensioner pulley at the same time as the belt (at least on other cars it is, not 100% sure if it needs to be changed on commodore v6's) so while it isnt hard while the belt is off, it is another part you may need to get. quite often the pulley is on the way out when it comes time for belt change and it saves having to remove it all again in a few thousand kays.

meanwhile take all i have written with a grain of salt, i am not a mechanic and i have just gone on things i have done to my cars in the past. you could pm lesthemechanic from this board, he may be able to give much better general advice than i have, i believe his workshop is located in/near gawler. good luck!

[Lightning McQueen]

Take a picture of the configuration before you change it so you can get it right after. It isn't that hard and there's one main pulley that you'll need to use a spanner to lever it.

[kickinit]

changing the belt is easy. All you will need is a 17mm or 19mm (can't remember which one) put it on the tensioner pulley nut. I can't remember if it's clockwise or anti-clockwise but one way will make the tensioner move way from the belt and it will slip off easy as, it's about a 2min job. Once the new belt is on just let the pulley go back and it will set the tension for you and thats it. You won't have to replace the tensioner pulley only when the bearings are done and they a rattling. here's a diagram of all the pulleys labeled.

If it made no difference when you put in the new battery then I would suspect that it wouldn't be your alternator and you have another problem. The alternator only keeps the battery charged so the new battery should of been fine for a while, I would definitely be getting a mechanics to look at it.

http://www.ftw.net.au/tutorials/6675-ho ... -belt.html

[Sojourner]

Cheers everyone,

I had it over to the Auto Electrician this morning, they ran the Multi Meter over electrics and confirmed that the battery is not recieving any charge at all from the Alternator. They are going to take of the Alternator and see if its just the brushes that need replacing and will fit a reco one if neccessary, I have to change the oil, so will give the belt a go at the same time. Thanks again for the advice, it is very much appreciated!

[Barto]

Cheers everyone,

I had it over to the Auto Electrician this morning, they ran the Multi Meter over electrics and confirmed that the battery is not recieving any charge at all from the Alternator. They are going to take of the Alternator and see if its just the brushes that need replacing and will fit a reco one if neccessary, I have to change the oil, so will give the belt a go at the same time. Thanks again for the advice, it is very much appreciated!

It's probably the regulator brushes. Had this problem a few months back, the brushes are an easy fix if you can get them from an auto electrician, much cheaper than a complete regulator.

Although I had broken brush wires in mine, the actual cause was stuffed bearings that was heating the thing up too much and melting the wires.

Belts are an easy fix. As kickinit said, it's an auto tension pulley. It's probably the 17mm socket, but a 5/8 does the trick.

[Sojourner]

Getting rapidly sick of this car!

The Alternator has been replaced, I replaced the belt okay (Thanks again All). Yet now the Speedo Needle has dropped from 0 to the bottom of the dash, when its running its showing around 20ks less than the actual speed.... I was suspicious when the Alternator went all of a sudden rather than going intermittantly. What I am concerned about is that when it went that there may have been some type of surge in the electrics which has interfered with the needle. I could take the instrument cluster out and have a look, but am not sure what I am supposed to find that is any differnet - Smiths @ Port Adelaide were next to useless when I rang them, so I suspect its going to be a trip down Port rd to the Gauge shop there to see what can be done and more $$$ up the spout!

[Lightning McQueen]

Getting rapidly sick of this car!

The Alternator has been replaced, I replaced the belt okay (Thanks again All). Yet now the Speedo Needle has dropped from 0 to the bottom of the dash, when its running its showing around 20ks less than the actual speed.... I was suspicious when the Alternator went all of a sudden rather than going intermittantly. What I am concerned about is that when it went that there may have been some type of surge in the electrics which has interfered with the needle. I could take the instrument cluster out and have a look, but am not sure what I am supposed to find that is any differnet - Smiths @ Port Adelaide were next to useless when I rang them, so I suspect its going to be a trip down Port rd to the Gauge shop there to see what can be done and more $$$ up the spout!

Tits and wheels mate.

[tipper]

It might not actually be the guage, if it is a VS or later commodore the guages are all run by what holden called a "body control module"(bcm) all of the sensors run their signals to that (its basically a computer) and then onto the relevant guage.

it sounds like you may be right in that the alternator ahs sent a "surge" or something, which has affected something else, however the first thing i would do is check the plugs for both the engine computer and the bcm havent come loose. the engine computer is in the passenger footwell, either on the left behind a panel, or up behind the glove box (wou should be able to get to it without taking too much stuff out, it is a silver looking box with 2 plugs and heaps of wires on one end) and the bcm is under the dash on the drivers side. wiggle the plugs for both and see if it helps. hopefully one/both have somehow gotten a little loose.

once again, good luck!

edit: meanwhile do you have a good workshop manual for the car? if there is a computer fault there is a way to "ground" the diagnostic port of the car, and turn the ignition on. the indicators will flash in a sequence if there are fault codes in the computer. the fault codes should be listed in the manual and may point you in the direction of the fault.

[BIG SEXY]

sometimes electrical gremlins in vehicles can be sorted by disconnecting battery, removing reisdual current (turn headlights on for 2-3 seconds) and reconnecting battery after 30 minutes. worth a shot.

[Sojourner]

Will give that a go! Cheers!

The model is VX if that is any help!