TLDR: Followed the ‘standard’ procedure to replace an old and failed alternator clutch pulley (remove intake manifold, etc.) only to find that I didn’t install the cap properly and all the grease leaked out. Contacted the manufacturer (Litens): no way to re-grease – have to replace. Took a major shortcut when replacing and removed only the inlet pipe saving a huge amount of time and decreased risk of collateral damage; details below.
Note that I spoke with a Litens manufacturer representative on the phone to discuss the clutch; all clutch-specific details below are from my memory of the conversation and an email response.
What you need:
- New alternator clutch (there is only one global manufacturer in Canada (Litens) – all dealer and OEMs are the exact same part (#920803) off the exact same assembly line, with the only difference being laser lettering)
- New cap (included in the box with many OEM versions; separate part from Volvo #30750110)
- Alternator pulley removal tool: included in the box for many OEM versions, but the included tool is meant for very short impact gun bursts to remove/install – better to purchase/rent the two-piece removal tool for $30 or so. The clutch is reverse-threaded, which means that the more torque it experiences, the tighter the pulley becomes – exact tightening torque is always a good idea, but not essential (hence why it can be installed with air gun bursts)
- 7mm socket and small ratchet (for intake clamps)
- 10mm socket, 12mm socket, extension and ratchet
- 10mm 12-point offset box end wrench
- Second box end wrench that fits your removal tool (mine was 17mm)
- 1/2 drive breaker bar that fits your removal tool, and likely an extension
- Torque wrench
- Knife with sturdy blade
- Small, sharp blade screwdriver
- Long-handled blade screwdriver
Procedure (seems long, but takes about an hour):
- Disconnect the battery (negative terminal)
- Loosen the clamp connecting the induction pipe to the air filter box and pull the pipe off (tighten the clamp slightly if you don’t want the clamp to fall off)
- From underneath, loosen the clamp connecting the inlet pipe to the throttle body and pull the pipe off the throttle body
- From the top, lift the inlet pipe out (if the resonator box – the triangular piece of plastic connected to the inlet pipe – prevents you from lifting the pipe out, loosen the clamp connecting the resonator and disconnect, then lift both out of the engine bay.
- Remove the alternator nut (think it was 12mm) with a ratchet and long extension from the left-hand side
- Disconnect the “dashboard light” connector on the alternator; it’s a ‘barbed’ connector in that you have to push down on the back of the connector while pushing in toward the alternator to clear the barb on the regulator housing, then pull back (removing these and moving the cables out of the way will help with subsequent steps – move them as required for all remaining steps)
- Using a 10mm socket, remove the top two alternator bolts – only the left one is can be completely removed – the right one will stay ‘loose’ until the alternator is free
- Using a 12-point offset box end wrench, remove the bottom two alternator bolts; the one on the right is easy and can be seen if you sight it from the right where the induction pipe used to be; loosen the bolt and remove it completely, then use your fingers to ‘feel’ the left-hand lower bolt and slowly back it off a few degrees per turn – once free remove the bolt
- The lower mounts have brass sleeves and if they’re stuck, you may have to use a long-handled screwdriver to pry the alternator away from the engine – make sure you can feel the sleeves either on the alternator or on the engine as you’re going to have to use these to line-up the alternator when re-mounting it
- Once the alternator is free from the engine, pull the alternator to the left and remove the belt connecting the alternator to the accessory pulley, then remove the last bolt (upper-right)
- Slowly rotate the alternator towards you so the mounting face is towards you, and then counter-clockwise so the regulator is facing down and the pulley is facing up; at this point, it’s a good idea to work a towel or other soft surface underneath the regulator to protect it – just lift the alternator up by the pulley in-between the intake manifold holes and feed the towel underneath, then set the alternator down
- Remove the alternator pulley cap by cutting away at a small amount of rubber from the edge, then inserting a sharp knife or screwdriver into the gap and prying up; this takes some patience, and I eventually used a knife to lift and create a gap, then inserted a small screwdriver and lift up
- With the cap removed, insert your alternator removal tool with a box-end wrench around the outside nut, and a 1/2″ extension and breaker bar in the centre
- Turn the breaker bar counter-clockwise while holding the wrench and break the pulley free; remove the tool and unscrew the pulley by hand (remember, it’s reverse-threaded)
- If you’re changing the pulley because the accessory pulley nut became loose, now would be a good time to tighten/replace the nut; it’s supposed to take 63 Nm of torque, but I could only put 50 on it before the entire accessory belt started turning – under normal operation, it’s self-tightening (as is the alternator clutch pulley), so exact torque isn’t critical here, and there’s no point in thread locking the bolt either – it really won’t loosen if the alternator clutch pulley is working properly
- Install the new pulley by reverse threading it onto the alternator shaft, then insert the tool again and torque clockwise to 80 Nm (again, it’s self-tightening, so exact torque isn’t critical)
- Install the cap onto the pulley with your thumbs only, making sure all edges seal and are flush with the outer pulley ring
If the lower alternator mount bushings fell out at any point, re-insert the bushings into the engine-side mounts by lightly tapping them into place with a small mallet - Lift the alternator, remove the towel, rotate the alternator into rough position, pre-install the upper-right bolt, then put the belt back in place over the two pulleys
- Manoeuvre the alternator into place so the lower sleeves are in-place – then hand-tighten the upper-right bolt so the weight of the alternator is supported, then double-check the fit to ensure the bushings are lined-up – don’t worry if there’s a small gap as tightening the lower bolts will close any gap
- Reinstall the three remaining bolts and use your fingers to tighten all 4 as much as you can – you may have to lift and/or jiggle the alternator to help turn the bolts
- Using a 10mm socket, tighten the upper bolts – if you have a slim torque wrench, tighten the bolts to 25 Nm, otherwise do not over tighten or use any thread locker/anti-seize
- Using the 10mm box-end wrench, tighten the lower bolts (again, do not over-tighten – 25 Nm isn’t a great deal of torque) – there’s no hope of using a torque wrench on the lower bolts
- Re-connect the “dashboard light” connector and reinstall the alternator cable with a long socket (maybe clean the eyelet with a bit of 800+ sandpaper first, if it’s dirty) – the torque on the nut is 15 Nm – be careful to not crack the regulator housing as that’s basically the entire cost of the alternator
- Re-connect the inlet pipe, noting that you may have to re-connect the resonator while the pipe is 1/2 way in (if you had to remove the resonator to remove the inlet pipe), then tighten the upper and lower clamps
- Re-connect the battery and test
I took a video 1/2 through (when I knew this technique would work); attached some screenshots from the video, but can upload the video if there’s interest in this technique.
It looks like many steps, but I’ve covered off all the details, so the actual in-car time is quick; this technique saves you from removing the lower skirt, lower induction pipe bolts, all 8 connectors, and 7 bolts from the intake manifold, plus you don’t have to plug that leaky coolant return spigot. Reduces risk of: cracked connector housings, dropping things into the combustion chamber, and so on. I’ve tackled this repair both ways and while this method does have a couple of tricky parts – mainly around moving the alternator around, it’s way faster, cleaner, and easier than removing the entire intake manifold.
Just FYI, the pulley itself is designed to spill or leak a certain amount of grease out of the pulley and into the install feature pocket (area behind the cap where the threads of the alternator are). The cap keeps the grease in, but the first time I used a mallet to install it and warped the cap – if I ordered an OEM version instead of Volvo, it would have come with instructions to just use your thumbs.
Hope this helps someone!
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