Maintaining proper functioning of the alternator is an important task to ensure smooth functioning of the electrical system in any vehicle. The generator provides constant recharging of the battery and ensures the operation of other energy consumers. Generating the necessary electricity is impossible without a working alternator belt and the correct degree of tension.
The alternator belt and belt tensioner (Kalina) ensure the transmission of torque from the car engine to the generator, resulting in the generation of electricity. Over time, situations arise when the tension weakens or disappears altogether, and as a result, the required level of electric current generation is not ensured. Often the causes of malfunctions lie in the generator belt tensioner (roller), which is what we will talk about.
Adjustment methods
Currently, there are three main methods of tensioning the alternator belt in cars:
- 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.
- The generator is moved by rotating the adjusting bolt. This system has become widespread in cars of the tenth family.
- 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.
The process of replacing the timing belt on an 8-valve Lada Kalina
As with any repair, you should start by looking for tools. So, to replace the timing belt and pulley of the Lada Kalina 8-valves you will need:
- Wrench 17 (open-end and socket).
- Head for 10.
- Flathead screwdriver.
- Special key for tensioning.
When you have decided on the necessary tool, you can proceed directly to replacement:
- To make it easier to replace the timing kit, the alternator belt should be removed.
- Unscrew the 3 bolts securing the timing case and remove the cover.
Removed the timing belt cover
We combine the marks. Rotate the right front wheel with your hands until the marks touch
We remove the pulley. Very detailed in this photo
Removed the timing belt
Thus, it can be seen that replacing the timing belt and pulley on the Lada Kalina 8 valves is quite easy. On average, this process takes up to 4 hours.
Belt and roller selection
The quality of the timing belt and pulley plays an important role in engine performance.
Experienced Kalinovods from our community do not recommend that you take a Dayco timing belt. The photo shows a DAYCO belt with a mileage of 20,000 km.
At the same time, the choice should be approached carefully and thoroughly. The operation of the injection and exhaust gas systems depends on their high-quality and complex work. Since the timing belt and roller are considered consumables, therefore they change more often than the main parts of the power unit.
Article number and price of the belt
So, let's look at the original and non-original timing system parts that can be installed on the 8-valve Lada Kalina.
21126-1006040 is the original timing belt article number , which is produced by the AvtoVAZ plant. At the same time, it is considered reliable with a service life of up to 30 thousand km. The average market price is 1300 rubles.
There are quite a lot of analogues of the original part on the spare parts market. Some of them are of better quality than the original timing belt for the 8-valve Kalina. Let's look at which manufacturers make non-original spare parts for the gas distribution mechanism for VAZ -1117-1119 8 valves.
Table indicating manufacturers, articles and prices
| Manufacturer's name | Catalog number | Average price in the Russian Federation in rubles |
| Master-Sport | 1137-SD-PCS-MS | 570 |
| Grand prix | JH8025 | 800 |
| LYNXauto | 137FL22 | 960 |
| Hola | TH1372 | 1000 |
| Contitech | CT1137 | 1280 |
| Finwhale | BD137 | 1550 |
| Dayco | 941071 | 1650 |
| Bosch | 1 987 949 662 | 1860 |
| Gates | 5631XS | 2150 |
| Luzar | LTB0127 | 2280 |
| Optibelt | ZRK1593 | 3340 |
| Pilenga (belt+roller) | CT-P1137 | 4720 |
| Trialli (belt+roller) | GD770 | 5060 |
New Bosch timing belt
As you can see from the table, the choice of non-original timing belt is quite large. Every car enthusiast will be able to choose for his 8-valve Lada Kalina the option that he considers most acceptable.
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.
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.
Determination of malfunction and replacement time
Identifying a damaged alternator belt is quite simple. Let's look at the main indicators:
- Whistle in the space under the engine. Appears after increasing the speed of the gas pedal and increasing the current in the network.
- Tightening the strap did not work; the whistle remained.
- Cracked or elastic belt Bad alternator belt, bad belt - broken (torn) teeth
- Frame distortion, deviation. The crack in the alternator belt is clearly visible.
Bad alternator belt, bad alternator belt, broken teeth.
The crack in the alternator belt is clearly visible.
All these malfunctions indicate that it is time to replace the alternator belt on Kalina’s car. Otherwise, it may be torn apart at the most inopportune moment.
A torn stripe on one of the Kalinas
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.
Signs of breakdown and vulnerable spots
In any tension roller design, the weakest point is the bearing. The part is subject to loads of a constant nature, in addition to which temperature differences contribute. Under such conditions, element failure can occur quite often.
Let's take a closer look at the list of main signs, due to the presence of which the roller can be considered faulty:
- The battery no longer receives a full charge;
- the car's energy-intensive current collectors began to show disturbances in their functioning;
- a characteristic hum coming from the area where the generator unit is located;
- presence of play during roller operation;
- The working surface of the generator set drive belt shows signs of uneven wear.
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:
- Use a 19mm wrench to loosen the tensioner locknut.
- 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.
- The pin is released until the roller no longer acts on the belt.
- 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.
How to replace the Kalina generator roller?
Here we need the following tools:
- a screwdriver with a flat tip;
- keys whose standard sizes are: “8”, “19”, “17” and “13”;
- awl.
Process.
How to tension the alternator belt correctly step by step:
- First, by opening the hood of the LADA Kalina, we loosen the tension of the belt drive.
- Now we use a wrench set to “19”, with which we loosen the tightening torque of the nut. Rotate the rod in a clockwise direction until it comes completely out of the seat.
- Next, use an awl to pry up and remove the plastic protective cap present on the roller. A screwdriver with a thin and flat “tip” may be suitable for this purpose.
- We find a bolt that secures the bearing to the bracket. To do this, we “arm ourselves” with the key to “17”.
- Now carefully remove the roller. It comes with a protective washer and bushing.
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.
Article number and price of the video for Lada Kalina
An integral operation of selecting a belt is also selecting a timing pulley. As in the first option, there is an original and several analogues that can be used. Let's look at the article numbers and prices for the timing pulley Lada Kalina 8 valves:
- The original catalog number of the timing belt roller of the 8-valve Lada Kalina is: 21126-1006135. The average cost of this part in the Russian Federation is 700 rubles.
- There are quite a lot of analogues of the original timing pulley, which are successfully certified for use on a car and differ only in quality and service life. Let's consider which timing pulley can be installed instead of the original one on a Kalina with 8 valves:
Table indicating manufacturers, part numbers and prices for a non-original timing pulley
| Manufacturer's name | Catalog number | Average price in the Russian Federation in rubles |
| Master-sport | 21126-1006135-ST-PCS-MS | 580 |
| QML | BT1006 | 650 |
| Pilenga | PT-P1571 | 670 |
| Torque | KR5016 | 680 |
| Caffaro | 320-99 | 720 |
| Trialli | CM172 | 735 |
| Optimal | 0-N2044 | 750 |
| LYNXauto | PB-3012 | 1080 |
| Gates | T42150 | 1300 |
| Dayco | ATB2543 | 1450 |
| Ina | 532060410 | 1470 |
| SNR | GE372.00 | 1500 |
| Ruville | 57207 | 1550 |
| Coram | C834 | 1850 |
| Outlog | RT1663 | 2000 |
This is a Chinese video, the quality is not very good, it quickly became noisy
A fairly large selection of timing rollers is available to the owner of the 8-valve Lada Kalina. It is worth noting that most of the products from the table have high quality workmanship and also have a service life of about 40,000 km.
