Hi All,

I have a '96 Regal Custom Series II 3.8L about 40k miles. Alternator quit the other day, found a replacement at Advance Auto Parts. Drive-Rite Remanufactured unit 105a. When installing, the lower pivot bolt and the front bolt that also attaches to the heavy black bracket fit fine, but the rear mounting bolt hole was (and is) about an 1/8th of an inch off and I could not get the rear bolt reinstalled. That said, without that bolt the alternator is installed rock solid so I connected my electrical and put the belt back on. All of the pulleys seem to line up fine, everything runs whisper quiet. The only thing that concerns me is that the belt now travels a very slight amount, perhaps a 16th of an inch or less off the front of the tensioner wheel. Should I be concerned about this? Can I adjust the tensioner wheel further out to compensate for this very slight difference? I ran it pretty good yesterday, into some 4-5k rpms and everything seems fine but when things dont look the same as they did I get concerned. Interested in your thoughts.

Update - was able to make slight adjustments to the alternator positioning and bolt tightening sequence so that the belt now rides in the center on the tensioner. Also was able to get the rear bolt installed which probably helped to ensure alternator pulley is square regarding any minor angle variances. So all is well.....

Lesson learned is to follow the factory manual sequence for installation - otherwise all tolerances may not be exactly as they should be. Happy camper now!