alternator burned up belts what to check
 

I am guessing My alternator burned up the belts and melted them
The fan belt is melted and the alternator belt is melted and stretched.
Something made a noise under the hood and then there was smoke...I thought I was going to have a car on fire ........ Once the car stopped making the noise, and smoking I drove it home, about 10 blocks, by the time I got home, it looked like it was starting to overheat.....never got to the redline........I popped the hood and turned on the heater....and turned off the car...What do I need to check for damage to make sure I do not get stranded.
How hard will this job be?? For a newbie mechanic??

You need to make sure that everything is lined up - the centres of each pully - but it could be that something is stuck and not turning round. Your water pump for example or the distributor. If you can get the belts off check to see that all of the pulleys turn easily (except the one attached to the crank shaft!)

The alternator bearings could have siezed also. I have had that happen before. The alternator belts also spin the water pump.

I'm daft
 

What a stupid thing to say about a diesel! I meant alternator...

Did the battery light come on or did you see it flickering on in the past? This would indicate that the alternator was not turning.

This happened to me also. The bearing was going and then it froze one day and burned up the belt. I should have taken the warning signal and fixed it before it froze.

If you were overheating, the water pump is suspect. Like Army said, spin the pulleys and see if one is frozen in position.

300D Alternator
 

I was having a problem w/ the alternator (I think) a few weeks back But thought I fixed it.
the lights on the dash were all lit up even the fuel lite
the belts seemed tight enough.. I replaced the regulator.. Seemed to solve the problem..That was few weeks ago.

The lites went out,after replacing the regulator....

from time to time I would hear a noise under the hood I guess it sounded like kinda metallic sound I dont know if it was the pully or the bearings...but it sounded like it was coming from the alternator....I guess my fault for not investigating further I dont know how to check anyway......other more pressing problems right now...since I live in florida, you can imagine whats going on....

I think it is overheating because the belts are not there anymore.
I was driving it yesterday and had it sitting idle w/ no signs of overheating the extra fan in the front came on too. That was the first time I ever heard the extra front fan come on
so how hard will this be to replace the alt??? Will I just be cussing the whole time?

With no belts, the waterpump is not spinning. You will burn up the engine running like that.

I cussed the entire time while replacing the alternator. Of course it was in 20 degree weather under a car port...

Have you reliably confirmed that the alternator was the problem? You will be cussing some more if you replace the alternator only to find that the water pump was the culprit.

Unless you vehicle has been modified, the fan and alternator (and water pump) are driven by the same belts.

If the Alternator Bearings are messed up it will be easy to hear and even feel if you spin it by hand.
If it is the Water Pump you may be able to feel it but there would obvious side play in the Water Pump Bearing.

thanks all for the replies..will check pullys on water pump and alternator

well we have 90 plus degrees right now and very high humidity...no garage or shade.. 20 degrees sounds kinda good right now:)

what other damage do I need to check for since one belt broke and the other melted.

Am not driving it now dont want to cause further damage...stopped it as soon as I could drove only for a few blocks to get it home and shut it down right away...the temp guage went just barely above 100 no where near redline usually runs around 80 ish

So.... opinions on "new" "Used" "rebuilt"

You need to diagnose the problem before deciding on a treatment.

Alternator 300D 85
 

OK checked pully's

alternator will not turn by hand....I am not a guy and not as strong as y'all are so how hard should it be to turn??? will not budge by hand... the belt was melted into the pully. Removed the 2 belts

Checked the pully behind the fan blade (that is the water pump right??) it will turn by hand and the blades are not damaged there is no apparent noise in the pully that turned it, not lose or wobbly

So my guess is the alternator locked up and is not working

The alternator should spin free as the wind. You need to replace your belts and alternator with a rebuilt unit or have yours rebuilt by a auto electrical shop. I dont know of any auto electrical shops in jax though.

If you cant get a Bosch rebuilt unit, go for a NAPA unit, I hear they have a pretty good quality rebuilt products. I just got a NAPA rebuilt starter 1000 miles ago and so far so good.

So am I right to think that the bearings froze on the altenator?
will check out nappa for the altenator
the ones on nappa site do not have pullys...can I re use mine?

Yes the bearings locked up, its to be expected after so many years.

Yes most rebuilt alternators come without pulleys, I had to re-use my pulley when I replaced my alternator.