Unfortunately, that photo doesn't tell the tale on the SD (or the 300D for that matter) because the cooling system is dismantled. There is a discharge for the cooling system directly above that bracket and it limits the travel of the bracket.

I suppose that I'll have to get a photo of the SD..................

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet (tl;dr) but last time I did this I loosened up this bolt:

http://i435.photobucket.com/albums/q...68d687e4_z.jpg

I didn't take it out, and I undid the bottom bolt completely. This allowed the alternator to drop a few inches and the belt went on easily. Also repositioning the bracket after the fact wasn't too hard either, once it got tight the torque from the wrench was more than enough to raise the bracket and put the bottom bolt in.

This however was on my 1980 TD with only one belt, but a larger alternator.

Unfortunately, you've got the logic reversed. The alternator must get closer to the engine centerline to R&R the belts. For that to occur, the bracket must rise upward so the alternator can pivot in the slot.

On the '84 and '85, the bracket cannot rise sufficiently because the water outlet is in the way.

The bolt that you reference is the third bolt and it is mandatory to loosen that bolt to get the alternator to pivot. That's the bolt that John is suggesting to remove in order for the bracket to move further inboard. I don't think it will work for him.

^Bummer, and you're probably right. I did this while I was rebuilding my AC so it's been a while/wasn't an important job.

I do remember it being a pain in the ass before I did whatever made it work.

Ahh, good call. But I did get the belts off before i took the pump/housing off. I'll have to reshoot when I get those back in place.

In your photo above, the current position of the alternator would just barely allow R&R of the belts, IMHO. However, there is NFW that the alternator could ever get to that position on the SD. It won't get past the 1/2 way point in the slot.

Right now, with belts less than one year old, I've got about 3/8" of slot remaining on the outside..........then I need new belts again.

Please do.

I'm going to shoot the SD as well and see how it compares to the 300D. Apparently, they're different.

That's a copy of my shot, and that's where I took both belts off by hand, minimal prying, no cursing.

Clearly, that situation is quite different than the SD. The bracket can move much higher on that engine.

Here are some crap photos of mine...

http://i435.photobucket.com/albums/q...n/be7f11bc.jpg

http://i435.photobucket.com/albums/q...n/a8186923.jpg

That's EXACTLY the problem on the SD.

The bracket cannot rise sufficiently. It hits that water outlet.

I'm just trying to remember exactly what I did. I might have even taken that whole bracket off and left that bottom bolt on but just loosened. Put the belt on, and replaced the bracket.

That at least sounds familiar to me...

If you take that bracket off--Then its certainly time to hit it with a 4 1/2 " grinder and remove some material so the damn alternator can rotate in some more in the future

Unfortunately, I've never been able to determine the exact point of contact between the bracket and the outlet tube.:mad:

Hmm. I've seen brackets that have a giant hole in the center of them... factory... perhaps the problem was addressed?