Bayliner 3.0 L Marine engine alternator belt replacement

by Bruce
(Ferris, tx. USA )

I have the fix for easily replacing the alternator belt on a 3 L inboard outboard motor when the front engine mount is in the way of the water pump pulley.
If you want to use the same three groove water pump pulley then that is where we are going with this fix. If you have money you can buy a single groove water pump pulley and your problems will be solved, if you know that you are ONLY going to use the pulley to turn the alternator.
Lay some newspaper down in the bilge to catch metal filings that could fall when you take a file to that part of the pulley that keeps you from sliding that new belt between the pulley and motor mount. Yes the engine will be running but think of it as your lathe that is holding the pulley it will be turning and just put a file on it and file off what you need. Let the engine do the work for you. Be sure to buy a handle for that file because you don't want to have that file jammed into the palm of your hand. Yes it has happened to people. Talk about painful. You needed room to get the new alternator belt on so you just filed off that part of the pulley that was in the way . No harm done and maybe shoot a little black paint on that bare metal and one of those traps that kept you from getting your new belt on is eliminated.
Now turn the engine off and check to see if you have room to slide a new belt underneath the water pump pulley so you can zip tie a spare belt inside that engine mount out of the way of moving parts to make it easier to change the original belt if or when it breaks when you're on the lake. That is where you will catch it if you don't do a little preventative maintenance in the driveway.
Now take a small

scissor jack and put it in the bilge under the oil pan and put a small block of plywood in between the oil pan and the Jack.
You just want to jack up the front of the motor just a tiny bit to take the tension off of the two port side bolts that hold the engine mounting bracket onto the motor. Now loosen one bolt up and see how it feels. Does it feel like it's binding or not? Adjust the jack accordingly. Now take both bolts out and remove the spacer that the bolts went through and just slip the new alternator belt ( spare belt ) down between the front engine mount and the water Pump pulley.
Before you install the spacer that bolts on the port side of the engine be sure to leave the alternator belt on the outside of the engine mounting bracket. One side of the belt slips in underneath the water pump pulley and the other side of the belt stays on the outside of that engine mounting bracket so you can put that end on the alternator.
Use a little finesse when filing and you will keep your water pump pulley balanced. Use a file card to keep your file clean.
So, there you have it. that is about the cheapest way to fix that problem of getting the alternator belt on or off. Gather up your newspapers in the bottom of the bilge under your work area and your mess is cleaned up in a jiffy.
I have never seen anyone offer this type of a solution for this problem and I have read them all. Sure you can unbolt the water pump pulley but that can be a pain in the neck when you're in a hurry on the lake and it's getting dark.
This post is the answer to my original post on this site. Had trouble thinking of the answer until I actually wrote it down.
Does this seem like a logical solution to anyone that cares to respond?