1.8GTI Engine Pulley.. HELP!!!

Please can somebody help, my car is eating alternators belts for breakfast, I'm going through 1 every 3 weeks.
As soon as I start it, it squels like mad and the alternator pulley gets mega hot after on 10-20 seconds.
I'm certain somethings not lined up and I need the part number for the main engine pulley.
I think the one fitted is the wrong one.
Please help…..

Although the same pulley is used on many engines, to give you a correct part number would require the engine code, year and any accessories that it might have, i.e power steering. I kind of doubt the the pullies not being lined up is your problem. That is easy to check by just eye-balling the belt/pulley alignment or using a straight edge. Even if the belt/pullies are off a little, the alternator pulley should not heat-up like you say. I would first check into the bearings of the alternator due to the sound when you start it up and that pulley getting hot real fast.

Just to give you a quick summary.
This car has always had a problem with the alternator even when it was my father-in-laws.
It's had a new engine block about 4 years ago when it was last run and it's code is DX, it has no other accessories like power steering/air con, even tho the pulley on here now has the extra for air con etc..
I have only just replaced the alternator, it's got to be 2 weeks old at a push.
Following info from this website I rulled the bearings out by simply spraying the belt with WD40 and it went quite as a mouse then after 1-2 mins after the heat got back into it, it started again. I have also replaced the water pump and pulley just to be on the safe side.
If you have any ideas, please let me know.

Oh and it's 1988.

has it alway chomped belts or has  it just started?

Well I've only had this running about 5-6 weeks and yes it has.
It starts off smelling of burning rubber, squels like a pig then eventually flies off.

post some pics,(not of the broken belt!!),has it got the right alternator on it?as posted before use a straight edge to see if off line.

your not over tighting the belt are you,is the adjuster bracket bent?

Thanks to everyone involved.

Had a really good look at it this morning, the alternator pulley was out (god knows how), so put in a couple of washers behind the alternator pulley and heh presto back in line, belt looks square.

However when I came to start it, still the belt was screaming, so I checked the belt tension and it was about 5mm from water pump to alternator. But when it was running I could see that the tension from the main drive pulley to the alternator was very slack about 40-50mm so I put a spanner onto it and pushed it down and found that it went quite as a mouse and I aslo notice that the alternator fan sped up - Ha Ha slipping, hence why the pulley is getting mega hot after 10 seconds of running.

I tried several times to get the right tension, but everytime the same dam thing, tight on the water pulley side but slack as pants on the main drive pulley side when running. Well I was getting really cheesed off at this point and whilst it was running decided to tighten the alternator up really tight, so got my spanner on the adjuster nut and give it a good lever……

It appears that the alternator is on an overcentre bracket and I was on the wrong side. Basically I give it a good lever and the belt goes really tight and then went slack and then when you lever towards the engine the belts line up evenly looking form the wing.

At last it is now running nice and even and bl**dy quite, no heating of the pulley, no smelling of rubber…. Great.

So in short when you need to get the right tension, the adjuster nut should be somewhere in the middle of the alternator bracket not at the end like mine was.

Thanks again everyone.

eazy fix then,if you think logicaly about it!!happy motoring, :dontknow: