# Some help needed from anyone running the ABF alternator on a 16v



## vlksdragon (Jul 28, 2000)

I recently installed an ABF alternator setup on a 9a block, and the alternator pulley is offset almost 1/4" too far out. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why it doesn't line up, since there seems to be a number of people running this exact same setup to clear carbs/itbs.

My setup is:

- Early 9a block from a '90 Passat
- stock crank sprocket 027 105 263B
- crank pulley from AEG 06A 105 243E
- VR6 waterpump pulley 021 121 031A
- ABF alternator mount 028 903 143AD
- ABF alternator and crank pulley spacer from INA 

I triple checked all part numbers and install, and the crank pulley (with spacer) and water pump pulleys line up with each other, but the alternator pulley looks like this:










If someone is running this exact setup, can you provide me with the following measurements?

1) distance from block to front face of crank pulley
2) distance from the alternator mounting tab where the upper mounting bolt head sits, to the front face of the alternator pulley
3) distance from upper mounting tab of the ABF alternator bracket to the front face of the alternator pulley


----------



## vlksdragon (Jul 28, 2000)

anyone?


----------



## bonesaw (Aug 8, 2004)

Looks like wrong alternator pulley.


----------



## vlksdragon (Jul 28, 2000)

bonesaw said:


> Looks like wrong alternator pulley.


That's what I thought initially, however that pulley seems to work on this same setup from another member:


----------



## bonesaw (Aug 8, 2004)

*FV-QR*

did you check with INA? they should be able to take care of you considering you purchased from them


----------



## vlksdragon (Jul 28, 2000)

bonesaw said:


> did you check with INA? they should be able to take care of you considering you purchased from them


Yes, I contacted them first, and they are being very helpful in trying to determine what the problem is, however they are as baffled as I am right now. So any help and/or measurements from people who are actually running this setup would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## need_a_VR6 (May 19, 1999)

It looks like that if you put a vr6 alt pulley on an aba. The ones you have are the same groove count?


----------



## vlksdragon (Jul 28, 2000)

need_a_VR6 said:


> It looks like that if you put a vr6 alt pulley on an aba. The ones you have are the same groove count?


Yep, 6 grooves for both the alt pulley and the 06a crank pulley. I can't imagine it's a vr6 alt pulley since the alternator came new with the pulley.


----------



## sdezego (Apr 23, 2004)

It is really hard to tell but that pic above with the belt almost looks as if the belt is misaligned like yours. Could be the angle though.

It can only be the mount, the Alt or the pulley really and with all that said, the Alt pulley. The 06a Crank pulley with Spacer should be fine.

It sure looks like the Alt pully is not correct (like that turned down portion should not be there), but I have not used that setup to date.

Have you contacted Issam at INA?


----------



## vlksdragon (Jul 28, 2000)

sdezego said:


> It is really hard to tell but that pic above with the belt almost looks as if the belt is misaligned like yours. Could be the angle though.
> 
> It can only be the mount, the Alt or the pulley really and with all that said, the Alt pulley. The 06a Crank pulley with Spacer should be fine.
> 
> ...


I have been in contact with Issam, however he is also unable to determine what the problem is.

This is why I could really use measurements from someone running this exact setup, which I have to imagine there are a few in this forum that are.....


----------



## Alderstorm (Jan 17, 2004)

I am running this setup on a 9A from a passat using an ABA crank pulley. The ABA pulley needs machined on the backside to take 6mm off.


----------



## vlksdragon (Jul 28, 2000)

Alderstorm said:


> I am running this setup on a 9A from a passat using an ABA crank pulley. The ABA pulley needs machined on the backside to take 6mm off.


What waterpump pulley are you running with that setup? And does your abf alternator 
pulley look look like mine?


----------



## Alderstorm (Jan 17, 2004)

I'm almost certain it's a VR6 water pump pulley. My alternator pulley looks slightly different, but I think it's just cosmetic. It's not anodized like yours (just plain billet Al) but the offset looks to be about the same as far as I can tell looking at the pictures. I think the crank pulley might be the problem. I think if you actually bolt the water pump pulley on, it will line up with the alternator and the crankshaft pulley will be the one offset.


----------



## vlksdragon (Jul 28, 2000)

Alderstorm said:


> I'm almost certain it's a VR6 water pump pulley. My alternator pulley looks slightly different, but I think it's just cosmetic. It's not anodized like yours (just plain billet Al) but the offset looks to be about the same as far as I can tell looking at the pictures. I think the crank pulley might be the problem. I think if you actually bolt the water pump pulley on, it will line up with the alternator and the crankshaft pulley will be the one offset.


Oh, the first thing I did when I got the abf alt was to bolt up all the pulleys. The odd thing is, the 06a crank pulley (with spacer) lines up correctly with the vr6 waterpump pulley, it's the alternator pulley that's off.

So either the crank pulley and waterpump pulley are both wrong, or the alternator pulley is wrong.

Do you have a pic of your setup?


----------



## Alderstorm (Jan 17, 2004)

Ok, I took some photos hopefully this will help out a bit. Not so easy to get a clean pic with the engine in the car...


----------



## vlksdragon (Jul 28, 2000)

Alderstorm said:


> Ok, I took some photos hopefully this will help out a bit. Not so easy to get a clean pic with the engine in the car...


Thanks so much for the pics! It looks like your alternator pulley also has a bit more offset than the other pulleys as well?


----------



## Alderstorm (Jan 17, 2004)

Everything seems to line up ok, the belt rides on the inside edge of the waterpump pulley, but it still makes contact with the whole pulley.


----------



## vwmk1gti (Apr 29, 2003)

I ran in to this problem once and I think I got the pulley turned down or got a different alt pulley


----------



## vwmk1gti (Apr 29, 2003)

looking at it again seems like the crank pulley is off, should stick out more

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk182/preen59/The Golf/IMG_1381.jpg


----------



## ValveCoverGasket (Mar 20, 2002)

vwmk1gti said:


> looking at it again seems like the crank pulley is off, should stick out more


i was going to say, are you sure the spacer youve got in there is big enough?...

throw the water pump pulley on and i think itll tell you which of the other two pullies is in the wrong spot.


----------



## vlksdragon (Jul 28, 2000)

vwmk1gti said:


> looking at it again seems like the crank pulley is off, should stick out more
> 
> http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk182/preen59/The Golf/IMG_1381.jpg


It's just the angle the pic is taken at, it sticks out the same. 




ValveCoverGasket said:


> i was going to say, are you sure the spacer youve got in there is big enough?...
> 
> throw the water pump pulley on and i think itll tell you which of the other two pullies is in the wrong spot.


I'm actually using the same spacer (~6mm from INA) and crank pulley as the picture above. Again, this appears to be the exact same proven setup used successfully by others, down to the part numbers. That's why this is so frustrating.

Here's a pic of my setup with all three pulleys:


----------



## ValveCoverGasket (Mar 20, 2002)

looking at that new picture it definitely seems like something is amiss with your alt pulley... i dont know what, but can you find a local machine shop to chuck that thing up and shave a few mms off the back side of it?


----------



## SirSpectre (Mar 20, 2011)

ValveCoverGasket said:


> looking at that new picture it definitely seems like something is amiss with your alt pulley... i dont know what, but can you find a local machine shop to chuck that thing up and shave a few mms off the back side of it?


Seconding.


----------



## ValveCoverGasket (Mar 20, 2002)

in fact...

i dont remember that second sort of neck bit being as long on mine...


----------



## vlksdragon (Jul 28, 2000)

ValveCoverGasket said:


> in fact...
> 
> i dont remember that second sort of neck bit being as long on mine...


I have definitely considered either shimming the crank and waterpump pulleys out, or machining the alt pulley down, but I still really would like to know why other people are running a seemingly identical setup with no problems? It's frustrating....

What is your motor setup? Also, can you tell me what you get for this measurement:


----------



## scottgti (Sep 28, 2007)

Watching wth interest. 









Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk


----------



## ValveCoverGasket (Mar 20, 2002)

vlksdragon said:


> What is your motor setup? Also, can you tell me what you get for this measurement:


those pictures were on my 1.8l 16v

it might be kind of tough to measure in the car now though... access is limited with the short intake manifold. ill see what i can do though :beer:


----------



## vlksdragon (Jul 28, 2000)

ValveCoverGasket said:


> those pictures were on my 1.8l 16v
> 
> it might be kind of tough to measure in the car now though... access is limited with the short intake manifold. ill see what i can do though :beer:


Your crank pulley doesn't appear to be an 06a, is it the abf crank pulley?


----------



## scottgti (Sep 28, 2007)

vlksdragon said:


> Your crank pulley doesn't appear to be an 06a, is it the abf crank pulley?


Looks like a tdi.

Sent from my Incredible using Tapatalk


----------



## ValveCoverGasket (Mar 20, 2002)

scottgti said:


> Looks like a tdi.


i believe thats the case...

its whatever issam was selling in his kits originally, as i recall this was one of the first kits he sold


----------



## _MK1_CABBY_ (Aug 14, 2009)

I used this one...

http://www.bahnbrenner.com/vw_audi/products/1853/BBM_Crank_Pulley_16v_20v


----------



## gopher11 (Nov 24, 2004)

Did this ever get resolved?

I'm running into the same issue on a 16V ABA build.

-INA ABF Alt and ABF bracket
-VR WP pulley
-ABA crank pulley (machined down 5.9mm to accommodate ABA to 16V timing pulley)


----------



## ABAVW16Vracer (Dec 8, 2012)

I have had the same problem. I cut down the alt pulley to make it fit. I think someones measurements are off or there is a wrong combo of parts, my guess is measurements. I think I ended up taking 10mm off the pulley in the lathe to make it fit.


----------



## gopher11 (Nov 24, 2004)

10mm is around what I ended up doing, but backwards.

My WP pulley was a bit close to the motor compared to the crank pulley.
Luckily the VR6 pulley is a lot wider than required for these belts, so I made a spacer to go behind the pulley.
That brought it closer to the center of the crank pulley, and also brought it within range of the alternator pulley.

Spacer was around 0.2"


----------



## vlksdragon (Jul 28, 2000)

gopher11 said:


> Did this ever get resolved?
> 
> I'm running into the same issue on a 16V ABA build.
> 
> ...


Sorry, just now saw this. Your setup is a bit different than mine, as I was initially using a 06A crank pulley, but the issue was that the spacer from INA was not the correct size. They sent a machined aba pulley, and it lines up correctly now.


----------

