Here's a picture of two nice fresh belts I just replaced on my 1.5 1997 BA



Saw my battery warning light come on and eventually twigged it was probably a missing belt. When I parked I spotted the alternator belt was no longer present. The water pump has been squealing for ages, and the belts were pretty old

I followed the advice about checking very carefully for the size. For anyone who is wondering, you can see the markings on both belts in the photo above. The belt round the alternator (going right in the picture, towards the back of the engine) is 885mm and the one round the power steering pump is 890mm. (They are the same width, even thought the photo makes them look different)

To get better access for the alternator adjuster I removed the two 9mm bolts holding the power steerring pipes to the top of the engine. Still a bit tight to get my arm in, especially reaching right round the back of the engine for one of the alternator bolts. The bolts fare all 12mm or 14mm

I was surprised there is only 5mm difference between the belts and I reckon you could use the 885 for both belts, but I didn't try. My trusty local motor factor place said the 885 is very common and easy to come by, but the 890 is less common. He charges more for that one too! About £12 for the 885 and 14 for the 890 (in May 2024)

After putting everything back in place, I happened to glance at the belts and notice this nick in the new alternator belt (I only ran the engine for five minutes, not even gone anywhere yet!)



I'm going to see how long it survives (I have some old belts as spares), hopefully until I replace the water pump, which is squealing away merrily as it was before

Update - new alternator bolt gave up after about 20 miles. I suspect I damaged the new one putting it on, but we'll see how it's replacement lasts - it was in good order when fitted!