I'm not talking about a lot of shaking here, but it is visible when looked at closely. I'd say a few mm fore and aft. It's not eating any belts so i'm guessing there is very little, if any, side to side action.
Gotta say that i can't recall ever noticing the alt. doing this so i'm not sure if its the norm or not. Will be going back out there to check the bolts once the motor cools off. In the mean time was wondering if some other max owners could take a look under the hood of their running cars and check if they can see any movement at all.

On a side note would a belt tensioner on its way out allow enough slop in the belt to make the alt. shimmy/shudder about? Not currently having any driving or charging issues. Just had a few belt squeals upon start up over the course of a couple months which is what made me pop the hood.

 

No it's not. One of your bolts are either loose or broken.

 

yeah really man. lol No parts like that are supposed to shake. come on use common sense. lol

 

Really? You want to proclaim your douchery by blurting out off handedly? Did you bother even reading the post or did you simply glance at the heading/title and proceed to act a fool?

In case you aren't clever enough to get any of this.......these are all rhetorical questions.

 

Checked the bolts and nothing is loose or broken. As mentioned in the original post would a belt tensioner on its way out be able to cause, or potentially/theoretically cause, what i'm now finding? Or maybe even a belt that is stretched??? Can't see why it would be as its been changed within 12 months with an oe belt.

 

loose belt tensioner or worn belt or both would cause a belt to slip or even fall off of pulleys but it's got nothing to do with alternator play you are describing.
on a side note, 12 month span is a good span to replace drivebelts even if they look OK, belts DO get tired without giving you all that fried or cracked or brown look they tell you about in the books, so go ahead, remove old belt (by the way now it would be good time to replace steering pump belt as well since you are already there), check for alternator play by simply retightening the bolts that hold it onto engine, (or a bracket and then to engine, can' t remember) and slip new belts on. Follow tightening procedure very carefully, big adjuster nut on top is for adjusting the belt, NOT for holding it in place, side pulley nut is what holds it in place, so do not forget to relax that side nut first.

 

Your issue is the compressor mounting bracket. it is loose which is causing your alternator to shift. Reason I know, I had this issue in the winter time when my car sometimes charge and other times wouldn't. I checked and the alternator housing shell broke . I was shocked as this is the first time I have seen it. Even the dealer would not take it back as the core because they reuse the shell. Check it out ASAP. The one that was loose for me was directly behind the compressor.