electrical and ignition Tii Alternator Qs

[saaron]

Hi all

 

So prior to driving the 800 miles to Vintage and back in my '72 tii, a shop here put an alternator and fan belt in my car.  Which works great from the perspective of being an alternator.  

 

I was checking the alternator over the night before I left - the top mounting bolt (the one you can see from above) was barely finger tight.  Yikes.  I tightened it.  

 

Got to Vintage Fri, no drama.  Starting the car Sat AM, got a little fan belt squeal on start up.  Same on Sunday.  When you give it gas to take off from a stop, a second or two of squeal until the clutch is all the way out.  We checked the fan belt every time we stopped on the way home to make sure the fan belt wasn't getting super-loose.  It didn't get worse, but appears to be not under quite enough tension - it deflects a bit too much, I think.  

 

I got around to looking underneath the alternator (from below) today, and it looks like I'm missing a nut on part of the alt bracket.  See pic - the stud (or end of a bolt, I'm not sure which) doesn't have anything on it, which doesn't look correct to me.  This is slightly blurry piece, middle/lower third of pic.

 

I've searched around and can't find a pic to confirm that there should be a nut there.

 

I assume I should get the correct nut and some loctite and fix that.  I would then adjust the fan belt tension via the nut/bolt closer to the sway bar (foreground of the picture).  Am I on the right track?

 

Thanks 

 

Scott

[BillWilliams]

Scott, the stud should have a nut on it and you should make sure the two washers, one on each side of that bracket are good.

Can you post a wider shot of the alternator shot from that angle? I am not sure what I am seeing at the top of the photo.

 

This is the best I can do for now. You can see the nut and the front washer on the place I think you are referring to. Those washers are part metal to hold shape in the hole in the bracket. Without these specific washers, the bracket moves and make tightening the bracket impossible.

 

The nut is an M8 and the washer/bush is PN# 11721261404, you need two of the washers.

 

 

 

You are on the right track. No locktite needed. Tensioning the belt is a bit tricky for one but can be done. A set of helping hands makes it easier. I take a crow bar and find a place to get a bite to lever the alternator to where there is about 1/2 inch play in the longest run of the belt. Holding that tension, tighten the nut where the bracket meets the block and the nut where the bracket meets the alternator.

 

You may need to tighten the bolt/nut which holds the alternator to the bracket.

[saaron]

Thanks, Bill.  Here are some better pics.  This shows the stud w/the missing bolt more clearly.  I'll try to find a source for the washer.

 

 

 

Here's a wider shot of the bottom of the alternator.  Is the bolt in the middle of the photo where the fan belt tension adjustment is carried out?

 

 

Thanks for the help.  You're pic helped me get oriented!

 

Scott

[BillWilliams]

The stud is there, all you need is the nut and I would get TWO of those washers. Replace those while you doing this. Yours look oil soaked and tired. You know the source. E-mail me if you do not.

 

Yes that bar/bracket, at the point of meeting the alternator, is the the where it slides to make the adjustment. But the other points I mentioned need to be loose for everything to move during adjustment.

[OriginalOwner]

 Yep, a nut needed to hold the adjustment arm in place.  If the adjustment arm comes off the stud, the alternator adjustment/fan belt tightness changes drastically.

 

 when that stud breaks, give me a call ...... I have an incredible story about that ..... not to mention a Redneck Engr'ing fix.

 

Cheers,

 

Carl

[jgerock]

Yikes - please add a nut to that swinging bracket.

 

[saaron]

Thanks, Bill. My favorite parts place owner met my Mom and Dad at Vintage this weekend. I'll order those washers. Carl, would love to hear the story, but hope that stud hangs in for a while.

Thanks so much. Appreciate it hugely.

Scott

[lilmo]

Get yer money back from that shop.  Somebody left work early.

 

jgerock's photos show it all.  Locknut on the stud.  Locknut on the adjuster bolt. Poly bushings if you want.    

[BillWilliams]

If you can not find those lock nuts, let me know, I will drop you a couple in the mail.

 

Yes, your mom and dad met the man.

[williamggruff]

Question for Senator Williams: Do you keep a shiny, dusted, perfect spare tii motor on a stand in your garage, or does it have its own suite in your home?

 

Question for saaron: When your parents met The Dude at The Vintage, were they awestruck by the impeccable quality of His hair?  I know that I was when I met Him at The Vintage in 2011.

[BillWilliams]

Govenor Grice - There is a motor, on a stand, in the garage. I met resistance bringing it to the house. I too was awestruct at the hair, the kindness, the coffee acumen and the more than wonderful wife, Nancy. He married up for sure!

[OriginalOwner]

 for some humor with more than a hint of personal experience .......

 

 lock nuts ??  don't need no locknuts ...... that's just another case of over-engineered design.

 

 a few twists of baling wire around the stud and nicely twist-tightened, will hold that adjustment arm firmly in place.

 

Cheers,

 

Carl

[eurotrash]

Hair. God I miss the hair. I'd have skipped a funeral, had it occurred to me.

[saaron]

So, OK the plan is:  

-I will get a nut on there asap.  

-I will order the proper parts to insure this thing is installed correctly.  Eurotrash will help me.  My car misses him, anyway.  

-I will never again go to that shop.  

-I will try to remember to post a pretty picture of it all done so you guys can sleep at night.  I think I drove 900 miles in 3 days with it that way.  WHEW.

 

Steve was exceedingly cordial to my folks.  (His teeth are quite nice as well as the hair, but the teeth don't get as much pub).  I think Steve and his son drove a first-series, 5 series, primerish, that had a Chevy small-block in it.  

 

Bill, that engine is modern art.  You should have said it was a rare Warhol sculpture - the only one he did.  Maybe then it could go in the living room.  I'm still lobbying for an E30 M3 poster above our bed, but am getting nowhere, so I feel your pain.  We are so misunderstood.

 

The bailing wire story is classic.  I'm going to buy some and put it in my trunk.

 

Thanks guys.

 

Scott

[saaron]

Epilogue:

 

I ordered the two washers that sandwich the bracket.  Finally got around to putting them in today. 

 

Mainly posting to say "big thanks" to all of you above. 

 

Here's what it looks like now: