sorry about the long title there!
right i know there is already a thread about alternators in here but as this is a whole different problem i thought id start fresh!
ok so i decided to go for it tonight and drop the engine and box in to see how things looked and what needed doing to mount it all properly, couple of
alterations needed to the floor cos the guy got a bit carried away with the ali for the floor so need to cut some of that out. BUT biggest issue i
came across.....the steering column seriously fouls the alternator mount bracket never mind even trying to get the alternator on there too!
i'm guessing everyone has this to overcome? if so whats the fix?!
HELP!!
thanks
john
mines not an MK, but i concluded that the easiest way around it was to move the steering column. so i bought a UJ at a jumble, solved it in a few
hours. Not SVA'd yet but i cant see him objecting much...
Hi John,
I had that exact problem a few weeks ago when i fitted my engine. What I had to do was make my own alternator bracket, not as daunting as it sounds.
It is a flat plate of steel of some description with 6 holes in it - 3 to hold the plate to to the engine and 3 to hold the alternator to the plate. I
positioned the holes so that the alternator sat higher and further back than usual, this helps it to avoid the chassis rail in this area.
I haven't got any pics at the moment, I'll try and take one tomorrow but it may not be very clear because it is so hidden away behind body
panels, exhaust etc.
I do however have a drawing that my dad did for me on cad and i think that has dimensions on it, i'll try and find it out tomorrow. That would
allow you to get an identical bracket made up, I can't guarantee it will fit for you but I don't see why it should be any different, mine is
an Indy with a 2L pinto.
My dad got the plate made up by one of the manufacturing companies he does work for but i'm sure you could make it yourself if you wanted to.
i'll post more details tomorrow
Pete
One more thing I've though of, what style of alternator bracket do you have? One style has a solid piece that fits in between the two alternator
mounting holes and the other (if i recall correctly) has 2 mounting flanges that fit at either end of the alternator.
Not sure if that made sense but basically there are 2 types of mounting bracket and my adapter plate only works with one of them, I'll give you
some more info tomorrow when I've had a look at it
Pete
Les Newell had this problem a long while back, and describes his solution here. Go down
the page until you see the bit about alternators - there's a link to an alternator bracket he made.
Hope this helps,
David
joel - any pictures of where and how u put the UJ in there?
scooby - mine is the one with the solid cast mount bracket. is that the one you had to work around?
david - looked at that site and it seems pretty helpfull apart from his pictures are in some format that my pc can't open!!! any pc tech heads
know how to solve that!?!
cheers for the help so far guys
john
Hi John,
Thanks for the kind words on my car!
I think I can help with the Alternator bracket drawing. I can email you a zipped .bmp which can be opened with MS paint if you like....
quote:
Originally posted by john_p_b
joel - any pictures of where and how u put the UJ in there?
john
I made mine to pivot at the bottom to minimise movement near the column, made up a separate tension bracket fixed to the head
Rescued attachment Alt Bracket2.jpg
Changing the alternator for a smaller (and lighter!) one is always an option.
A Bedford Rascal alternator was my choice as it's small, light, has the same v belt and is common and cheap at the scrappy.
I made my own bracket up with a piece of 3mm and a bit of the Rascal bracket.
Hope that helps,
James
quote:
Originally posted by john_p_b
scooby - mine is the one with the solid cast mount bracket. is that the one you had to work around?