1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
 | [Main NG900 & OG93 Bulletin Board | BBFAQ |
Prev by Date | Next by Date | Post Followup ]
Member Login / Signup - Members see fewer ads. - Latest Member Gallery Photos
Re: That's a lot to digest. Posted by Nicholas [Email]  (#2995) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Nicholas) on Thu, 4 Aug 2011 12:07:56
In Reply to: That's a lot to digest., John Myers, Tue, 2 Aug 2011 08:24:46 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Well, I was either smart and resourceful or stupid on this job. As you know, I now have the alternator installed.
In retro, I wish I had gone with the original bolts due to the extreme difficult nature of the mount brackets.
What I wound up doing was a bit of a rig. On the bottom , I got two of those metal collars you find at the hardware store to match up nearly perfect in size to take up the space in the empty bottom bracket "hole". Also used one washer. You are right as I noticed my drill work had scuffed and taken away a bit of material. However, I believe the bottom bracket was still strong enough and intact. So, the bolt threaded thru and the hex head is tight against those two collars just outside the bracket. Before, the old bolt head and bushing I tore out would have take up that space these steel collars do now. If it's OK, I have the benefit of a nice easy access regular bolt head to take off in future alternator removal.
The top proved to be much harder which I didn't expect. Turns out my new bolts heads just fit in the old bushing/hole so snug that I couldn't fit a socket in to tighten with. See, on the top I didn't really mess the bracket at all, and ultimately got the old bolt out via partial drilling and an extractor.
First time got top bolt partially threaded and had to wiggle with a flat blade screwdriver just to get it back out! :( Thought about it, and put that bolt on a vise and carefully filed down the head to make it smaller. Wound up at about a 16mm size and was able to thread it back in tightly from the previous hole I had drilled in the wheel well to get to the top bolt with a ratchet extension.
All in all, the alternator is tight and I believe securely mounted. I'm not sure if my mods make it sit too far off , but the belt seems ok. When I run my fingers over it, it seemed like one edge of the belt was just slightly off the pulley edge ... but this may just be acceptable tolerance. I'm not sure. I mean it is pretty straight looking on there.
I find the alternator setup on this car to be shockingly difficult. The top bracket is really a design issue as you simple only have room for a regular allan wrench or ratchet and getting leverage and purchase is really tough. Then, if you screw up I don't see any other way around other than to drill through the heel well to get straighter access and/or drill bit. The bottom is horrific if you wind up having to break or remove the lower bracket. Luckily and hopefully my drill out and new bolt w/collars option saved me from that.
posted by 98.231.10...
, Mon, 25 Jul 2011 10:13:01, Mon, 25 Jul 2011 11:46:52, Tue, 26 Jul 2011 00:42:53, Fri, 29 Jul 2011 23:26:19, Thu, 4 Aug 2011 12:09:33, Thu, 4 Aug 2011 12:07:56 <-- Viewing This Message, Thu, 4 Aug 2011 12:14:25
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
