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Date:         Fri, 5 Mar 2010 12:51:12 -0800
Reply-To:     Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject:      Re: GoWesty Alternator Bracket
Comments: To: Katy Hahn <ahwahneevw@GMAIL.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
              reply-type=original

to answer your question, I run the alternator/water pump belt pretty tightly. My main concern would be wear on water pump bearings from a too-tight belt. Have not had a problem there ever,

I would say that your 'engineer mind' is correct about what you notice about the parts you just installed. Welded nut, for example , would be stronger/better. and those are 8 mm bolts not 80. 8mm is very close to 5/16's of an inch. 80 would be about a foot and a half or whatever.

re Biggest design concern I have is that the bracket only offers a rear > support (the original had support for the lower alternator mount both > front and rear.

I must not be understanding you. surely, the bottom pivot bolt goes through both the front and the rear 'mounting ears' of the alternator !

I have no problem with the stock mounting sytsem......even though it is a little weak admittedly. They do require checking now and then. What I find that is needing of attention........in waterboxer alternators and their mouting, particularily on 2.1 wateboxer engines is ... I find noisy/loose alternator bearings that people were unaware of. and ...the mounting ... yeah, as long as that is good and tight .......you're fine. but if it gets loose in any way ...it can break off those two 8mm studs under the bracket. Or wear the pivot bolt holes out of round, etc. and maddenly, there's a coolant pipe kind of in the way at gettting at the nuts on the studs under the bracket.

Undoing the belt, and checking alt. bearings for smoothness and tightness, and the whole bracket mounting thing is a fine preevntive maintainance thing for any vanagon owner to do. Not a waste of time at all to check that out- beucause just 'left alone' for years ... they will usually fail eventually, but checked and maintained - not bad at all.

Scott www.turbovans.com

----- Original Message ----- From: "Katy Hahn" <ahwahneevw@GMAIL.COM> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> Sent: Friday, March 05, 2010 8:34 AM Subject: GoWesty Alternator Bracket

>I have just put one of these on my '84 and thought I would comment on it: > > http://www.gowesty.com/library_article.php?id=1201 > > It obviously side-steps the possible failure of those studs/holes in > the block by using the much meatier holes made for the power steering > unit. > > Comes with more parts than shown to accomodate installation on engines > w/o a power steering pump (like mine). > > The mounting holes in the bracket allow some wiggle-room so care must > be taken that the alternator (pulley) ends up in the same plane as the > crank pulley. > > Biggest design concern I have is that the bracket only offers a rear > support (the original had support for the lower alternator mount both > front and rear. This seems to put a lot of faith in that bolt which > now must carry the load held only by the threads at its far end. Just > an ordinary 80mm bolt I think -- the kind I have bent from time to > time. > > Other concern is that the lower bolt is held by threads tapped into > the (1/4 inch) metal of the bracket. I would have preferred to have > seen a large nut welded on the bracket -- but I'm no engineer. > > At first when I just eyeballed the bracket I saw the ear with the > threaded hole was not square with the plane of the crank. Uh oh. But > then I did a trial fit of the lower bolt and saw that the threaded > hole was just a bit crooked and thus the bolt ended up in the exact > position it needed to be. Odd, but perhaps they make the bracket then > use a jig to bore the hole as needed. I'm still not an engineer. > > Have a 5000 mile trip planned fo next month and beyond -- I will, of > course, carry the old parts along just for luck. > > In summary: the appears well made, solves the problem it is meant to, > time will tell if it is well-designed. > > One question for those still reading -- what is the thinking on belt > tension? On some of my old cars I keep the belt almost loose, but > those are low-demand units. On the Westy I have always kept the belt > pretty tight (and yet can get a chirp out of it on hard acceleration > with electric load occuring). > > The reason I ask: If I could get away with a looser belt I would feel > better about this design. > > Thanks! > > Geo


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