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Hey everybody,
It's been a while since I last posted, haven't really had many questions, been too busy getting my truck back together. I found out yesterday that the voltage regulator was dead on my '79 F100, so I replaced that, but that in turn killed my alternator (found that out in a Panera Bread drive-through line...). I got a new alternator today, and went to take the old one out, but when I got my socket on one of the mounting bolts, the bolt head came right off, which brought all of my work to a screeching halt. The bolt in question is the long one that seems to go into the cylinder head. Attached are some pictures of it. Anybody have any idea on, one, how to get the alternator off, and two, more importantly, how to get that bolt off? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Sean
P.S. Don't know if this matters at all, but the engine is a 302 out of a '71 Mustang.
that is extremely common, the bold doesn't stick in the head, it sticks in the alternator. he aluminum housing corrodes and tightens around the bolt. Cut the housing away from the bolt and the bolt will probably come out by hand. And if not a vise grip should take it out easily.
You can cut it with a chisel, a grinder if you can get it in there, You can drill a series of holes in it then use a chisel. It's aluminum so it wont put up much of a fight.
Just protect your radiator if your swinging a hammer around there.
that is extremely common, the bold doesn't stick in the head, it sticks in the alternator. he aluminum housing corrodes and tightens around the bolt. Cut the housing away from the bolt and the bolt will probably come out by hand. And if not a vise grip should take it out easily.
You can cut it with a chisel, a grinder if you can get it in there, You can drill a series of holes in it then use a chisel. It's aluminum so it wont put up much of a fight.
Just protect your radiator if your swinging a hammer around there.
Awesome, thank you. I was thinking I was going to have to take the head off and somehow drill the bolt out from there! When you say to cut the housing away, you mean the area I circled in this picture, right?
Yeah, it's the aluminum grips the bolt shank. I had the same issue trying to loosen it to change a belt, but did not force the issue that day. I drilled some holes in alternator in the red circled area above, aluminum towards the steel bolt and filled with some "kroil" solvent spray, tried next week, it worked.
Remove the 2 bolts that hold the upper bracket, the 1 behind the waterpump pulley . With the lower alternator bolt also out , you can remove the alternator from the broken bolt , then remove the bolt .
All good methods mentioned above.
If possible, try to remove entire alternator mounting bracket. But, before doing so, prepare for the task in so much as possible. If you have an air compressor, blow out the areas of each alternator mounting bolts, wire brush the areas, re-blow the areas and then apply generous amount of penetrating oil. Once your ready to try and remove remaining bolts, use a six point wrench or socket and first tighten each just a hair (helps initially loosen the galled aluminum seizing the metal bolt to the aluminum alternator housing).
I would remove the alternator bracket from in front of the alternator, and then I would start trying to turn the alternator and the bolt shaft. Then I would try heating the alternator case with a torch, to see if I could get it loose from the bolt.
If all of those types of strategies failed, then I would try cutting the alternator case.
Awesome, thank you. I was thinking I was going to have to take the head off and somehow drill the bolt out from there! When you say to cut the housing away, you mean the area I circled in this picture, right?
So I decided I'd try to take the alternator off by taking that forward, upper mount off and sliding the alternator off the broken bolt, but the water pump pulley is in the way of one bolt, and mostly in the way of the other. I took the fan shroud bolts off, and that gave me enough room to get the fan bolts off. The problem now is that I can't get the fan spacer off, which I assume needs to be removed to take the pulley off. The fan is stuck to the spacer, but I imagine that could just stay stuck. Any tips on how to get this off? I'll attach some pictures. Fan bolts off. The spacer connected to the water pump pulley. The upper mount bolt, behind the pulley. Lower mount bolt (covered in PB Blaster)
You must not be reading the reply’s. The alternator is not going to just slide off of the bolt no matter what you take off. The bolt is STUCK in the alternator itself. That’s why everyone said to drill holes in the area YOU circled in red and let the penetrating oil do its job. THEN try and slide the alternator off of the bolt. You are going to end up putting a hole in the radiator and them have another mess to deal with!
You must not be reading the reply’s. The alternator is not going to just slide off of the bolt no matter what you take off. The bolt is STUCK in the alternator itself. That’s why everyone said to drill holes in the area YOU circled in red and let the penetrating oil do its job. THEN try and slide the alternator off of the bolt. You are going to end up putting a hole in the radiator and them have another mess to deal with!
I did read them, which is why I'm taking the mount off, which is why I'm trying to figure out how to get the pulley off, which is why I'm doing all of this before I cut into the alternator. Can't slide the alternator off with the mount in place.
If you are good with tools take a sawzall and cut right behind the front mount. If you have to cut into the alternator housing while cutting. Then do the same at the rear right in front of the spacer. Again sacrifice the alternator as you cut. Then pull the alternator out, remove the spacer AND if the the group is right put a pair of vise grips on the bolt and finish taking out.
I hear what you are saying that fan assy has to be removed even if you were to cut the ALT mount. Also how do you get the new ALT on?
If you have not done so place some large card board between the fan assy. And the radiator, more layers the better..
If you have all the fan bolts out use a rubber mallot or dead blow hammer and tap on the extension.
Tap. Turn. Tap. Turn and use a little penatrating oil and it should come off.
When putting everything back together use never seize on the bolt & fan spacer.
Dave ----
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