Author Topic: Alternator Bracket Question (Read 2305 times)

Luv My Volkswagen · « **on:** February 01, 2008, 09:49:24 am »

Hello,
I'm pretty new to this forum, I hope this is the right spot to ask my question.

I have a '78 rabbit, diesel. When I bought the car it was running fine. This was last may. A couple of months later, I started having problems with the alternator not charging the battery fully. Well, I got under the car and discovered that the alternator bracket had been broken, and subsequently someone had tried to improvise some kind of mickey mouse kitchen hardware to hold the alternator in position. I removed all of this crap and had the bracket welded at a shop. The shop also drilled out the holes on the top of the bracket and the alternator to accept a larger bolt, which they did without informing me first.

Two weeks later, the bolt sheared and my alternator bracket snapped in two. I then learned that the original bolt that goes through the top of the alternator and the bracket should have had rubber "isolators" or bushings, evidently to absorb the massive vibrations. Now I'm stuck because the holes are drilled out. I have no way to replace those original bushings.

What are my options to solve this problem? Is there an alternator/bracket that I can harvest from another car to solve my problem? Or is it feasible to possibly improvise my own rubber shock abosorber with the equipment I currently have? I thought of maybe putting some rubber tubing inside my bolt hole, and then putting a smaller bolt through that, but that sounds kinda sketchy.

Any help would be appreciated - Thanks!

tylernt · « **Reply #1 on:** February 03, 2008, 08:00:01 pm »

Yes!

You have a 1.5L engine. The later 1.6 engine had a better alternator bracket that has reinforcement webbing and is cast instead of welded. It hooks up to the timing belt cover differently though, so you might need to run without the upper cover (or use a 1.6 cover) to retrofit it onto your car. You will also need some different length bolts, as the 1.6 bracket hooks to the water pump in different places than the 1.5 (but your local hardware store should have those).

Make sure that the 1.6 bracket you get is non-A/C. The A/C bracket is another poor design just like your current bracket. The non-A/C 1.6 bracket that you want should have come on '81 through '84.

I'm actually running a 1.5 bracket on my 1.6... (long story) so you'll just be doing the opposite I did. If you can find the right bracket it should work great.

Luv My Volkswagen · « **Reply #2 on:** February 04, 2008, 07:50:54 am »

Thanks for the info. You're the first person that's been able to tell me anything about this problem. I've actually got something in the works to beef up my current bracket, but if that doesn't work I'll most definitely look for the 1.6.
Thanks again!

tylernt · « **Reply #3 on:** February 04, 2008, 08:08:59 am »

Glad to help a fellow Idahoan.

I had the A/C setup so I went through this whole dilemma too, in order to get rid of it. So I feel your pain...

Luv My Volkswagen · « **Reply #4 on:** February 04, 2008, 09:02:21 am »

Hey, since you are in Idaho, do you know of any good junkyards where I can get some VW parts?

I'm in Haily, which is Southern, but I'm willing to travel for a couple of hours if there's a payoff.

Thanks

tylernt · « **Reply #5 on:** February 04, 2008, 09:18:42 am »

Sadly, the only one I know of is Jalopy Jungle in Nampa. They crush Rabbits pretty quickly but I have gotten some good stuff from time to time. You can always call them (466-8468) and see if they have any diesels in the yard. When the weather warms up I usually drop in once a month or so to scavenge for my Rabbit, Fox, and Jetta, so I can be on the lookout for anything you need.