A note for air conditioned TD's

[dieseldan]

Recently, my alternator bracket, the one that attaches to the head, came loose allowing the nut to fall into the timing cover.  Somehow, I was lucky, the nut disappeared rather than lodging and breaking the belt.  To prevent this from  happening again, I used a longer bolt, drilled a small hole and fitted a cotter key.  These engines have a good bit of vibration, so this is cheap insurance against a costly failure.
Daniel

[tylernt]

Using safety wires or other lockable fasteners is quite common on aircraft where you really don't want things working loose. Good idea.

[dieseldan]

The A/C belt tension is rather hard to adjust on my 84 TD.  I have found a way to make this easier.  The Sanko A/C compressor used on these cars has unused mounting taps that have up; you will see them with the alternator removed.  I have cut a short piece of 8mm threaded rod and bolted it between these two tabs.  I can then insert a short Cresent wrench into the gap and safely pry up on the compressor while tightening the bolts.  This makes the process a lot easier.  In the past, I have resorted to using a bottle jack to lift up on it from under the car!  A/C belt tension is very important on these cars as the alternator belt is driven from the A/C pulley.
Daniel