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Engine Specific Info and Questions => IDI Engine => Topic started by: dieseldan on January 22, 2006, 03:11:45 pm
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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
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Using safety wires or other lockable fasteners is quite common on aircraft where you really don't want things working loose. Good idea.
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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