My alternator on the 71 350 isnt tensioned enough. You can see the accessory drive belt floppin everywhere when the motor is running. Amazingly though, it doesnt squeal, and still turns the alt and waterpump enough for the car to function near normal. Long story short, the bolt that you loosen on the alt to tension it, is seized in there good. The head of the bolt moves when you ratchet on it, but the actual threads dont Basically the bolt will break soon, but hasnt yet. Things ive tried: 1) Hammering at the end of the bolt to try and loosen up the threads. 2) Sprayed WD-40, liquid wrench, chain lube, and whatever else i had on there. 3) Using my propane torch with a medium sized flame, to heat up the alt around the bolt, and hammering while ratcheting. 4) Using the torch to heat it up as hot as i could (not red hot) and pouring water on it, in an attempt to expand and contract the material really quickly to loosen up threads. All without success. Id rather not break the bolt in the alt, cuz then ill need a new alt, but is there anything else i could try? other than taking it to someone with an Oxy-Acetylene setup?
hotter,hotter,hotter you have to get it RED hot :eek2: it will come out once you do,but try to turn it WHILE it is hot,not cooled down.i have worked on boat stuff that has been underwater(salt)& gotten them out by heating the aluminum almost to melting,some times you have to run a tap thru the threads.wd-40 is a waste of money,pb blaster & believe it or not marvel mystery oil works great!if you do break it,just change the front housing,you dont have to buy a complete alt.i can help you if it comes down to it.
Righto, i did try turning it while it was hot. I had the torch in one hand heating it up, and the ratchet in the other, but obivously it wasnt hot enough. The hammering and water came later on. I will try using the propane torch on full, i dont know if it will get hot enough though, worse comes to worse i will take it to my old school. They have a very nice auto shop, they can work it with the oxy-actel. I just have to wait till spring. If i do brake it, i have a spare 12SI lying around, will have to throw that on. Thanks for the advice though, i appreciate it.
Cut it off, remove the bracket, remove the rest of the bolt, and put a new one in (with a nut if neccessary). Of course, getting it out without the head will be the fun part.
If it snaps off no big deal just get new front half for alt like above guy said. If it is number matching orig alt then you can drill out bolt and then use 5/16 helicoil kit. These have worked great in aluminum parts for me before. Just be careful drilling out. You may be better off using machine shop if you want to save it.
Cut It Off?!?!?!?! CUT IT OFF??!?!?! NO offense truzi, but did you miss the part where i didnt want to BREAK IT! lol ou: Anyways, i appreciate all the advice guys. Good news though, i cranked up my propane torch today, and even though it was no where near red hot, luckily it loosened up and came loose. I changed around the belt, (even though the oold one was like new). Im gonna pull that bolt out and put in a new one with plenty of antiseize, cuz the head of it is not the greatest with me cranking at it. I just need to tap the threads at the bottom, i ruined a small part of it by hammering, easy fix. Actually since ive struggled with the alternator so long, im pulling off the lower bolt as well (MUCH HARDER TO DO, same prob) and im gonna paint the whole thing. Once again, thanks again for all ur efforts. :beer
Old Aluminum is the hardest to work loose. I have been a machanic for most of my life. The only thing that will apply enough heat is an oxy-acet. torch. Be careful aluminum DOSE NOT GET RED HOT it just melts with out warning. the best way is to drill out the bolt and hele-ciol the the bolt hole. unless you are very good with a torch I addvise against it. wheeland6@msn.com
I'm glad you got it out. I know you didn't want to ruin it, but I felt getting the bolt out was better than trying to do the belt with the thing stuck like that. Fortunately it's worked out well (no pun intended).
