2b Alternator

[Guest fifer]

Help! How do I find room for the alternator on my 2B. Its a 2Ltr pinto with the 4 branch manifold and there does not seem to be enough space because of the steering column and the manifold. In the videos Tricky just makes passing comment and then moves on. Why am I not surprised?

 

John Hull (fifer)

[Guest turbo]

you can fit it on the other side by making a bracket to hold it or fit a smaller one,cant remember the type.

or you can add a uj into the steering shaft.

[Guest chris brown]

Help! How do I find room for the alternator on my 2B. Its a 2Ltr pinto with the 4 branch manifold and there does not seem to be enough space because of the steering column and the manifold. In the videos Tricky just makes passing comment and then moves on. Why am I not surprised?

 

John Hull (fifer)

there is room for the standard alternator but it has to be dropped down low so as to go below the steering column but a better alternative is one off a Suzuki (most models) or rascal van which is much smaller this I have also fitted below the column as in each case you do have to manufacture your own mount or at least modify the pinto one. In any case the bottom hose either has to take a rather strange route or pass through the centre of the alternator belt. Do a search as this alternator requires an extra switched 12v and "Longboarder” (Nigel) has put a diagram on here several times. Putting it on the other side is not an alternative as the dissy is in the way

[Guest timswait]

This job is a pain in the a**e! It's taken me ages to sort out. The RH suggestion is to use the standard alternator, turn te bracket upside down and use an extra long bolt to sit the alternator on the outside of the bracket rather than with the bracket between the alternator lugs. DON'T DO THIS ! It still clatters against the steering shaft and the extra long bolt is loaded in pure bending so the alternator wobbles around and eventually falls off. The next way I tried was to use the Sierra alternator and original bracket, get out the angle grinder and welder and weld some hideous reinforcements onto it. DON'T DO THIS EITHER . The Sierra alternator is heavy and bulky and ends up too close to the exhaust manifold so gets worryingly hot. Also welding to cast iron doesn't really work, so it wobbles around and eventually falls off (again!).

Do as Chris suggests, get a small jap alternator (Toyota, Suzuki, Daihatsu and probably other manufacturers all use essentially the same one). It's small and light and fits, you do have to fabricate a bracket, but it's not too hard with a bit of 5mm sheet and a welder. Also getting the right pulley to fit the belt on the alternator is a hassle, but it's worth it in the end to get something that actually works and doesn't keep falling off!

[steve in stockport]

the sierra alty will fit using the original bracket the right way up

 

 

the pivot point has to be moved across and below the steering column which i did with the L shaped black bracket

 

 

the bottom hose still goes under and not thru the fan belt, just had to grind a touch off the outer edge of one bolt hole incase the alty caught the chassis with engine movement, but it hasn't.

there is a 4 branch manifold in the engine bay but is far enough away from the alty not to show on the photos

 

Steve

[NeilD]

It is worth fitting the steering shaft bearing mod now or you will land up doing it later

[Guest Stevieshood]

If you want a half way house between fitting off-the-shelf parts and a custom Japanese alternator, then you can use a combination of a Cortina/early Sierra cast aluminium alternator bracket and an alternator from a Ford Escort mk3 1.6D van or a Rover Metro 1.4/114 (K-series).

 

It is smaller than the Sierra one but has the same size pulley and mounting arrangement. If you want a new one, the Delco-Remy part no. is DRA3830 and they are about £70 with surcharge. An appropriate length belt is a Gates 6265MC 938mm. The alternator doesn't see that much load (even with EFI) so one belt is sufficient.

 

Top view of alternator and pulley

 

I have inverted the bracket and used two of the three mounting points to locate it. When I get around to it, I will make an offset spacer to bolt the upper part, but I don't think its essential to do this, as the adjusting bar does a pretty good job of securing it against vibration fatigue.

 

Underside of bracket

 

You can see the alternator is still quite heavily offset, so you need to make up some tight fitting spacers, to prevent flex in the alternator-to-bracket securing bolts.

 

Aside from that, you need to transfer across the regulator/capacitor thingy by using a small extension bracket to one of the alternator housing bolts (the wire isn't quite long enough). Although it is fitted with a multiplug (which you can buy or nick from the scrappy), I just used the B+ terminal post and fitted a spade type connector to the D+ wire (I would advise soldering it if you use a crimp connector to make sure it doesn't come out!!)

 

Wiring on back

 

At some point I will get around to making a proper bracket which doesn't have such an overhang, but at least it will get you on the road.

[baj25]

I got really pee’d off trying to fit the sierra alternator in with its mounting, so I got one off a Bedford rascal. I found that the alternator wasn’t actually significantly smaller, but the mounting bracket is small and made from sheet rather than cast, so it was much easier to adapt to the engine. I mounted mine a bit higher than the original position, using a piece of 6mm plate to adapt from the 3 holes on the block to the rascal mounting plate. However you do it, when you fit it, make sure you tighten all the screws or it falls off- don’t ask how I know! HTH, Brian

[Guest MJThewlis]

I used standard bracket with alternator mounted downwards as per Steve's pickies.

 

The bit I did differently was to disassemble the alternator to move the front plate through 1/3rd rotation anticlockwise. This gave the adjustable mount at the base that I then picked up an existing bolt location for the timing belt cover through a brass spacerto secure. Water pipe feeds through the alternator belt.

 

No other modifications required ... sorted!

[Guest peter2b2002]

i did the same as baj25, 10mm plate to move the original alt bracket up above the steering shaft

pete2b