Paul 5r4
Well Known Member
I modified the alternators forward bolt direction of insertion, (and used a shorter bolt), to make an alternator change out easier. Last fall I had an alternator failure on the way to Petit Jean, Arkansas. With the help of some local folks I got it changed out but it took five hours. The problem was the forward bolt at the hinge point. There is no way to remove this bolt by pulling the head forward because it comes into contact with the ring gear well before coming out of the hole. I ended up removing the propeller to get the job done. I found another post regarding the same problem written by Paul Dye. His solution was to remove the entire alternator mounting bracket where it mounts to the engine case. Still a major pain because of the tabs that are bent over the bolt heads as you can see in the last photo. When I tried to remove that bolt, when the head contacted the ring gear, there was still at least a half inch in the hole. First picture is before any changes were made.
I studied this for a while and finally came up with what you see in the bottom two photographs. There's no tension on the bolt so it's only job is the mounting of alternator to the bracket. The aluminum bridge between the alternator bolt and the starter bolt I believe is to help keep the alternator from bowing a little towards the starter when tension is applied to the belt. I made a new aluminum piece and tapped the hole to receive the threaded end of the bolt from the aft side. The head of that bolt is safety wired as you can see in the last photograph.
If I experienced another alternator failure now I could get the new one installed and be on my way again in about 90 minutes. Only tools needed are two 1/2 inch wrenches, safety wire pliers and the wire.
IMG_8538 by Paul Gray, on Flickr
IMG_8579 by Paul Gray, on Flickr
IMG_8581 by Paul Gray, on Flickr
I studied this for a while and finally came up with what you see in the bottom two photographs. There's no tension on the bolt so it's only job is the mounting of alternator to the bracket. The aluminum bridge between the alternator bolt and the starter bolt I believe is to help keep the alternator from bowing a little towards the starter when tension is applied to the belt. I made a new aluminum piece and tapped the hole to receive the threaded end of the bolt from the aft side. The head of that bolt is safety wired as you can see in the last photograph.
If I experienced another alternator failure now I could get the new one installed and be on my way again in about 90 minutes. Only tools needed are two 1/2 inch wrenches, safety wire pliers and the wire.
IMG_8538 by Paul Gray, on Flickr
IMG_8579 by Paul Gray, on Flickr
IMG_8581 by Paul Gray, on Flickr
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