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Noisy Alternator


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Well I was looking forward to fitting my newly acquired breather kit today but last night I heard an intermittent grating noise which required further inspection.

It appears to be coming from the alternator. To check I decided to take the belt off and run it for a few mins to see if the noise was still present, easier said than done. I loosenes both bolts on the tensioner but the one on the alternator was solid and the socket slipped off a couple of times.

No problem, I whips out my 10mm Irwin bolt gripper turbo nutter remover thingy but his is slipping off too ! The bolt head is a shadow of its former self and my Defender is effectively VOR until I get this off and make necessary check.

AND IT'S RAINING !!!

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Gota second hand alternator of a 2.5 Defender for £15.00 plus post and pkg if any good.

OK bagsy first dibs but I need to get this bloody bolt off first to before I go any further.

I had a look on the excellent 'Repair my Land Rover' site, my problem bolt is the one in this picture. Only the following pics seem to indicate its a 13mm bolt whereas mine is the same as the ones on the tensioning bar, 10mm.

credit this photo to repairmylandrover.co.uk, not highlandmist :)

Alternator015-613x460.jpg

What I want to know before I remove the air filter and turbo pipes to have a look myself is, does this bolt emerge on the other side of the plate for possible future drilling out !

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IIRC that is a funny bolt, 10mm at the front end but the nut at the other end is a 13mm. As JBS says, NEVER use a 12-point 10mm socket on LR bolts. If you have one, throw it away and buy a good quality 6-point socket. Mine is a KIng Tony. This will save you much distress especially when working on the front of the engine which has lots of 10mm bolts which are pretty soft.

Just out of interest, I always carry a spare alternator and also a shorter fan belt which can be used to by-pass the alternator in emergencies while still turning the water pump and p/s pump. I can give you the spec if required. I'll have to go find it because it is in an ammo box in the back of my 110.

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Ah right I see, Sorry I had no idea-it was the picture that threw me, And using a six sided socket should've got that off-unless it was'nt on it properly in the first place?, With my alternator I've drilled my bracket out all the way through and the two brackets on the alternator too so that I can use a suitable length M10 bolt so that I then have to use a 17mm spanner and six sided socket to remove that bolt, ok It's a little bit over engineering but it saves mucking about like you are having to do at the mo, as I had a bolt sheer off with the engine vibration where your problem is at the mo

John

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Well, the rain stopped and I removed air filter and turbo hoses to get at it from another angle. Removed the bolt at the back and managed to knock alternator anti clockwise to loosen belt.

Dodgy bolt still refused to budge :(

Anyway turned the engine over and there is still a noise !! It appears to be coming from the power steering pump :(

Oh, here is my bolt with lashings of WD40

IMG_20120719_154703.jpg

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  • 2 months later...

Had more issues concerning this bolt. Alternator belt went 'missing' the other night while I was out lamping. I suspect that although the bolt head is mashed the bolt is not tight. I tried hammering on a 9mm socket but it too just slips off. Removed the similar bolt to the rear of the alternator and have a wee bit of play.

My idea is to pull alternator to the left, attack mole grips to bolt head then lever alternator to the right whilst trying to keep mole grips is same position thus loosening bolt.

For access I need to remove the pulley/fins. It appears the spindle has a recess for an allen key which looks BIG and the nut is 22mm but recessed due to the pulley, is ther a bent tool for this ? If I get the pulley off can I get the fins off ?

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8mm allen key and a deep ring spanner works for me, once the nut is off the whole front of the alt comes off, theres a couple of spacers, fan and spring washer and nut.

I would have a go at that bolt with a 3/8ths, 6 sided socket next, have you removed the rear bolt? If so get some plus gas or alike down the hole as well as IIRC its a through hole, tapped from either end.

Also try rocking the alternator around its adjustment as it sometimes loosens the bolt up.

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8mm allen key and a deep ring spanner works for me, once the nut is off the whole front of the alt comes off, theres a couple of spacers, fan and spring washer and nut.

I would have a go at that bolt with a 3/8ths, 6 sided socket next, have you removed the rear bolt? If so get some plus gas or alike down the hole as well as IIRC its a through hole, tapped from either end.

Also try rocking the alternator around its adjustment as it sometimes loosens the bolt up.

Just read the post, got a spanner and allen key from work. I had previously removed the rear bolt and used a length of leftover 'breather' tubing to squirt WD40 directly into the recess. Rocked the alternator from left to right, got the mole grips on but even they could not get a permanent grip on the thoroughly dishevelled bolt head.

I had to give up again. I had difficulty getting the rear bolt back in and had to get my son to move the alternator in all directions before I caught the thread.

Only later on did I wonder if some for and aft rocking rather than the port and starboard I had been using might have given me some leeway.

I secured the tensioning strap as tight as I dared and then added an additional small bolt and washer in the strap to help prevent any movement.

I have some days off in a couple of weeks to have another go but have also ordered some left hand drill bits and easy outs !!

If the hole does go all the way through I should be OK even if I make a balls up and have to drill out, I will just use a long 8mm bolt all the way through.

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