CrankyOldMan
05-17-2016, 02:02 PM
So I've been abusing my Blitz for around 3 years now, and it's given as many punches as it's taken. I've lost 2 aluminum crank pulleys in the last 12-15 months, 2 or 3 belts, and have a bad oil seal somewhere that results in my accessory belt area being coated in a light dusting of engine oil and rubber dust. Very dirty stuff to work with.
So the latest failure mode was the main bolt that goes through the OEM alternator mount shearing off between the mount and the Blitz bracket. The bolts are all-thread--which is less than ideal from a wear standpoint--but if I was that worried about it I could replace them with the right bolts.
It's been working itself free every few months for the last year or so, and I just tightened it back up with whatever torque I could manage using a ratcheting box wrench. You can't get in there with a socket, and if you knock the protective cap off the alternator cable, you will blow your main fusible link. Don't ask how I know that...
There's been a bit of noise up there as well, but I assumed that the looseness was the cause of the squealing/chirping, or that the tensioner pulley had a bad bearing. Or both. Turns out that the alternator was gummed up from the oil/rubber dust and wouldn't turn freely.
The bolt at the top of the bracket had stripped out after about a year, and I haven't gotten around to removing the motor mount to get enough clearance to run a larger tap. I also didn't realize that there are two bolts that can go through the bracket into the end of the "neck" of the pulley. I got one of them to thread in, but for some reason neither of my kits had the right bolts to put in there in the first place.
I'm sure that the tension I put on the belt is a significant factor, but even when it's slipping at 5k, it's still breaking other things.
Pics:
So the latest failure mode was the main bolt that goes through the OEM alternator mount shearing off between the mount and the Blitz bracket. The bolts are all-thread--which is less than ideal from a wear standpoint--but if I was that worried about it I could replace them with the right bolts.
It's been working itself free every few months for the last year or so, and I just tightened it back up with whatever torque I could manage using a ratcheting box wrench. You can't get in there with a socket, and if you knock the protective cap off the alternator cable, you will blow your main fusible link. Don't ask how I know that...
There's been a bit of noise up there as well, but I assumed that the looseness was the cause of the squealing/chirping, or that the tensioner pulley had a bad bearing. Or both. Turns out that the alternator was gummed up from the oil/rubber dust and wouldn't turn freely.
The bolt at the top of the bracket had stripped out after about a year, and I haven't gotten around to removing the motor mount to get enough clearance to run a larger tap. I also didn't realize that there are two bolts that can go through the bracket into the end of the "neck" of the pulley. I got one of them to thread in, but for some reason neither of my kits had the right bolts to put in there in the first place.
I'm sure that the tension I put on the belt is a significant factor, but even when it's slipping at 5k, it's still breaking other things.
Pics: