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Specialized Alternator Wrench
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MootPoint
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 7:26 pm    Post subject: Specialized Alternator Wrench Reply with quote

I just replaced my alternator (bad, screaming bearings) and found that I could not get to the back side of the alternator bolt with any wrench, socket or any other device. When I turned the front pivot nut, the back nut turned as well and nothing - nothing- I did kept it from turning and no wrench would get there; the clearances are just too tight to fit any kind of wrench back there.

The solution (finally) was a trip down to the local FLAPS where I bought a 13mm wrench (fit for me, YMMV) to creare a tiny wrench that didn't otherwise exist. I cut it down with a metal blade on the SawsAll to about a three inch length so it could actually fit the tight quarters behind the alternator bracket. Bingo!

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

After a day of frustration of trying to block the turning alternator bold, it worked!

When the time came to install the new alternator, the same mini-tool kept the back bolt from turning as I tightened the front. I'm not sure which was more difficult, taking out the old alternator or installing the new one, but the half-wrench was the key to both.

So my suggestion is this: Go buy a 13mm box end wrench (or whatever fits your alternator bracket), cut it down to about three inches and toss it in your tool box for sometime in the future. You may never need it but if you are somewhere between Timbuktu and Tierra del Fuego and have to replace your alternator and there is no FLAPS nearby, no other tool fit the work space.

In other words, make the tool now while the tools are available and the beer is cold.
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IdahoDoug
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 7:33 pm    Post subject: Re: Specialized Alternator Wrench Reply with quote

Good call on passing along home made tools! You might specify your engine and which alternator bolt, as my stock 1987 2.1 has never needed gyrations to deal with the alternator. Might be common on certain engine types or years and those folks should be aware.
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MootPoint
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 7:57 pm    Post subject: Re: Specialized Alternator Wrench Reply with quote

IdahoDoug wrote:
Good call on passing along home made tools! You might specify your engine and which alternator bolt, as my stock 1987 2.1 has never needed gyrations to deal with the alternator. Might be common on certain engine types or years and those folks should be aware.

Not sure how specific I can get. The Westy is an '84 with (orginally) a 1.9 but TenCentLife rebuilt the engine to a 2.2. But as far as I know (and I don't see any reason to change the specs) he kept the original alternator, bracket and #%$%!! bolts. Both the pivot (bottom) bolt and the bracket arm bolt were 13mm but I'd suggest doing a little pre-crisis research on the alternator bolts, just to be on the safe side. Call it "cheap insurance." I would think that, chances are, all the bolts, including the accessible bolt on the front of the alternator and the inaccessible bolt on the back of the pivot and the bolt on the swing arm are the same. Even if the swing arm bolt is different, at least you can get a wrench on it.
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Altoona
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 8:16 pm    Post subject: Re: Specialized Alternator Wrench Reply with quote

Some alternator brackets have a square hole in the back and are used with a carriage bolt, others had a round hole so a regular long bolt was used. The carriage bolt style is preferable because you only have to loosen the front nut without accessing the back at all.

It has been a while since I have dealt with one of the round hole brackets, but I think I have wedged a screwdriver between the head of the bolt and the bracket to prevent the head from turning while I loosened the front nut before. I also have a set of shorty wrenches, so maybe that is what I used...
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MootPoint
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 8:22 pm    Post subject: Re: Specialized Alternator Wrench Reply with quote

A carriage bolt with a square hole would be a distinct improvement. Alas, mine did not have that little bit of improved engineering. I guess it didn't occur to the Teutonic engineers in 1984. It would have saved me about six hours of frustration. But I enjoyed (sort of) the problem solving portion of the replacement, nonetheless.
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IdahoDoug
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 8:59 pm    Post subject: Re: Specialized Alternator Wrench Reply with quote

I still have in my toolbox a 13mm wrench I shortened for a Fiat X1/9 back in the late 70s. I did it the quick and dirty way. Put it in a bench vice and used a hammer to bash it in to a 90 degree angle, then back the other way. A couple cycles and it cracked where I wanted it to.

Yeah, mine has carriage bolts with square shoulders that hold the rear in place. Must have been a later iteration, though these vehicle are so old I'm sure various previous owners have replaced a wide variety of fasteners with whatever was handy.
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djkeev
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 11:19 pm    Post subject: Re: Specialized Alternator Wrench Reply with quote

I too have a spot in my wrench drawer for "special" wrenches that I've made over the years...... should have labeled them for I forget WHY I made most of them or what they fit! Shocked Laughing

I also purchase tools for limited use. Not top quality but for the anticipated use...... good enough.

Two sets of cheap stubby wrenches (metric and inch) have more than paid for themselves!

For example.... $20

https://www.amazon.com/Pittsburgh-Metric-Stubby-Co...wrench+set

But seriously? Good going! Now put a P-Touch label on it while you still remember what is is for! (Yes, I've done this it is a huge memory helper. I have one large socket labeled JCB Hoe Lug)

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MootPoint
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 8:06 am    Post subject: Re: Specialized Alternator Wrench Reply with quote

IdahoDoug wrote:
Yeah, mine has carriage bolts with square shoulders that hold the rear in place. Must have been a later iteration.

Probably one of the V W engineers actually had to replace the alternator that he had designed and had a "well, duh" (or the equivalent in German) epiphany moment.
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MootPoint
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 8:17 am    Post subject: Re: Specialized Alternator Wrench Reply with quote

djkeev wrote:
Two sets of cheap stubby wrenches (metric and inch) have more than paid for themselves!

I know I've seen those in the past and it totally slipped my mind. Thanks for the tip.
djkeev wrote:
But seriously? Good going! Now put a P-Touch label on it while you still remember what is is for!

Equally good idea!
I have a giant socket, probably 2-1/2-inch, that I bought to replace the front engine seal on my old Land Rover back in about 1972. No need to label it; I know exactly what is was for. Used it twice and it's been in my tool box ever since. I know I'll never need it again. On a lanyard, it would make a terrific weapon.
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Wildthings
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 10:49 am    Post subject: Re: Specialized Alternator Wrench Reply with quote

MootPoint wrote:
A carriage bolt with a square hole would be a distinct improvement. Alas, mine did not have that little bit of improved engineering. I guess it didn't occur to the Teutonic engineers in 1984. It would have saved me about six hours of frustration. But I enjoyed (sort of) the problem solving portion of the replacement, nonetheless.


The square hole was anything but an improvement which is why VW got rid of it. The sharp corners of the square caused cracks to start. The entire alternator mounting is FUNAR in my mind, the junior engineer that designed it and the senior engine who signed off on it should have been hung by their *****.

I have the pivot bolt installed from the front and can easily access its head from the left side with my box end wrench.
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