Alternator alighment

[Monty DeLoach]

I have read the January 2004 posts on subject by Ron and others on how to add spacers if the alternator pulley does not extend out far enough and is not in line with the crank pulley, but I have the opposite problem. On my M25 the pulley sticks out about 1/8 inch too far and causes the belt to wobble and requires it to be tightened often.Is this a job for the alternator shop or has anyone ever encountered this problem. I do have the new bracket installed by the PO.

[jentine]

Could you please attach a picture or two?
Jim

[DEMERY]

I installed a Balmar 75amp alternator and had the same problem. The alternator pully was forward of the crack pully by about an 1/8 of an inch. What I ended up doing was filing about an 1/8 of an inch off the back of the alternator foot and inserting two washers in front of the alternator foot. This moved it back an 1/8 of an inch and corrected my alignment problem.

[Mike and Theresa Vaccaro]

Monty,

Is your alternator a stock Motorola-type?  Concur with Jim, a picture would be helpful.

Cheers,

Mike

[Monty DeLoach]

I have no way to make pictures and will try what Dave emery did with a file or a milling machine. FYI it is a stock Motorola 55 amp. THanks

[Mike and Theresa Vaccaro]

Monty,

Hard to imagine why a stock alternator would be off by so much, but anything is possible with a boat!  Before filing the alternator case itself, you might consider checking the bracket.  Don't assume that it is properly installed--especially if it was retrofit.  

We had a similar bracket that was improperly installed over a cut-off stud and subsequently bent.  It was impossible to properly align the alternator.  Couldn't figure out the problem, other than the fact that the adjustment arm would not lie flush with the mounting on the front of the block.  The bend in the bracket wasn't apparent until it was removed--at which point I found the remnant of the stud that was causing the problem.    

We ended up removing the old bracket, removing the offending stud and installing a new bracket.  Fit so well that we were able to align without adding any washers.  We had a bit of a discussion on a previous thread about this.  Obviously, this was an oddball problem that was the result of poor workmanship in the past.  If bracket replacement is necessary, replacement parts can be obtained from Toressen Marine in Michigan.  They have a web sit at http://www.torresen.com/ , and great service as well (but they charge Universal prices--ouch!).  If it's necessary to replace all the hardware, you can order the upgrade kit, which even includes a replacement alternator belt as well as the mix of standard and metric attachment hardware required.

Incidentally, the previous owner of our boat had the bracket was installed by a mechanic.  The bend in the bracket was his attempt to align the alternator.  I suspect a hammer was the tool of choice!

If you find the cause the problem, please post it so we can add to the corporate knowledge.

Best of Luck,

Mike