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Re: Need some help installing alternator
Kylescore #722663 April 19th 2017 10:44 am
Joined: Nov 2013
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Hey Kyle,

I think you're on the right track. I'm not an expert, but I just did the alternator on the big Dodge, so hope this helps. Any Dodge Boys out there in Vannerland feel free, eh.

My Alternators are different, but the long spacers insert in the middle of the body to support the tabs, the short one closest to the block. The sleeve in the inner mounting tab will slide to take up any slack. Hard to see, but it looks right in the last picture. Assemble it all and just snug up the bolts. They key is to align the pulleys so the belts run straight.

I don't see the adjustment bracket setup in your pic, but put a big screwdriver in between the alternator body and the block, and pry outward to put tension on the belt. It doesn't take much. Three hands do help. 1/2 inch of deflection is good. Tighten the bolts. Vroom. Cold one...

Van on Kyle!

Re: Need some help installing alternator
Kylescore #722676 April 19th 2017 1:19 pm
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 135
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Posts: 135
Thanks, Im gonna give it another go tonight when i get home. The back of the alternator has twotabs for plugs to attach to. Does it matter which is which? The tabs are not marked. The service manual says they are "fields"


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Re: Need some help installing alternator
Kylescore #722678 April 19th 2017 2:22 pm
Joined: Mar 2007
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I have plenty of useful reference pictures of this area, and I'd gladly attach some for you, but I can't see mine to select them!

Turns out that I'm having problems with photobucket too; suddenly none of my pages will display properly; my home page color scheme has changed, and there's nothing but lots of broken link icons and placeholders in tab sequence rather than the normal grid display. Clearing my browser cache and turning off ad and script blocking made no difference at all. Perhaps photobucket made yet another one of its infamous unannounced updates which breaks their site functionality...

Without pictures, I can still offer a little advice on tensioning your belt; only pry on the steel parts of the alternator, not the Aluminum castings. It works best with two people; one to pry, the other to turn wrenches. I try to lay a piece of wood, like a paint stirring sick, against the metal which is being pried against to reduce the point load against the surface. And steer clear of the oil dipstick tube! To make life easier, reducing the need to invent innovative new cuss words, smile I remove the air cleaner and cold air intake hose, and usually the upper radiator shroud too, (It's actually really simple to remove; only a few screws) which provides *much* more visibility and space to maneuver in. To be prudent, I also lay a sheet of thin plywood between the fan blades and the radiator, just in case any tools slip, (-who; me???) smile so there won't be any damage to the radiator.

There were so many variants of how the accessories were mounted and the belts were routed, that about the best I can say for which groove to use is to make sure that the grooves on adjacent pulleys line up without the belt coming into the pulley sheaves at an angle. I use a straightedge, like a cut-off yardstick, between the deepest part of the pulleys, or at least sight along the pulleys by crawling under the van and looking up across them.

Sometimes it's necessary to use a pulley remover tool set to pull a pulley out a little or press it in a little to obtain the best possible belt alignment.

There are usually spacers required somewhere to get the pulleys on the belt-powered accessories to line up right, especially for the power steering pump bracketry, the omission of which can cause the power steering pulley to be be out of alignment in the X, theta, or roll axes. My power steering pump pulley alignment was ghastly right from the factory; it was out of plane with the AC and crank pulleys in all possible ways, by a lot, (like 1/4" - 3/8"!!) causing even a nice new Gates belt to make a variety of intermittent chirping and squealing noises, till I spent a lot of quality time under the van on my back adjusting shim thickness.

Hmmm; I should write a song about that... "-On my back!" smile

I actually have a precision laser tool made especially for pulley alignment, but it's tricky to use on v-belts, being intended for serpentine belts.

Oh, the green wire goes to the terminal at the top, and the red wire goes to the terminal next to the output stud. Thank goodness I don't trust computers to be there for me in the thick of things, so I write a lot of this stuff down!

If photobucket goes back to normal any time soon I'll fire off some pictures for you.


-It's been such a LONG TIME... BlueShift>> 1981 Dodge Ram B250 Custom Sportsman Maxi Van


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It's what you learn after you know it all, that counts...

Are you living to work, or working to live?

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Re: Need some help installing alternator
Kylescore #722750 April 20th 2017 8:51 pm
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Posts: 135
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Thanks for the info guys. This is turning into a real chore! Looks like I need to adjust the adjusting bracket. There is one bolt that the adjust bracket swivels on. The problem is that its locked into place and there isnt enough room to slide my impact wrench in to hit it. I tried an air powered ratchet but its no where near strong enough to hit it. Not sure how its off so much as they are the exact same alternator. Im guessing Im going to have to go get a pry bar to knock it loose.


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Re: Need some help installing alternator
Kylescore #722875 April 24th 2017 4:08 am
Joined: Mar 2007
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Well it sounds like you've made positive progress!

I've generally found it necessary to loosen that lower bracket to even get an alternator out; that you managed without means you're a magic man! smile

I have to agree on the use of a breaker bar; there just isn't much room down there for larger tools like an impact wrench.

I'm curious why it's so stuck though; it *should* have been torqued... might be well worth applying some penetrating oil and allowing it to soak overnight, then tapping the head with a hammer a few times and spraying again prior to going crazy on it. Just imagine the misery were you to snap it off!! I'd seriously consider installing a new bolt in case it was stretched out by a gorilla of a mechanic or do-it-yourselfer. Bolts don't get better with age and abuse!

When you get it loose, try to pull it clear out and clean up the threads in the block in case they've become corroded. If you use anti seize, be sure to derate the torque specs by about 10%, since anti seize acts as a lubricant!

Keep in mind it's good to keep these bolts and alternator mounting surfaces reasonably clean, as they're the electrical ground for the alternator to the engine block and rest of the van, and need to be able to pass 70 -120 amps of current with minimal voltage drop.



-It's been such a LONG TIME... BlueShift>> 1981 Dodge Ram B250 Custom Sportsman Maxi Van


[Linked Image]

It's what you learn after you know it all, that counts...

Are you living to work, or working to live?

[Linked Image]

Learning from my own mistakes is good, learning from yours would be much better! [Linked Image]
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