My '84 GW's alternator has been suspended by only the top bolt and a large stack of washers and the spacer tube. The bottom adjusting bracket is in place (but broken), but the other brackets were completly gone.
I made a trip to the local bone yard yesterday to see if I could find replacement brackets. I didn't take the bottom bracket as I assumed that they would all be the same. Ignorance reigns supreme sometimes.
I came home with three brackets: the big four-hole bracket for the front for AC equiped vehicles, an unbroken lower adjusting bracket, and the bracket from the back of the long suspension bolt to the rear of the alternator.
Today, test fitting this stuff on my truck, I find out that it's not that simple. The adjusting bracket from the donor (an '82 Wag) is quite a bit larger than the original from my '84, and the rear bracket doesn't have anywhere to attach to the alternator. The main front bracket matches up fine though. The rear bracket might just be an issue with an alternator that has been replaced at some point, but that's only a guess. It's the lower, adjusting bracket that has me wondering a bit.
First, it has a LOT more range of adjustment than my original bracket, which is a good thing. The original bracket allowed the alternator to swing through only a very few degrees of arc before hitting the oil filter housing at the inner limit, and the end of the slot at the outer limit. This always seemed very strange, but I didn't give it a lot of thought.
The donor bracket's slot is quite a bit wider than the original bracket's slot. The original bracket could accomodate a 5/16" bolt, where as the donor bracket could easily accomodate a 3/8" bolt to the alternator. Also, the width of the inner runner on the donor bracket is quite a bit wider than my original, and will not let the slot get close enough to the alternator tab bolt hole to install the bolt. Additionally, the original bracket clearly wants to be in front of the alternator bolt tab, and the donor bracket wants to be behind the alternator bolt tab.
So, there are two questions here. First, is there really that much difference between an '82 and an ''84, or has somebody been moving parts around on my truck just to get something to work? The '82 donor part is much heavier and stronger than my original part, so I like the idea of using it, but would have to go to a different alternator to allow it to fit. Just to be thorough, I did measure the space between the two bolt tabs on my alternator, which look to be about six-and-a-half inches apart. Aren't the FSJ alternators supposed to be seven inches apart?
Secondly, thinking that I would really like to upgrade the alternator to a CS130D or CS144, I have read comments from others that have made the switch that there was some fiddling with the brackets to be done, including having to widen out the slot in the adjusting bracket so that the bolt would go through. Others have said they didn't have that problem. Have I gotten lucky and found a good adjusting bracket to use with the CS series alternators, or did I just stumble upon a problem with my truck that I didn't know I had?
Thanks!
Chris