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Well, after weeks of half-heartedly trying to get this installation to work, I accidently managed to finish it /forums/images/icons/wink.gif.
http://www.darkbox.com/mustang/altbracket/IMG_1445.jpg
I stumbled across this alternator bracket on March Performance's web site, and decided to try it out. The sales guy I spoke with on the phone warned me that they were having alignment problems with these brackets, although he did so in the same breath that he tried to upsell me to their $700+ serpentine conversion package, which I wasn't really interested in. I decided to go ahead and try just the alternator bracket (they also have a P/S pump bracket) and see how it went.
The first obstacle was that one of the socket-head cap screws supplied with the kit actually bottomed out before it snugged down on the bracket. This can be easily remedied with a dremel moto-tool and a cutoff wheel.
On my particular install, I have a timing cover that has some stripped threads, and the bolt holding the upper part of the alternator bracket has a nut behind the lip of the timing cover to hold the bolt in place. The one supplied by March, through no fault of their own, was not long enough, and so I had to track down a single 3.5" socket head cap screw. Finding someone selling just a single one was a challenge, but I did eventually find a vendor in Georgia.
The second obstacle, as expected (and warned), was that the alignment of the bracket was off by about 1/8" or thereabouts. This was easily remedied by the addition of some washers between the bracket and the aluminum spacers that come with the kit. If anyone knows where I can find some aluminum spacer stock (or simply spacers about 1" long that I can cut down to size) please let me know.
The third obstacle is that the alternator belt I had on there originally was too short to slip around the pulley, even with the alternator arm adjusted as far in as possible. I managed to get a belt that was ever so slightly larger (15390, IIRC) which is a little on the long side but still within the adjustable range of the arm.
The fourth obstacle is that, possibly because of my non-standard 1-wire PowerMaster alternator, the alternator fan interfered with the adjusting arm. I used it as an excuse to buy a DeWalt angle grinder, and simply shortened the alternator fan blades by 1/8" or so.
The fifth obstacle, which I have yet to really address, is that the alternator belt actually rubs against the adjusting arm slightly. Not a lot, just a little bit. I've noticed some belt dust accumulating on the bracket, but it hasn't yet visibly eaten away very much of the belt. I'm going to keep my eye on it and see how it does.
On the up side, the bracket looks great. The adjusting arm is really nice too, as you can adjust the tension of the alternator belt very easily, unlike the old bolt-through-the-swing-arm variety. It was a giant pain in the ass, and I don't recommend it for the timid, although knowing what you're in for and how to remedy it might make a difference.
Here are a couple more images:
http://www.darkbox.com/mustang/altbracket/IMG_1443.jpg
http://www.darkbox.com/mustang/altbracket/IMG_1442.jpg
http://www.darkbox.com/mustang/altbracket/IMG_1445.jpg
I stumbled across this alternator bracket on March Performance's web site, and decided to try it out. The sales guy I spoke with on the phone warned me that they were having alignment problems with these brackets, although he did so in the same breath that he tried to upsell me to their $700+ serpentine conversion package, which I wasn't really interested in. I decided to go ahead and try just the alternator bracket (they also have a P/S pump bracket) and see how it went.
The first obstacle was that one of the socket-head cap screws supplied with the kit actually bottomed out before it snugged down on the bracket. This can be easily remedied with a dremel moto-tool and a cutoff wheel.
On my particular install, I have a timing cover that has some stripped threads, and the bolt holding the upper part of the alternator bracket has a nut behind the lip of the timing cover to hold the bolt in place. The one supplied by March, through no fault of their own, was not long enough, and so I had to track down a single 3.5" socket head cap screw. Finding someone selling just a single one was a challenge, but I did eventually find a vendor in Georgia.
The second obstacle, as expected (and warned), was that the alignment of the bracket was off by about 1/8" or thereabouts. This was easily remedied by the addition of some washers between the bracket and the aluminum spacers that come with the kit. If anyone knows where I can find some aluminum spacer stock (or simply spacers about 1" long that I can cut down to size) please let me know.
The third obstacle is that the alternator belt I had on there originally was too short to slip around the pulley, even with the alternator arm adjusted as far in as possible. I managed to get a belt that was ever so slightly larger (15390, IIRC) which is a little on the long side but still within the adjustable range of the arm.
The fourth obstacle is that, possibly because of my non-standard 1-wire PowerMaster alternator, the alternator fan interfered with the adjusting arm. I used it as an excuse to buy a DeWalt angle grinder, and simply shortened the alternator fan blades by 1/8" or so.
The fifth obstacle, which I have yet to really address, is that the alternator belt actually rubs against the adjusting arm slightly. Not a lot, just a little bit. I've noticed some belt dust accumulating on the bracket, but it hasn't yet visibly eaten away very much of the belt. I'm going to keep my eye on it and see how it does.
On the up side, the bracket looks great. The adjusting arm is really nice too, as you can adjust the tension of the alternator belt very easily, unlike the old bolt-through-the-swing-arm variety. It was a giant pain in the ass, and I don't recommend it for the timid, although knowing what you're in for and how to remedy it might make a difference.
Here are a couple more images:
http://www.darkbox.com/mustang/altbracket/IMG_1443.jpg
http://www.darkbox.com/mustang/altbracket/IMG_1442.jpg
