midnight mechanic

the bolt and nut that is hard to reach, that the alternator pivots on, does it have to be tight?

Can I leave it loose and secure it with it >>>LOCK TIGHT<<< ?

I'm not talking about the bolt that goes on the curved slotted thing that is easy to get to.

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

It must be secured. It doesn't have to be crazy tight. You can torque it to spec and it will be just fine. I can look up the torque spec and post if if you want. But yes, it should be secured properly.

midnight mechanic

thanks mazdaverx713b,

don't need no torque spec, because I don't have a torque wrench.

I go by feel.

because I'm a step down from a shade tree mechanic.

having a shade tree sure would be nice

tommyeflight89

iTrader: (4)

Just make sure it has the proper spacer in there, if there is any amount of gap you will risk racking the aluminum casting portion of the alternator.

midnight mechanic

that 1/2 inch cylinder thing with a hole in it ?

weather channel says it is 74F with 76% rel humidity, but I'm dying of heat exhaustion!

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

That's the spacer that tommyeflight89 is taking about. It must be installed along with the alternator.

LongDuck

The Alternator pivot bolt doesn't have to be very tight at all. What I normally do is install the belt, tighten the pivot bolt until it is snug enough to hold tension on the belt, use a long breaker bar under the Alternator body and tension the belt to spec. The pivot bolt holds everything in place until I can tighten down the Alternator bolt which slides in the support bracket. Afterward, I just give it another quick tug to tighten it the same as the fixing bolt on the support arm. Done.

If you use his method with a long breaker bar arm to tension the belt, be VERY CAREFUL where you position the bar - your oil injector lines run under there and are easily broken.

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

Yeah and if using a long bar like that, make sure not to over tighten. Its a quick way to ruin the alternator or worse, the eshaft front bearings due to the load.

midnight mechanic

you mean over stress the pivot bar/level making the belt over tight, not the nut.

now to tackle the speedometer hasn't worked in +2 years. it is plugged into the instrument cluster. what's involved in a speedo - cable replacement? is there something else I need to look at.

for simple questions like this, I wish I could delete after getting the answer.

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

The speedometer cable clips into he back of the cluster via a white clip with one locking tab. The other end is threaded into the speedometer drive gear that's bolted to the transmission. Typically, if the cable is at fault, the white locking clip that secures to the back of the speedometer itself has broken due to someone messing with it. They don't just fall apart but if someone is working in the dash behind the cluster, they can inadvertently knock the speedometer cable loose or break the locking clip. You'll want to check both ends for good measure.

midnight mechanic

I wasn't working on the cluster when the speedo died. And it looks like it is attached to the cluster. Is it easy to replace? stringing it through the firewall sounds tedious.

Raising and supporting the car so it won't crush me takes me 40 minutes. I hate when I do all that then find out I need some other part.

Does the gear that drives the cable go bad? is it an easy replace?

KansasCityREPU

iTrader: (9)

You can replace the cable without taking the speedo out completely, but it's a little tricky. Disconnect the cable at the transmission to give slack. Remove the cluster black plastic "surround" and then the screws holding the cluster. This is all done at the face of the cluster. I like to then take a town and place around the column to keep things from getting torn up. You can tilt the cluster forward just a bit to see. Then reach under the dash and remove the speedo. You will have to feel for things.

You can also remove the seat and stick your head under the dash.

midnight mechanic

so it is probably the speedo cable then ?

inst-cluster is easy on my car. Since I got a dash cover, I did away with the black plastic surround . tilting it forward is a good tip!!

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

The most likely failure is a bad speedometer cable. But the drive gear should be removed and inspected if the cable is found to be secure at both ends and if it moves freely in the casing. Sometimes the cable can bind and snap inside of the casing. Its important to remove the cable at each end and verify that each end spins freely and in unison with the other.

raven12aFB

To avoid using a breaker bar or a pipe to put tension on the alternator I will be ordering one of this....just hot to figure out the length... I saw someone using it, don't remember where, but he said that works like a charm....