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[heeman10]

*sings to the tune of "Oh Mandy" by Vestlife* Oh Mandy....when it broke and you said you were breaking it....

You queen! You're there dude, just chop the thread back, surely? I've had a damn good day too. Am just about to go and put the dash back in and wire in all my gauges Good luck finalising things, tidy bays kick ass

[Statey]

well done on getting it fired up hope u get the alternator sorted

[MotorcyclesFish]

Andy's gone out for McD's now, but he did vouchsafe to me that it wasn't as easy as getting happy with the hacksaw. He assures me that, like everything concerned with this car it's "bloody awkward".

I'm sure a solution will present itself, even if it's just gluing the bloody thing to the block with a sort of no more nails/firegum hybrid...

[heeman10]

I think he's the kind of guy who snaps his shoe lace every morning

[andyhardy]

cant you just cut it down a bit?

Not too sure if there's enough thread that the nut is held on with to cut any of it off!

I'm trying to get hold of my mate Simon who fixed the bracket to see if he's got any smart ideas about it - once that's done I'll be laughing (hopefully) - either that or I'll be crying!

Anyone else have advice for refitting the speedo cable onto the dash-clocks - I can remove and check a loom and then re-install it, but I can't for the life of me get the speedo cable to connect up with the clocks again!

Cheers,

Andy

[RS_Rawli]

msn boyo

[PaulC]

Andy - To get the speedo cable on, undo it from the gearbox, push it most of the way through into the car, put onto the clocks and push clocks in

[andyhardy]

Thanks guys - will have another play with it tomorrow, I gave up on it as I was running out of time and just plugged the clocks in to see warning lights etc.

My mate Simon has an idea about the alternator belt clearance, am going to a local car spares place tomorrow to see if I can fit on a similar sized alternator belt which is narrower and place it on the pulleys furthest away from the nut and thread which are sticking out too far now.

If I was to cut the thread the nut would vibrate loose and this would cause the CPS to drop into the pulley notches and cost me another £23 and 5 day wait to order from Ford!

Finger's crossed I can get some testing mileage put onto the car after getting it all soldered up - I've still yet to drive the damn thing!

Cheers,

Andy

[Capri]

WHOO fudgekin HOO!

About bloody time Andy! Am so glad to hear the problem looks all but solved now. Well done for persevering, we're all dead chuffed for you!

[andyhardy]

Thanks mate - I'm feeling pretty proud of myself but I don't really wanna go shouting about it too much as I'm still not 100% that it's fixed!

I don't know if that's a gut instinct or just my general complex about the car that I've now built up from all these problems!

Cheers,

Andy

[Richard_xr2i1800]

Good News mate

Rich

[STOKE7UP]

get on it mate and get it sorted
cars always make you think they are cursed after probs
never goes away till it sitting flat out running right just got to get there mate

[robbo]

well done mate, congrats!!!!!! been reading this post ofr [ERRR] seems like weeks now, hope u can finally drive it without the need of the AA man to get u home! well done!!!!!!!!!!

[EvilDes]

Andy, this is great news! I really do hope this is the end of your problems with the car, and once you get the alternator sorted you can drive the hell out of it

Despite there being *another* problem for you to overcome, surely this is one hell of a big step

Mate, so chuffed for ya! Catch ya on MSN matey

[andyhardy]

This is what's causing the problem - when the alternator belt is rotating it's catching on that nut and causing me all sorts of ballache!





Cheers,

Andy

[MAD_Adamski]

well done andy good stuff

[Ghost]

good man!!

[Summer22]

Glad it's getting sorted

[Jur]

Well .. it looks like the belt is hitting just the thread.. and hitting the thread just ..

Why is it a thread with a nut on it? and not a bolt of some kind ?
Can't you remove the thread and replace it using an Allen-key bolt or just a standard one ?

Or .. use a locknut (with nylon ring) .. and hacksaw the rest of the thread off..

Another possible option... using another belt (longer/shorter) and adjust the alternator downwards..
This way the belt will move down.. and you get more room between the belt and the thread.

or am i thinking to simple ??

[grahamb]

Chop the end of the threaded portion off with a hack saw!

[Captain Tightpants]

Or chop the thread and use threadlock,

Steve

[MotorcyclesFish]

I said slip a rubber cap or something over the end of the thread for now, grease it up inside so it can spin, but make sure it's a tight fit. Like a bit of old fuel line or brake hose or something.

[Excursion]

chop that thread off!

As Scort said, use thread lock to prevent it vibrating loose.

[StreetDragster]

Wicked to hear about it running Andy.

As the others have said, chop off the thread and threadlock the nut on.

Orrrrr, do what i had to do at Halfords, take your alternator belt off, use string as an 'alternator belt' and adjust the alternator to clear the bolt. Once its clear measure the length of the string, take your old belt with you and go to Halfords to be a nightmare customer like i was.

They WILL have a belt the same thickness and ribs as your belt, thats shorter, you'll just have to find it.

Thanks

Matt

[Jur]

Orrrrr, do what i had to do at Halfords, take your alternator belt off, use string as an 'alternator belt' and adjust the alternator to clear the bolt. Once its clear measure the length of the string, take your old belt with you and go to Halfords to be a nightmare customer like i was.

They WILL have a belt the same thickness and ribs as your belt, thats shorter, you'll just have to find it.

Thanks

Matt

Hmmz.. sounds like the same 'solution' as i had :-p just written down different. .

[PaulC]

If thats a bolt, could you swap it round so the head of the bolt is on the side where the thread is now?

[StreetDragster]

Hmmz.. sounds like the same 'solution' as i had :-p just written down different. .

Oh yer, great minds think alike

Thanks

Matt

[heeman10]

If thats a bolt, could you swap it round so the head of the bolt is on the side where the thread is now?

My thoughts precisely Dunno what's on the other side though. Chopping the thread down would certainly do the trick, even file a touch off the nut if you're still wanting a bit of clearance. Loctite...bish bash bosh!

I posted the boost gauge off first class today matey, forgot yesterday was bank holiday so expect it tomorrow/Thursday

[andyhardy]

Alternator belt is off - I'm about to post a rev-counter module off to Brad (sorry I didn't do it this morning!) and then I'm off to the auto spares place local to me to be the customer from hell after a slightly shorter alternator belt!

Will let you know how it goes later,

Cheers,

Andy

[andyhardy]

Right - rev counter module is now sent to Brad and the engine has been tested for 15 minutes on my drive, although I couldn't test it on the road itself because a nut holding the alternator to the alternator spacer bracket (required for the CPS setup) has stripped through the thread!

I'm now going to see if I can sort it out in situ by tapping a new thread in - it's a big maybe though so the alternator will probably have to come off and a new bracket made up out of steel or similar rather than crappy aluminium.

Engine ran for a good 15 minutes or so though and heard the engine fan cut in and out - the first time you plug an ECU in generally the car will run lumpy and you're supposed to go through a set test procedure on the road, but obviously I haven't got that far yet!

I can't wait to actually drive teh thing on the road again - not worth forcing the alternator to drop off the car though!

Once I've successfully tested the car on the road the car will be driven to my Dad's house where me and him will finish off soldering/tidying of the engine loom

Cheers,

Andy

[Pez]

Andy, to get a little more clearance, get onto a specialist fastener company and ask about shallow lock nuts. Exactly the same strength as ordinary nyloc nuts, but almost half the depth. This will give you a little more clearance and you can cut the bolt down and leave a touch through the nut for safety, rather than cutting it flush.

Im glad to see you stuck with it, cars can be the biggest nightmare in the world when they go wrong, but when they go right they are your best friends. Well done

[andyhardy]

Thanks Pez - I think I've solved the clearance issue now - I've got another issue which is also alternator related but relates to a spacer plate that's used with the cossie management conversions.

I'll explain in more detail when I get the alternator off the car and take some pics - will show you in greater detail what the problem is.

Cheers,

Andy

[heeman10]

lol You're ALWAYS so close to driving it! The last few little hills to climb now

Update on mine: Came to try starting it tonight, but am not too sure about the starter motor wiring. Came to connect the earth terminal and got a huge spark that melted the shouler off my earth terminal! No idea what's wrong, as my wiring follows the Haynes wiring diagram Homo.

[andyhardy]

Turns out I just need to jam a long screwdriver between the alternator and block when doing it up to get the belt fully tightened up - it looks ok when tightening holding the alternator by hand, but as soon as it's running the belt stretches slightly and starts slipping on higher revs.

I've given up on it today after the washing machine/dishwasher water feed in the kitchen decided to burst soaking my kitchen/dining room in an inch of water!

Cheers,

Andy

[Pez]

Yeah always give it a bit with a lever. The recommended for auxiliary belts is to hold the belt, and you should be able to turn it no more than quarter of a turn on its side. Speaking from personal experience, this isnt quite enough, tighten it so there's about an eighth of a turn across its width.