5kcstq alternator belt losin' solved, and upgrade report

[Ken Keith]

Hello q-listers,

I had posted about my escapades trying to upgrade my alternator 
on my '88 5kcstq.  It appears that I finally got it squared away.

I got a Gates belt, which is metric, and took it for a test drive.  This 
time, the belt didn't come off when I shifted hard.

Basically, it wasn't a bad swap.  I hadn't expected issues with the 
pulley, so I was surprised at that hiccup.  Note to self:  It's never 
"drop-in", always expect issues.

I got the alternator from Avi Meron.  It's a 110a unit, converted to 
150a, and uses a 14.8v voltage regulator.  I had to swap out the 
alternator bracket/front engine "mount" device.  My original 
alternator was a 90a unit.  The idiot light came on, so I parked it, 
pulled the alternator to potentially swap out the brushes and 
regulator, and found the bearings were loose too.  Cha-ching.

The first alternator had a pulley on it that moved the belt forward, 
too far to be in line with the crank pulley.  That, and the bolts, or 
screws, that hold the housings together were a bit short, so I 
couldn't get the rear air shroud on.  There were two ways to go to 
remedy that.  I could have gotten shorter screws, and used a 
second set of screws coming in from the back to attach the 
shroud.  I ended up getting different alternator that had longer 
screws.  A last issue with the first alternator was that the threads 
for the adjustment/bottom mount bolt, were gone.  This was 
addressed by using a different alternator.

Once I got those two issues taken care off, I found that the second 
alternator had a different bakelite insulator which interfered with the 
air shroud.  I was going to clearance the shroud with my Dremel, 
but then realized it was easier to swap out the bakelite pieces, 
which I did.

I found that I had to use a longer belt than the one Checker pulled 
up for my application.  I told them '90 200, had them get a belt that 
was 1" longer.  I then took that belt to the local BAP import parts 
store and got the same length metric Gates belt.  Checker 
refunded both of my purchases for the belts that bailed on me.

I could have gotten the Gates belt from Napa, who apparently have 
a lifetime warranty on their belts and hoses.  I was already at BAP 
(expecting a Continental belt), so I just got it there.  No warranty, 
and it was about $9.  May as well support the import store and all.

Checker had the 50mm hose for the air duct to the alternator.

So, the upgrade is done.  Now I have a 150a alternator, with a 
competent voltage regulator to keep the battery charged for stop 
and go, hot summer driving.  I have relayed eurolights in the car, 
and might have a decent size amplifier later, so the alternator is 
appreciated.

Thanks to Avi for the hardware and help.  Also thanks to all to 
helped with my obstacles as I got it installed.

I'm off to get an idle emissions test today.  With any luck, I won't 
have to post later with a new saga.  About that anyway.  I can 
forsee some air conditioning activity coming up. <sigh>

Best regards,

Ken
'88 5kcstq, TAP chip/spring, eurolights, autometer boost gauge, 
strapped i/c, bypass awaiting, misc repairs done
'85 4ksq, this years (!) turbo project, misc parts accumulated/ing
'87 5kta, turbo donor and parts for the '88
'94 SL2, I driven in between running Audi's (150k now)

p.s.  If it's that tight with an MC motor in the Type 44 chassis, it's 
going to be fun working on the MC in the Type 85.  Yikes!