'89 200q alternator replacment woes...

[AUDIDUDI@delphi.com]

The alternator on my 200q took a dump Thursday and I took a much-needed day
off Friday to replace it and attend to a few other personal matters that've
been neglected recently due to the press of business.

Needless to say, the 90-amp alternator from my '87 5k (and originally taken
from my '85 4k: swap the pulleys and it bolts right up) didn't fit.  Made a
few calls, tracked down a rebuilt one, paid through the nose v. mail order,
and threw it on the car ... only to have the adjuster bolt (the star-shaped
one that runs against a track on the bracket) snap in two as I tightened it
into place.  :^(

Naturally, it broke *below* the surface of the alternator body and my drill
bits aren't long enough to reach ... I tried drilling in from the other end
but the bolt is pointed and the bit keeps slipping to the side even using a
drill press.  Unfortunately, the alternator body is too large to be clamped
in my drill press vice and the hole's too small to get in with my Dremel to
grind down the point.  Looks like it's time to throw in the towel and visit
my local machinist...

Anyway, the moral of this tale is to replace the adjuster bolt whenever you
replace the alternator.  These &$&^#% things have snapped on me three times
now (I'm a slow learner...) and while this has only been a nuisance before,
I can assure you that it has the potential to become a BIG pain-in-the-*ss!
Learn from my mistake and save yourselves a lot of trouble... 

     _             _             
    / l       l o l  \       l o   Jeffrey Goggin
   /__l l l / l l l  l l l / l l   * * * * * * *
  /   l l_l \_l l l__/ l_l \_l l   AudiDudi@delphi.com