need help 617 rattle rattle rattle (loose alternator) rattle rattle - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

coachgeo · #1 08-11-2003, 02:19 PM

ok.. find another topic that needs addressing before my long trip.

Loose alternator. I had been researching this topic earlier and from this info it appears I have a stock setup. There is a long nut (looks like a threaded rod coupler) that you tighten and this appears to me to slide the bottom of the alternator outward on a track. This in effect I guess swings the alternator bottom outward pulling the belts snug.

Ok.... did that... , rattle went away...... 30 mins. later rattle is back and the thing is loose again.

soooooo question is is their something I'm suppose to tighten down to snug the alternator in position after using the long nut to get the belts tight?

thanks in advance for any help and Mucho thanks for all the previous help.

kerry · #2 08-11-2003, 02:52 PM

Two bolts. One is the nut at the back of the alternator the front of which is the attachment for the thrreaded rod. The other is the bolt which the whole thing pivots on.

coachgeo · #3 08-11-2003, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kerry edwards
Two bolts. One is the nut at the back of the alternator the front of which is the attachment for the thrreaded rod. The other is the bolt which the whole thing pivots on.

to Clarify what you are saying.

1. Nut on back of alternator (it was tight as a drum)
2. Nut in front of alternator ( I just found this one and tightened it. This was loose) and also
3. Adjusting nut (on threaded rod)

I know I must sound stupid when y'all look down into your engine bay and wonder how in the hellz can I not see the alternator nuts. My engine bay is so different. This engine is tilted 13 degrees and "shoe horned" into the Unimog.

Thanks again. I found adjustments for my air compressor location (air brake assist) in the process of all this. That I'm happy about too. Now I can better line up the compresor pully with the drive pully on the engine.

kerry · #4 08-11-2003, 04:17 PM

The not on the bolt attached to the threaded rod needs to be loose in order for the adjustment to move. This leads me to suspect that the nut you say is tight on the back is not the one attached to the bolt at the end of the threaded rod if the threaded rod was moving.
What it amounts to is that there are two bolts that need to be loosened in order to adjust and tightened in order to hold it in place. One is the bolt associated with the threaded rod and the other is the bolt at the pivot point.

coachgeo · #5 08-11-2003, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kerry edwards
The not on the bolt attached to the threaded rod needs to be loose in order for the adjustment to move. This leads me to suspect that the nut you say is tight on the back is not the one attached to the bolt at the end of the threaded rod if the threaded rod was moving.
What it amounts to is that there are two bolts that need to be loosened in order to adjust and tightened in order to hold it in place. One is the bolt associated with the threaded rod and the other is the bolt at the pivot point.

ok.. apparently some customization did occure. Just the concept was kept simular.

my threaded rod is WELDED to the edge of a bolt head. Looks nicely machined to me. Maybe I'm looking at it wrong it is so hard to see in there. Anyway... I think I got it tight now. Gawd I hope the PO put in a high output alternator so I dont have too try to pull this one out to do it myself.

kerry · #6 08-11-2003, 04:31 PM

That weld is OE. The nut that must be loosened is on the other end of that bolt

coachgeo · #7 08-11-2003, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kerry edwards
That weld is OE. The nut that must be loosened is on the other end of that bolt

ahhhhhhhhh so I just got lost in the descriptions... THANKS.

The nut on the other end musta be the one I just tightend. I thought it looked like it could be the nut for the bolt the rod was attached to.

so the other nut to tighten.. is that up at the top front of the alternator? I assume this is the one it pivots on.

If so, does it need to have both sides wrenched (nut and bolt head) to tigten it or can you do it from just one side. If so, which side. front or back of alternator? I can't even see the back of this on mine. Think I might be able to fish for the nut on back of it if I have to. Front bolt head does not look to easy to get to either.

If I have to wrench front and back then I will probably have to do one from underneath and other from over the top of the engine. hmmmm I'll need someone to hold that while I go to work on the front one.

"Jakeeeeeeeeee".... "hold this right here"......"I know ur a dog.... but stick ur paw in their anway and see if you can hold it" :p

coachgeo · #8 08-11-2003, 07:22 PM

Well I spent an hour or more trying to get a wrench/socket on the bolt head that's on the front side of the alternator; the one the alternator pivots on. I gave up and went to the nut in back. . The pullys in front dont allow anything to get on the head.

I was suprised to find that I could get a socket on the one in back even though I was flying completely blind.

Of course after all that I found this nut to be very tight and just fine.

Oh well.. GREAT lesson learned.

kerry · #9 08-11-2003, 08:44 PM

If all the bolts were tight, what was causing the rattle? Bad bearing in the alternator??

coachgeo · #10 08-11-2003, 09:37 PM

all of them were not tight.

in review you will see that I tightend the nut in front of the alternature that you said is the nut for the bolt in which the threaded rod attaches. This is on the bottom of the Alternator.

The one at the top of the alternator that the whole thing pivots on was tight.

One on the bottom back that was tight must have been a mounting bracket bolt for the slide/grove part of the adjustment system. It paralell to the bolt head with the rod attached but closer to the engine.

Now did any of that make any since hehehe