HD8 Carb Initial Tuning

I have read many “how to” documents concerning the tuning of the SU HD8 carburetors including the “Bible” – SU Carburetters Tuning Tips & Techniques

SU Tips

and Des Hamill’s The SU Carburetter High-Performance Manual. But, The summary put together by Steve Byers is about the best single document specifically for HD8 carbs that I have reviewed. Byers Adjustment of the HD8 Carburetor

Steve’s document describes the process of tuning the carbs in layman’s terms in an easy step-by-step process. So, here is what I did:

As Steve indicates, the first thing to do is run the engine until it is at normal running temperature and then begin the tuning process. Of course, in my case, I am making the initial settings before actually operating the vehicle. Following my installation in the car I will do as Steve says and get the car to operating temperature and then I will essentially repeat the tuning steps.

Next I removed the dashpots from the carbs with piston and springs and carefully stored them aside to insure no damage to the needles. At this point I have no oil in the damper tubes. I make sure that I know which assembly is for the front and for the rear carbs – they need to be returned to the proper location.

I then backed off the Fast Idle Adjusting Screw for each carb to ensure that neither screw is touching its throttle shaft stop lever. I cut a strip of paper from a note card to slide between the screw and its stop to test this and to get both the front and rear the same.

Fast Idle Adjusting Screw

I then loosened the screws/nuts (5/16”) on the interconnecting shaft clamps so that each throttle plate can be rotated independently of the other. I then rotated each throttle plate fully closed by turning its shaft as far as possible. With each throttle plate held fully closed, I re-tightened its shaft clamp screw/nut. Both stops should reach full travel at the same time.

As Steve notes, “There is an extended arm on each interconnecting shaft clamp with a pin that fits into a slot on the carb throttle shaft lever. The pin is smaller in diameter than the slot, so it’s possible to adjust the clearance between the pin and slot (by rotating the clamp) to occur at the upper edge of the slot, at the bottom edge, or both. I adjust mine on both carbs so that most of the clearance occurs at the top. Clearance anywhere except at the top will allow some throttle shaft rotation before the throttle plate begins to open. The SU carburetor manual specifies 0.006 clearance between the bottom of the pin and the edge of the slot, but this is pretty much impossible to measure due to poor access.”

Steve then suggests, using a small straight edge to determine flushness (I use the end of a 6” steel scale), turn the Jet (Mixture) Adjusting Screw for each carburetor until the jet is flush with the bridge of the carburetor (the bridge is the part in the carburetor throat that the piston sits on when it is down). Turn the Jet (Mixture) Adjusting Screw (#2) counterclockwise to raise the jet (leaning), clockwise to lower it (richening).

Jet Adjusting Screw

Once the jet is flush, turn the Jet (Mixture) Adjusting Screw three turns clockwise (rich) as an initial setting. Where I depart from Steve just slightly, is that I did not worry so much about the number of turns of the jet adjusting screw. Instead, I use a micrometer to adjust both jets the same amount – .0625″ or 1/16″.

Jet Adjustment with Micrometer

I then re-installed the carburetor pistons, springs and suction chambers.

I replaced the original Whitworth screws with number 10–24×9/16 inches stainless socket screws. With a 5/32″ Allen wrench these are much easier to access than the original screws.

10-24 socket head screws for Dashpots

Again for initial setting, I turned the Slow Run Valve (Slow Idle) Adjusting Screw for each carburetor clockwise as far as it will go until it bottoms lightly on its seat. Then, I turn it back counterclockwise two and one-half turns.

I then installed everything onto the car and assembled all of the components as described here. Once in the car, I reattached the choke cables and their mounting brackets as well as the throttle cable.

The next step is to install the new fuel delivery system from the hard fuel line coming from the fuel pump up to the carburetors before I can start the car and make final carb adjustments.

Oil Leaks

Of course, the standard joke is that the car wouldn’t be British if it didn’t leak oil. My car isn’t bad, but when I had it up on the lift, I noticed some oil on the RH side of the frame.

Oil Leak on Frame RH side

The leak got me looking around. I seam to have oil leaking from the alternator mounting bracket suggesting that I need to replace that gasket and reseal the bracket. Not that the frame oil came from the oil sump, but I checked the oil sump mounting bolts and noticed that many of them were not tight. A 7/16″ socket with an extension had those bolts tightened up in no time. I will keep a watch on this area, as I may need to replace the sump cork gasket as well. I will come back to this problem and specifically the alternator bracket seal a little later.

I observed that the rear differential drain plug was also leaking a little gear oil. I took this as an opportunity to change the gear oil and put some sealant on the plug threads. The manual states that the capacity of the rear axle is 1.7 lites, but I just fill the diff until oil begins to drip out to the fill plug hole.

Shell Spirax HD Gear Oil SAE 80W-90

 

Valve Adjustment

I really don’t recall when I last checked valve clearances, so as part of this ten year renewal process adjusting clearances was an obvious item for the checklist. You really don’t need many tools to take care of this project. An 8mm socket is used to loosen the hose clamps on the crankcase breather apparatus, a 1″ open end wrench is used to loosen and remove the two rocker cover cap nuts with cup washers and rubber bushes, a medium-size flat screw driver is used to turn the rocker adjusting screws, a 9/16″ box wrench is used to loosen and tighten the adjusting screw nuts, a feeler gauge is used to adjust the gap between the adjusting screws and rocker arms and finally, a spark plug socket and ratchet is used to remove the spark plugs.

I purchased my feeler gauge at the same time I acquired the Healey in 1971. It is still in my tool bag after all of these years:

Forty-seven year old feeler gauge

The workshop manual call for a clearance of .012″ or .3mm between the adjusting screws and the rocker arms for both inlet and exhaust valves. There are lots of good resources on the web and on Youtube that describe the process.

I loosened the breather hose clamps and moved the hoses and clamps out of the way so that the rocker cover can be removed.

I then cleaned the base of the rocker cover to make sure no debris would fall into the cylinder head when the cover is removed.

I then loosened and removed the cap nuts, washers and rubber bushes from the rocker cover and carefully lifted the cover off the engine, taking care to keep the silicone gasket in place so that it could be used again. The cover was then cleaned and set aside. I also carefully cleaned the surface of the head where it mates with the cover. 

Next, was the removal of the spark plugs. This is done to make it easier to roll the car when needed for the valve adjustment process. This is also a good time to inspect and clean the plugs. Mine are visually new so not much was required. Care must be taken to ensure that the plug cables are numbered so that they are reconnected in the proper sequence!

I guess I should bathe in motor oil each morning because it sure makes for good preservation of surfaces. The images below show the Dennis Welch head assembly after almost ten years on the car!

Rocker Arm Assembly

Rocker Arm Assembly

Checked the clearances of each valve as I proceeded. Most were very close to spec although I had two that were a little tight.

The “Rule of Thirteen” is used to know which valve to adjust on a 6 cylinder engine. If valve #1 is open (when the adjuster side of the rocker is up, and the spring side is down) then which valve do you adjust to get to a total of thirteen? The answer is valve #12. When valve #8 is open (up) then to get to a total of thirteen we need to adjust valve #5, and so on. 

Valves open and close in pairs, therefore we can adjust the valves in pairs in accordance with the table below:

Valve Adjustment Table

I backed my car into the garage – nose out – as far to the rear as possible and then let it sit over night so the engine would be completely cold.

The next day I put the car into 4th gear and pushed it forward and in my case the springs on rockers #1 and #3 began to depress. I continued to push the car forward until the springs were fully depressed so that the adjusting screws for valves #10 and #12 were ready to be checked and adjusted. You can either watch the spring movement carefully or you can put fingers on the rocker arms to sense the change in movement. Whichever method works for you is fine. Some people push the front tire to move the car while in gear, others use a wrench on the crank nut or on the alternator/generator pulley nut, or just pull on a fan blade in a clockwise motion (be careful).

Once the adjuster screw is identified that I wanted to adjust (in this case #10), I loosened the adjuster nut, placed my .012″ feeler blade between the rocker and the valve stem and tightened the adjuster nut until the feeler blade was snug and while carefully holding the screwdriver on the adjusting screw so that it would not move (a little tricky) I tightened the nut tightly. I then checked the feeler gauge and readjusted if it was too tight or too loose. This process takes a little practice, but you get the hang of it pretty quickly.

I then moved on to the #12 valve and completed the same process. 

I then slowly pushed the car forward again until the valve springs for #7 and #9 were fully depressed. I then adjusted valves #4 and #6.

I continued with the progression shown in the table above until all valve clearances were properly adjusted.

Next the car was put in neutral and pushed to the rear of the garage again. Then I repeated the full process checking the clearances of each valve a second time. In this case double-checking is certainly a good thing and worthwhile!

Valve adjustment was then complete. 

Sealing The Rocker Pedestal Studs

Fellow Healey owner Steve Gerow pointed out that one needs to be sure to apply sealant to the rocker pedestal studs otherwise oil can seep through the studs and leak into the cavity in which the park plugs are located. I noticed that on my car I was getting a little oil into two of the spark plug cavities, so, after adjusting the valves and before replacing the spark plugs and rocker cover I decided to pull the rocker studs and apply some high temperature sealant to the threads.

If one uses a mirror you can see where these rocker stud holes are drilled all the way through the head. If not properly sealed one can see that a leak could easily develop.

Rocker Pedestal Stud Hole in Spark Plug Cavity

To remove the studs I used the double-nut procedure where one screws a second nut onto the stud and tightens it against the existing nut. A wrench can then be used on the lower nut to slowly turn the stud out of its home.

Double-nuttting studs

Following Steve’s suggestion I cleaned the stud and cylinder head threads with brake cleaner and then blew them dry with compressed air. I applied Permatex high temperature thread sealant to the threads per the instructions. 

Permatex High Temperature Thread Sealant

The last step was to torque the rocker pedestal stud nuts to 25 ft. lbs. Another job complete.

Rear Axle Breather Replacement

Most of the vendors sell a plastic breather for the threaded hole in the Healey’s rear axle. However, a fellow in the UK sells brass equivalents from vintage Land Rovers that fit perfectly. While the plastic component works just fine, I couldn’t resist replacing it with a clearly superior quality brass piece. It was a quick switch-out.

Axle Breather

HD8 Carb Rebuild

Since I had removed the carbs to install the new intake manifold, I decided it might be a good idea to go ahead and rebuild the carbs. They didn’t have many miles on them, but it has been about eleven years since they were last rebuilt and although I wasn’t experiencing any leaks it seems like a good time to go ahead and replace the bushings, rubber seals and diaphragms.

Joe Curto has done my rebuild work in the past and I was always very happy with Joe’s work. This time I decided to try Thomas Bryant in Wiscasset, Maine. Tom makes and installs delrin bushings for the throttle shafts. Others who have used Tom have indicated that they were very pleased with the performance of the delrin bushings. This is a link to his website and specifically to a rebuild post he did for HD6 SUs. https://thosbryant.wordpress.com/2018/03/03/su-carburetor-rebuild-hd-6/

These are a couple of images from his site that show the delrin bushing:

Delrin Carb Bushing

Delrin Bushing Installed

Tom also checked the throttle shafts for wear (they were OK), replaced the seal for the slow run valve, installed new jets and diaphragms, replaced several gaskets and adjusted the float bowl levers to the 7/16″ prescribed setting.

SU HD Float Lever Setting

I was very pleased with the quality of Tom’s work and his luck turn around. Very easy to work with. I recommend him to others without any hesitation.

This image illustrates the beauty of the bespoke Dennis Welch throttle cable aluminum bracket. The rod running through the bracket is free to rotate which prevents in cable binding when the accelerator is applied. In the image the proper operating angle of the cable is shown:

I also replaced the brass floats in the float bowls with new nitrophyl floats sourced from Moss Motors.

Nitrophyl Carb Floats

Nitrophyl Carb Floats Installed

Preventing Vapor Lock – Float Bowl Kouzies

The summer temps in southern Florida get pretty high and I have experienced a few episodes of vapor lock. Joe Curto who is well know as an SU carb guru sells some covers or “kouzies” for the car float bowls to help prevent boiling the fuel in the bowls. The “kouzies are made from “Koolmat” insulation material and are secured to the bowls with stitched velcro. Joe’s site indicates that the material offers continuous temperature protection to 650 degrees F and short term thermal exposure to 1000 degrees F. “Koolmat” claims to reflect 90% of radiant heat energy.

The covers are well made and fit nicely. Now, time will tell if they solve the vapor lock problem!

Curto Koolmat Kouzie

Joe Curto Float Bowl Cover

Kouzies Installed

Curto Kouzies Installed

Brake and Clutch Master Cylinder Replacements

I am seeing a very slight seeping of brake fluid around the clutch master cylinder on the pedal box inside the cockpit. So as a preventative measure I’m going to go ahead and replace both the brake and clutch master cylinders. This was last done in 2014.

The original manufacturer of the master cylinders was Girling, and they are still available today. I am counting on them being a higher quality than what’s available from many of the typical vendors. These masters came from Pegasus auto racing and cost $125 each.

The clutch master cylinder has a .62 inch bore while the brake master cylinder that I’m using has a .75 inch bore. As shipped, the master cylinders have threaded pushrods to make them adjustable in length. I will replace the adjustable length push rods with the push rods that are currently on the master cylinders on the car.

Girling Master Cylinders

I’m going to tackle the clutch master cylinder replacement first. In preparation for the work I have raise the car onto jackstands. This will make it easier to get to the bleeder valves on each of the brake calipers at the wheels.

Bloody Beast on Jackstands Ready for Transplant

The parts manual states that the brake master cylinder should have shims and that shims for the clutch master are optional. That is how I have the master cylinders installed at the present time. However, the brake pedal is closer to the firewall than the clutch pedal (they don’t line up evenly) so when I put the new master cylinders in I will install the shims on both the brake and clutch master cylinders. The shims, or packing pieces, are only about 1/8″ thick and are made of aluminum. I sourced new shims from Moss Motors.

I used super glue to adhere the shims to the masters. If you don’t secure the shim to the master cylinder, it is very difficult to install the lower shims once the master cylinder is in the car.

Master Cylinder Shims

As a first step, I removed as much of the brake fluid from the reservoir as possible using a syringe. I used this same syringe later in the process to pull fluid through the clutch and brake hydraulic systems.

Sealey Syringe 200 ml

The tube within the reservoir holds the clutch hydraulic fluid.

Fluid Reservoir

Of course, there is still hydraulic fluid in the lines but as you can see in this photo the reservoir for the clutch is now empty. I did this so when I disconnect the hydraulic pipes from the clutch master there is little fluid as possible to leak onto the car! Brake fluid eats paint so you need to be as careful as possible!

Empty Clutch Reservoir

My job is made a little more complicated because I replaced the Dennis Welch bleeder kit with one from Ol Phartz.

Ol Phartz Clutch Bleeder kit

Clutch Easy Bleed Kit Ol Phartz

The Dennis Welch kit tended to leak. Replacing the bleeder hose required access to the bleeder valve on top of the slave cylinder and you just cannot get there from under the car! This means that I had to remove the transmission tunnel and its extension from the interior. Argh!!! To do so means that I first had to remove both LH and RH seats and set aside the hardware. Then I removed the screws securing the transmission cover and the extension. These components were then set aside and out of the way. In my case I have cruise control and the control unit is in the ash tray. So, to be able to actually remove the transmission tunnel cover I had to first disconnect about a half-dozen wires below the car.

This is the RH side:

Transmission Cover Mounting Fasteners

And, the LH side:

Transmission cover Mounting Fasteners LH side

Removing the transmission cover extension was next:

Transmission Cover Extension

Once the Extension was out of the way, I then had access to the to the slave cylinder! The slave cylinder is bolted to the gearbox with two 3/8”-16 x 1” (course thread) bolts with flat and split washers.

Slave Cylinder Bleeder Hose Fitting

I then removed the slave cylinder. Unfortunately, it is necessary to get to the bleeder hose that I want to remove (Dennis Welch) and to install the Ol Phartz bleeder cable. The slave cylinder is bolted to the gearbox with two 3/8”-16 x 1” (course thread) bolts with flat and split washers. 

After removing the DW bleeder hose, I installed the OP hose being sure to place the supplied copper crush washer over the end of the hose fitting.

Slave Cylinder with Supply and Bleeder Hoses

I then reinstalled the slave cylinder and routed the Ol Phartz cable up to the top of the gearbox (though the routing is not shown in this image).

I decided to reuse the slave cylinder that was on the car. It had been installed in 2014. It was not showing any signs of leakage, but you never know when that might occur. My thinking was that if the slave cylinder leaks it will only leak onto the floor – not nice red paint! Only time will tell how long it lasts.

Slave Cylinder Reinstalled

It was then time to finally move to the removal of the clutch master cylinder. In the photo below the clutch master cylinder is closest to the bottom of the image. You can see that I had some paint damage when the brake master failed in 2014. Fortunately, this time I caught the problem before any damage occurred. 

Master Cylinders

That big hole in the diagonal firewall brace (see above) provides nice access to the lower mounting bolts for both master cylinders. One can get below the car and with a short extension on a ratchet with a 1/2″ socket loosen and remove the bolts. I removed the lower bolt and split washer for the clutch master cylinder. I then loosened but did not remove the upper bolt. 

There is some tension on the hard line fittings from both the reservoir and the supply pipe that runs along the firewall ultimately connecting with the stainless steel hose to the slave cylinder. Unless the pipe fittings are properly aligned with their home, it is VERY EASY to cross thread the mounting points in the master cylinder. The pipe fittings are steel while the masters are soft aluminum!

Because of this I like to relieve as much pressure as possible when removing and installing the pipe fittings. To do this I first removed the securing clip on the LH wheel arch:

Fluid Pipes Retaining Clip

After siphoning out the fluid from the brake side of the reservoir, I removed the nut (circled in yellow below) securing the reservoir canister to its mounting clip. All tension is then removed and it becomes quite easy to loosen and tighten the pipe fittings to the masters.

Reservoir Canister Mount

I put a rag under the hydraulic line fitting to the master. I also had some rubber plugs to place over the ends of the pipes, and had a spray bottle of water ready to rinse off any fluid that will surely spill. I disconnected the pipes without incident and after placing the plugs over the pipe ends I put both ends in a plastic bag for extra protection – as it turned out this extra level of protection was not needed. 

Protection from fluid drainage

I then removed the cotter pin at the clutch pedal from the master cylinder push rod fork and clevis pin. The head of the clevis pin was toward the center of the car. After freeing the pedal from the push rod I completely loosened and then removed the top bolt on the master. The master cylinder could then be pulled through the opening in firewall/pedal box and carefully removed to avoid spilling fluid.

To install the new master cylinder I first had to remove the push rod from the old cylinder which was accomplished with some circlip pliers, and remove the threaded push rod that was supplied with the new Girling master cylinders. The original push rod was then installed on the new masters.

Push Rod Retaining Circlip

I then installed the new clutch master cylinder into the car. With the master against the firewall I inserted the upper mounting bolt through the sleeve of the master but left it loose. I discovered that you need to put this bolt in place BEFORE you install the clutch supply pipe fitting into the master cylinder, because once the pipe fitting is mounted one cannot get enough clearance to install the bolt. I then screwed the clutch supply pipe fitting into the rear port of the master cylinder. This was followed by the installation of the pipe from the reservoir to the front port of the master

With both pipes in place on the clutch master I then got under the car, put my hand up through the frame brace hole, and threaded the second bolt to the lower fixing point. It helps to center the master on the firewall/pedal box hole with a tapered punch. Using the ratchet and 1/2″ socket I fully tightened the lower bolt. Returning to the top of the car, I fully tightened the upper mounting bolt for the master cylinder.

One then needs to stand on one’s head in the interior, sliding upside down under the steering wheel to reach the pedals. The pedal mount is then lined up with the push rod fork, the clevis pin is inserted, and a new cotter pin is installed.

That completes the installation of the new clutch master cylinder. It is now time to complete the same process for the brake master cylinder. The very same process was followed.

Bleeding the system

Once the new brake master was installed in the car, bleeding the clutch and brake systems was undertaken.

I bled the clutch system first. I filled the fluid reservoir with Dot 4 brake fluid. I typically use Castrol but it was not immediately available so I used a Valvoline product instead. I then opened the bleeder on the clutch bleeder hose and attached my Sealey Syringe and pulled fluid, and air, through the piping and hoses. I then closed the bleeder valve and  turned to the traditional two person pedal down, pedal up process. Opening the bleeder to push the pedal down and then closing the bleeder to let the pedal up. This prevents air from entering the system. This process resulted in the evacuation of some more air. Pedal movement actuated the throw out arm for the clutch as it should.

I then routed the bleeder hose to where it will be permanently mounted. In the future I will bleed from this location.

Ol Phartz Clutch Bleeder Hose

I then used the syringe on the bleeder valves of each of the four wheel calipers (I have 4 wheel disc brakes). I began with the LH rear, then the RH rear, then the LH front and finally the RH front. After sucking out fluid and most of the air, like the clutch, I turned to the traditional two person pedal down, pedal up process. This resulted in a pretty firm brake pedal.

As a final step I used a technique suggested on the British Car Forum. One depresses the brake pedal and leaves it overnight. Mysteriously the process seems to firm-up the pedal beyond what one accomplishes through traditional bleeding.While this image is not of my car, I used precisely this arrangement and it worked beautifully!

Brake bleeding with Pedal Pressure

 

I found that using the syringe to draw fluid through both systems made bench bleeding the masters unnecessary. I did not bench bleed (in the car or on the bench) the masters and I have a perfectly functioning clutch and a nice brake pedal feel. Happy with the results, and hopefully leak free for at least another five or six years! As a final step, I re-fastened the double pipe clip for the reservoir pipes to the left hand fender valance.

 

 

 

 

Charlie Hart Fuse Panel

Fellow Healey enthusiast, Charlie Hart has come up with several “customizations” over the years to “improve” on the original Austin-Healey design. He then makes these available to the Healey community. One of those items is a fuse panel that mounts to the firewall in the same manner and place as the original. The panel has seven fuses with a total of fourteen terminals. Two of these are unswitched – direct feed from battery and twelve are switched – hot when the ignition is turned on.

This is the original fuse panel. It was very crowded with the electrical enhancements I have on my car – cruise control, extra fresh air blower, extra under dash three fuse fuse panel, intermittent wiper control, beeper for turn signals and a sound system. If I had a failure in one of these circuits it would be difficult to assess given the small number of fused circuits.

Original Fuse Block

Charlie’s fuse panel is comprised of a number of individual fuse blocks that are screwed into a flat piece of pvc, and came complete with wire connectors and a sample wiring diagram based on an original unmolested car.

Charlie Hart Fuse Panel

This is a photo of the panel installed with connections made. I still had to double load some of the connection points but circuit segregation is much better than it was before!

Charlie Hart Fuse Panel Installed

This is an image of the actual wiring to the fuse panel in the Bloody Beast:

Rose Fuse Panel 9-3-2019

 

Rear Main Oil Leak – Diaper Fix

Healeys, as well as most other British cars of the period, like to leave their mark! That is, one can expect oil leaks on their garage floor or driveway. When I rebuilt my engine ten plus years ago, I installed an improved rear main seal designed and sold by Dennis Welch Motorsports. Disappointingly, it failed to correct the oil leak problem, although to be fair, it might be worse had I not made the modification.

If you can’t get rid of a leak, then perhaps you can at least do something to keep the leak from hitting the floor. Jim Shope came up with a plan for a little drain pan that basically serves as a diaper for the Healey. The pan catches the slow drips, and every month or so the pan can be wiped out. The following images illustrate the template and measurement for making the drain pan – thanks, Jim!

The Template is 9″ x 7.5″. I used aluminum but steel sheet could also be used. After making the cuts with some tin snips and drilling the two holes, I used a small sheet metal brake to form the box. I then used JB Weld to seal the edges of the box.

Oil Drip Pan Template

Oil Drip Pan Template Mounting Hole Dimensions

Oil Drip Pan Cut Out Ready for Bending

I used some engine green spray paint available from Moss Motors to paint my little diaper. I plan to use a small piece of Pig Mat (Oil absorbent pad) in the pan to collect the oil. Hopefully, I can then just switch out the the dirty pad for a clean one without having to remove the pan. We will see.

Oil Drip Pan Painted and Installed

Main Seal Diaper in place

Cylinder Block, Front Cover, Oil Leak Repair

The front cover has leaked oil for some time. In this post, I describe the process to remove the cover, replace the gasket and then reinstall the cover to the cylinder block. This process involves removing the alternator. When I restored my BT7 I “upgraded” from the original dynamo, or generator, to an alternator. At the time, I purchased a “kit” including the mounting brackets for the alternator. The kit was designed to use an easily obtained Delco Alternator: Delco SI 10 alternator with an internal regulator. (about a 72-on Chev). NAPA part # 2134011 and a NAPA Part # VRC 148 plug.

Instructions for the installation of the alternator are provided in the Electrical System entry of this Big Healey Valvechatter website. I will not repeat that information in this Blog entry.

The first step in this process is to turn off battery power with the switch in the boot. I then clipped the plastic tie I had used to secure the radiator overflow hose to the rear arm of the alternator bracket.

Alternator Slide Brackets Coolant Hose Tie

I then removed the bracket mounting bolt and nyclock nut on the swing bracket. The bolt is stainless and it is a 3/8″-24 x 3″ with flat washers and the nylock nut.

Alternator Bracket Mounting Bolt Fastener

The alternator wiring white pigtail connector with white and red wires was disconnected from the alternator body. I also disconnected the red wire and the heavy gauge brown wire from the screw post on the back of the alternator. The brown wire is routed to the alternator from the starter solenoid. The nut on the alternator wiring post is 10mm.

Alternator Wiring

Alternator Wiring

I then loosened and removed the 5/16″-18 x 1 3/4″ bolt with flat and lock washers that is inserted through the mounting ear of the alternator and into the spacer on the cylinder side front cover. Once removed the alternator can then be removed from the car.

Delco Alternator Removed

The five mounting bolts that secure the front cover to the cylinder block are now accessible. In the image below, oil residue from the leaking cover can be seen.

Front Cover Cylinder Side AEC689

The cover is removed by loosening and removing the five mounting bolts and copper flat washers.

Cover to Cranckcase Screw HNS0506

The next task was to clean-up the cover by removing the old gasket and degreasing the part. I took advantage of the opportunity and repainted the cover prior to reinstallation.

Removal of Cover Gasket AEC313

This is the freshly painted cover and the new paper gasket AEC 313.

Front Cover for Cylinder Side with new gasket and Custom Alternator Spacer

Before installing on the block I carefully cleaned the cylinder block and particularly the mounting flange for the cover.

Cleaning gasket residue from cylinder block

I smeared a light coating of Permatex #2 Form-A-Gasket Sealant on the gasket and placed it on the cover, using the mounting bolts to center the gasket on the cover. I then smeared the other side of the gasket and then mounted the cover to the cylinder block using the five bolts and washers previously removed.

Front Cover Cylinder Side Reinstalled

While the alternator on the car was functioning just fine I decided to go ahead and install a new (rebuilt) alternator in its place. one must take care to ensure that the fan belt is properly located on the crank, water pump and alternator pulleys. With the alternator held in place the front mounting bolt can be reinstalled through the ear of the alternator, and the cover and then screwed into the threaded spacer tube.

Alternator Mounting Ear

The 3″ bolt was then inserted through the swing bracket and the “wide” mounting ear of the alternator and tightened providing approximately a 1″ deflection of the fan belt.

Finally, all electrical connections were made and after a final check the boot master switch was turned to the “on” position.

The car was then test driven with the charging light on the speedometer switching off as the car accelerated.

One more job complete!