Trouble with 95A alternator mounting on 1981

[4uall]

the belt I used for the replacement (as seen in the photo above) was from Autoricambi and it fit perfectly http://www.autoricambi.us/product/BT1-4 ... ---1977on/

[focodave]

Tim,
Sorry to hear you are having so much trouble with your installation.
Did you buy the alternator from Mark Allison -- or somewhere else?
I got mine from Mark, for my 1980 F.I. Spider.
It fit beautifully, with an added spacer between the upper belt tension bracket and the alternator casting.
Dave

[Tango]

Got it from Mark. He says it must fit, done dozens of cars including 81s. It has to be that my upper bracket is -- for some reason -- formed a bit lower than most. I can't bend it that much. I'll have to get a friend to mill a bit off the bottom tomorrow. Probably 1/8". It should still be beefy enough. I have no issue with the spacer washers on the tensioning bolt.

[vandor]

... I can't "lift" the alternator quite high enough to pass the mounting bolt through the front hole. using a mirror, they seem to be misaligned by a couple of millimetres.

Loosen the nut that holds the bracket to the engine block, insert the upper bolt, the tighten the nut.

[Tango]

That's what I did. Essentially, that is what Mark said also, and I retried it from scratch and I am in business. Removed the bracket, and mounted the alternator on its mounting bolt, then mounted the bracket finger tight. then put in the tensioner bolt tight enough to keep the bracket in position and "square" to the bolt. Tightened the bracket on the engine, then everything else and the car is happy. Even re-used the same belt.

Unfortunately, while tied up in the garage, the contractor came and paved my driveway (a month late). Now the Fiat is marooned until I can drive on it on Monday. Pity, so few weekends left in the season here.

Anyway, the alternator works great and Mark's instructions were correct, my bracket and mechanic skills were the issue.

[Tango]

Tim,
Sorry to hear you are having so much trouble with your installation.
Did you buy the alternator from Mark Allison -- or somewhere else?
I got mine from Mark, for my 1980 F.I. Spider.
It fit beautifully, with an added spacer between the upper belt tension bracket and the alternator casting.
Dave

Is that grounding strap between the alternator bracket and body standard arrangement? I havent got that. What is that black box on the left fender? Is that some kind of gas vent? i popped a whole in the side of mine and what looked like charcoal granules fell out. I dont have the little cap on top, mine is just an open hole at that location.

[giuliot60]

Looks good Tango. Good luck with it.

[focodave]

The ground strap was my own addition. It's not required, but I am anal about grounds so I added it just for assurance that I do have good grounding bewteen the alternator and the body of the car.
The fuel vapor canister is the box located on the left.
If you lost a little bit of charcoal, that probably is not a huge issue.
The cap is a breather for the canister.
If your cap is missing, the funtionality of the canister won't be compromised -- it just allows the canister to "breath" and prevents things from clogging the breathing hole.