Wedge Under Bonnet Pics

[marcus1875]

Mmm. Cant think why it should sit so high, obvious question are the brackets the correct way round?
I've no PAS so cant help with that.
The air box though, mines is square, did you get a rectangular one?
Marcus

[mrzigazaga]

I can't find any other pics of the bracket...I will have to dig through another HD tomorrow...Does yours have power steering?

[John042]

Thanks again Zig & Marcus. My alternator must sit above the steering shaft as there's no room under or at the side. So I have a collection of brackets so will keep fiddling. The large "U" shape bracket which bolts to the exhaust manifold doesn't line up at all so will try and mount the alternator without it. Yes it is a power steering model hopefully the mountings are still on the pump. Many thanks again for the detailed pics, at least I know where it should be mounted. Cheers John C.

[John042]

Sorry Marcus, yes I've got a rectangular air box, just waiting for the adaptor plate to fit onto the fuel distributor. Another problem solved? John C.

[John042]

I've given up for the day I've tried always to mount the alternator and come to the conclusion I've either got the wrong brackets or the alternator is not the right one. I've included some pics again but the position doesn't look right. For one thing the tensioning mount would have to be about 14" long to reach the timing cover. Swinging it down fouls the steering shaft. As for the "U" bracket to fit, no chance. Am I having a "Blond" moment or going senile or both? Matches and petrol spring to mind. Might as well destroy some more brain cells with beer, not a productive day as you can guess. Any clues please? Cheers John C.

[mrzigazaga]

Something doesn't look right..Mine was different from this as the bracket had another fixing instead of needing that triangle bit...That definitely looks wrong...Perhaps try it up the other way so that the longest part of the triangle is facing down..So its more like a pyramid ...Also fit the curved slotted bar for the alternator adjustment and this should give you an idea...It goes in the hole parallel to the timing marker plate.



You will get it eventually...

[John042]

Thanks Zig for the vote of confidence. I've tried various combinations with the triangular bracket but it seems to only fit one way because of its shape and profile. Yours looks slightly different? Good idea with the tensioning bracket; it might give me a clue as to the other mounting. When I bought the car and was rebuilding the engine I did have a problem with the two timing cases trying to get a water pump to fit. The conclusion that "Tickover" came to was that one of the covers was from a 2.9 EFI engine. I've got a nagging thought that I might also have brackets from that cover? The "U" one being the biggest problem together with the triangular one. Would have they been different on the 2.9 engine? Many thanks for the pics mates. Cheers John C.

[mrzigazaga]

Hi mate...Trouble is TVR did the 280i set up a few different ways..Dont worry too much as the V6 cologne has two options for the PAS pump..Try the alternator without the triangle bit to see if that works..The belt tensions can be faced to the left or right to accommodate the two different PAS pumps...You would just need to get the right length belt then...Im still looking for some early pics but have an idea they are on a drive thats buried in a box sat the bottom of a cupboard..Wahh....

[marcus1875]

Hi John,
Are you sure the alt bracket is the correct one? Mine has two dog legs, whereas from the pics of yours it looks like it is missing the one that drops on to the engine? Could be the angle of the pic of course.
Marcus

[John042]

Thanks Zig/Marcus. No I'm not sure I have the right top bracket that attaches to the exhaust manifold. My pas pump appears to have the correct bits, in fact was still connected to the rack on the near side of the car when I bought it. So that shouldn't present too many problems. It's just this bl**dy alternator mounting. What's puzzling is the lack of space for the alternator on that side with the steering drive to the rack so the alternator must sit quite high up on the engine? Cheers John042

[mrzigazaga]

John it does sit quite high..Although there is not a lot of room between them as far as i remember..I know that a larger amped unit wouldn't fit and thats why i had to mount it on the N/S..Forget about the triangle for now and position the alternator with the existing bracket that bolts to the O/S head you have as that looks right and offer the slotted adjuster up to it..Then see where the pulleys line up with the tensioner, Which can be bolted on and not tightened up..The triangle bit must be a brace for the alternator but more so for the bracket..The long bolt that goes through the two lugs on the top of the alternator acts as a pivot when adjustment is needed along with the adjuster nut being loose...I think we need some more pics from other 280i owners....

[John042]

Hi again thanks to Zig, Marcus & RCK974X. Just had another look at the problem and taken more pics. As you can see, one shows a tension bracket roughly in place with the alternator resting on the steering shaft. The other pic shows how far away in height the bracket is from the exhaust manifold fixing. Obviously moving the alternator up further increases the distance of the top mounting bracket from the manifold. So logically the top bracket is not right and should be virtually straight to match the top alternator/manifold mountings? So were could I get the correct mounting bracket if that's possible? Again cheers Mates. John C.

[John042]

Don't know what happened to the other pic??

[mrzigazaga]

Hi mate...i think the clue is in the picture you posted up of the brackets...

The PAS bracket and triangle have the same paint on so they look like they belong together...The curved bar with the smaller slot and blue paint on it looks more like the alternator adjuster and the one that you have bolted up looks like it might go where the triangle bit was put the other day...Above the adjuster..

But as Andy say's that knuckle does look a bit high?....

[marcus1875]

Sorry mark, i disagree.
The triangle bit should go on the alt. Compare the pic with the pic from mine. To the right of the wood in johns pic are two bolt holes for the triangle bit. That ought to lower the height johns alt currently sits at. I do think the top mounting bracket is wrong, its completely different to mine.
What about asking on the S forum, same engine..nice bunch.
Marcus

[mrzigazaga]

I can't help but think looking at the PAS pump and bracket that it fits where the alternator is..Looking at the steering UJ again just doesn't look right..It should be from steering rack..Lower UJ to connecting shaft..Upper UJ from connecting shaft to steering column...I have seen three variants of this set up on a 280i Wedge..All with different brackets..Personally if yours came with all the bits then they should fit...There is evidence of blue paint on the slotted alternator bar and i bet there are some tell tale scars on the metal from a bolt or washer...The top bracket i believe is correct as they were not an off the shelf part..I would fit that...Then suss out where the PAS pump goes and then see what there is in the way of alternator clearance...Please check the steering column....

[John042]

Thanks Zig for your time. The PAS pump was still connected to the rack by its pipes lying in the engine bay on the nearside so I assume in its correct location (Passenger side)? Wires for alternator on the drivers side. I agree the input shaft from the PAS rack comes out at quite a steep angle making the connecting UJ from the steering shaft higher therefore fouling the movement of the alternator. This morning, I even went and looked at the rack to see if it could be repositioned, but no, the offside mounting is part of the racks casting. The top bracket has the same grey paint as the trianglular and slotted bar; the original colour of the timing front cover. So as you point out they must go together? The problem seems to be the height of the steering input shaft or even the size of the alternator. I've even measured a Mini alternator for comparison. Is it possible that a PAS rack has been fitted whilst the engine was removed? Can my rack be repositioned/replaced? More questions than answers I'm afraid. Frustrated or what.Cheers John C.

[marcus1875]

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=104...

This link to an old thread might help.
The pic on it from marks engine bay you can just make out the alt mounting bracket, it looks the same as mine and different to yours.
I have read in other posts the pas being on the n/s.
Marcus

[John042]

Thanks Marcus, I will open the pic this evening. At work, firewalls etc. That old post, reference alternator brackets does again bring doubt as to my bracket being the wrong one? To clear the steering shaft it needs to be virtually straight onto the exhaust mounting.John C.

[marcus1875]

This thread has some useful pics. This has the alt quite high compared to mine, to allow the PAS I think. different bracket completely to mine.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Marcus