Possible solution to alternator belt chafing top hose .

[fozzy280472]

Hi all , noticed my alternator belt was very near to chafing the underside of the large swirl pot top hose (common S3 problem) , so I thought I'd show my hopefully successful solution.



How it was originally , believe it or not there is a 5mm gap between the belt and hose , camera angle doesn't show it .

[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/442NZLXw[/url]

Post modification, now 15mm gap between the belt and hose , once again camera angle doesn't show it very well.



Here is how I did it , a piece of 10mm aluminium plate bought off ebay for around a fiver , cleaned , painted and four 5/16" holes drilled .
Mounted under the swirl pot , the battery support has enough flex to realign and the hoses move no problem.
There is enough space under the bonnet for the
extra height of the swirl pot.
I also wrapped a couple of large tie wraps around the hose in case the belt loses tension but theres no chance of contact with the belt well tensioned.
Hope this maybe of some use to someone.

Edited by fozzy280472 on Saturday 27th March 12:58

Edited by fozzy280472 on Saturday 27th March 13:04

[mentall]

That's brilliant!

I had the same problem several years ago; played about with different belts etc, but 'cured' it by using a 'corrugated' (ie flexible) hose, and twisting it before tightening the clips so that it 'spiralled' away from the belt. At least a 10mm gap, now, but I keep a close eye on it.

Next time I'm working in that area I'll make a packer for the swirlpot. Well done!

[v8s4me]

Have you checked the clearance between the top of the rad cap and the bonnet?

The green stuff sold for flower arranging is good for this.

[phillpot]

v8s4me said:

Have you checked the clearance between the top of the rad cap and the bonnet?

The green stuff sold for flower arranging is good for this.

Leaves?

Try Blu-Tak

[fozzy280472]

v8s4me said:

Have you checked the clearance between the top of the rad cap and the bonnet?

The green stuff sold for flower arranging is good for this.

I did say in my post I had checked the clearance , I forgot to say how . I used some of my daughter's very soft play dough sculpting putty . There's more room than you think under there on the V6 .

[fozzy280472]

mentall said:

That's brilliant!

I had the same problem several years ago; played about with different belts etc, but 'cured' it by using a 'corrugated' (ie flexible) hose, and twisting it before tightening the clips so that it 'spiralled' away from the belt. At least a 10mm gap, now, but I keep a close eye on it.

Next time I'm working in that area I'll make a packer for the swirlpot. Well done!

Thanks for the comments , I was originally going to do something with the hose itself but seeing as I replaced all of them with silicone in blue I kind of wanted to keep it the same and try something else .
It may be worth checking bonnet clearances on your own car though as I have one of Shauns stainless swirl pots and I don't know if it's any different in height to the original one .

[phillpot]

fozzy280472 said:

There's more room than you think under there on the V6 .

Until you leave a socket on the plenum and drop the bonnet

[mentall]

The crunch point on mine was the front top corner of the battery, worse after I fitted new engine mountings. I have a bit of a star on the GRP, but only on the inner surface.

Obviously the battery height matters, and if the battery is a loose fit it can be held to the back of the tray. Someone on here showed a simple fix by dropping the battery tray an inch.

The throttle housing is pretty close too. I've said before how impressed I am by the close fit of the (standard) bonnet, and how successful TVR's advanced 3D design software was!

Put a scrap of clingfilm on top of the plasticene/blu-tak. It'll stop the stuff from sticking to the bonnet.

[v8s4me]

fozzy280472 said:

..... There's more room than you think under there on the V6 .

Is that because it's only a V6?

[greymrj]

Not seen the problem dealt with that way before. Did you try getting a shorter alternator drive belt? There is a number on the drive belt and a good motor factor can supply the next one smaller which seems to work for most people.

[mentall]

Tried 3 different length (good quality) belts: none would fit within the range of adjustment without threatening the hose.

Tried a wider belt: it fitted comfortably in the pulley 'V's', but not within the range of adjustment.

But the cars are all different!

[Penelope Stopit]

Smaller pulley with shorter belt?