I have an '84 Westy. There is a little bracket that mounts to the engine block. The alternator then mounts on this little bracket. Well, there are 2 bolts that hold the bracket to the engine block. Both of those bolts had broken off inside the engine block. However, the van was still running OK. The adjusting bar for tightening the alternator belt was enough to hold the alternator in place. But, not tightly. When I start the van and idle it squeals like a stuck pig. You know the sound a loose or worn fan belt makes. Very annoying.
So, today I fixed it.. hopefully. I used my new left handed twist drills to try and remove the broken off screws. But, it didn't work. The screws didn't come out. But, I did manage to drill holes there. I had some really good hardened steel self-tapping screws that I could insert in the holes and tighten down. It worked beautifully. Nice and tight.
OK, so now I mount the bracket and go to tighten it down. But, there is no way in hell I could get a wrench on those screws. Not from the top, the bottom, or the sides. It pissed me off. I seen this before when working on things on that engine, bolts that are impossible to get wrenches on. But today I wasn't going to be defeated. I took the bracket, put it in a vise, and between using a drill and my reciprocating saw made a slot in the bracket so I could get a wrench on the screw head. Well, it worked. I got a wrench on the screw head and bolted that bracket to the engine. I then put the alternator back on. All is nice and tight. But the test is going to be if the bracket is rigid enough after I compromised it by adding the slots. I think it will be OK but the test of time will tell.
