Question About Vibration Dampener Torque and Alternator Bolt.

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Tanker

Tanker

My first Chrysler
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I know these are novice questions but here goes. I'm installing a new vibration dampener on my 318 and the factory service manual I have says torque the bolt to 135 ft lbs. Well, the bolt is still turning and the dampener is getting very close to the timing marks on the timing cover. Is the dampener hub going to come up against a hard stop of some kind at this point and allow me to apply the correct torque? Right now it seems as though the dampener wants to keep moving aft until it hits the timing cover. How close to the cover does the dampener usually sit?

The other question is about the bolt that holds the belt tension on the alternator. The one that tightens up in the slot on the curved bracket. What size is that bolt supposed to be? A 5/16 18 bolt threads in easily by hand and seems to have the correct thread pitch, but it's a little loose in the hole as if it's too small for it. I know those bolts should tighten up solidly to hold the belt tension, but mine just seems wrong. I don't want to torque it for fear of stripping the threads out of the alternator.
 
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The damper snout will seat against the crankshaft timing gear at some point. You can then torque it to specification. 65'
 
Tanker said:
The other question is about the bolt that holds the belt tension on the alternator. The one that tightens up in the slot on the curved bracket. What size is that bolt supposed to be? A 5/16 18 bolt threads in easily by hand and seems to have the correct thread pitch, but it's a little loose in the hole as if it's too small for it. I know those bolts should tighten up solidly to hold the belt tension, but mine just seems wrong. I don't want to torque it for fear of stripping the threads out of the alternator.
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The alternator bolt is 5/16" x 18 bolt... It should tighten in the alternator housing - maybe your threads in the housing are stripped???
 
Once upon a time.... my alternator had 2 possible holes for that tension bolt and they were 2 different sizes. The 3/8 hole wasn't going to get the geometry of swing arm or belt tension correct. My bad. I had put the bolt in the wrong hole.
 
If it's loose with a 5/16-18 bolt, you have a problem.
 
gregcon said:
If it's loose with a 5/16-18 bolt, you have a problem.
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Yep, there's definitely a problem. I attempted to tighten it up with the belt tensioned and it stripped out the threads long before any reasonable amount of torque was applied. The original alternator was removed around forty years ago so the bolt is long gone and this alternator is an overhauled replacement from Autozone. Just out of curiosity, is there any chance the one they gave me has metric threads? Is that even possible?
 
Not really. You can heli-coil it or get a different alternator.
 
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